Can you believe it? It’s almost Halloween! If you haven’t yet picked out a costume for your dog, then you’ve come to the perfect place! Today we’ll be sharing a fun and easy DIY costume idea for dogs!
This year I’ll dressing up with a bunch of my friends. We are each going as different types of candy. I’ll be dressing up as a KitKat because it is one of my favorites! My boyfriend is putting his own unique twist on it and is going as Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder’s version of course).
I wanted to make sure Luna’s costume also fit in with the group’s theme. Originally my idea was to make her one big M&M, but that idea was a big CRAFT FAIL. So instead, this year she will be a bunch of Mini M&Ms! Don’t worry there is no chocolate involved in the making of this costume, so it’s perfectly dog safe.
DIY Mini M&Ms Halloween Dog Costume
SUPPLIES
White or Black Toddler T-Shirt Sized for Your Dog (Luna’s is a 2T)
14 Sheets of Felt (Various Colors)
1 Sheet of White Felt
Cotton Stuffing/Batting
White Yarn
Fabric Glue (Aleene’s or similar)
Adhesive Velcro for Fabric
White Chalk (or Fabric Pencil)
Large Needle
Scissors
Utility Knife (X-ACTO or similar)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Free hand a large circle on a sheet of felt, the largest you can fit – about 8″ diameter, with your chalk. You can also trace a circle if you have something big enough. The circle does not have to be perfectly round. Mine definitely wasn’t.
Cut out the first circle and then repeat for all the other (non-white) sheets of felt by tracing the circle. These will be the outer layer of your M&Ms.
I used 7 different colors (red, green, yellow, brown, blue, orange, and purple) and used each color twice. You can use any colors you would like and may need to adjust the number of circles based on the size of the costume.
2. Cut out all the circles. Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Discard any remnants.
3. Fold a circle in half 4 times (or into 8ths) and then poke two holes all the way through the 8 layers of felt about a centimeter from the edge using your utility knife or scissors. Once done, unfold the circle. This should result in 16 holes around the circumference of the circle. Repeat for all circles.
4. Cut a piece of yarn about a foot and a half long. Weave the yarn through the holes in a circle. You do not have to tie one end of the string, but be careful not to pull it all the way through.
I put a small piece of tape on the end of the yarn to make the weaving process easier. You can also thread your large needle as well.
5. Once you have weaved the yarn through all the holes, finish by going back through the first hole. Pull the yarn taut, so that the felt starts to cinch together at the top. Stop pulling once the sides start to stand up.
6. Place stuffing inside the opening. Be careful not to overstuff, but make sure you put enough to give a spherical shape to the M&M.
7. Once the M&M is sufficiently stuffed, pull the yarn the rest of the way so that the opening is closed. Finish by tieing the two ends of the yarn together while making sure that the opening remains closed.
Repeat steps 4 – 7 for all of the rest of the M&M circles.
8. Cut out “M”s from the piece of white felt for each M&M you have (14). You can free hand or trace them, but you want the width of the “M” to be 1/2 – 2/3 the width of the M&M sphere (about 2 inches).
9. Glue a “M” to the center of M&M sphere. Let dry.
10. Cut enough strips of Velcro to have one for each M&M. Adhere the “hook” side to the back of the M&M and press the “loop” side into it. Peel of the backing and adhere the opposite side to the t-shirt.
I recommend doing this while your dog is wearing the shirt to get a better idea of how the M&Ms will look together when the costume is on.
If you don’t have Velcro, you can skip this step and go directly to step 11.
11. Remove the shirt from your dog. For each M&M poke both pieces of yarn through one layer of the t-shirt using your large needle. Once both sides are through, tie them together on the opposite side to secure the M&M permanently in place. Once tied trim the yarn, so that you cannot see it from the outside. Repeat for all M&Ms.
12. (Optional) Depending on how the M&Ms fall when your dog is wearing the costume and your personal preference you may want to connect some of them together. Do this by threading your large needle with a small piece of yarn and “sewing” through 2 or more M&Ms.
13. Trim off the sleeves of the t-shirt to allow your dog to have a better range of motion. You can also do this before you start attaching the M&M spheres.
14. Trim off the bottom of the shirt around the stomach area. This way there won’t be any issues if you dog needs to use the restroom while wearing his or her new costume. It also prevents extra fabric from hanging down.
15. (Optional) Using your yarn and needle tuck in any extra fabric around the neck or under the belly to get a more snug fit. The collar of the shirt hung a little low on Luna, so I tightened it a bit.
Be sure to be extra careful with the needle and avoid using it while your dog is wearing the costume!
Now your dog is ready to strut their stuff as a bunch of Mini M&Ms!
When picking and making Halloween costumes, Luna’s comfort is a big factor. She didn’t seem to mind wearing her Mini M&M costume at all, even performing her favorite “BANG!” (play dead) trick while wearing it. Though it did make “Roll Over” a bit of a challenge. She was able to move freely and run around with no problem at all.
Hopefully all the Trick or Treaters won’t confuse Luna with real M&Ms!
If you don’t have quite enough time to create the perfect Mini M&M costume for your dog this year, be sure to PIN IT for next year and check out our Last Minute Dog Costumes from Baby Onesies tutorial!
Check back tomorrow to see our post in the Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop. We’ll be teaching “BANG!” and giving away an awesome prize! Be sure to also visit the first two giveaways in the mean time. You can find them by clicking here and scrolling all the way to the bottom.
What will your dog be for Halloween this year?
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