Halloween happens to be one of my favorite holidays because it allows me to express my creativity. Every year I try to show off my festive side by sporting some sort of costume, and for the last six years my beagle, Daisy has joined in on the celebrations. Granted, she doesn’t enjoy wearing the costumes as much as I like seeing her in them, but she likes to please me, so she gives in most of the time. This year I was having a hard time deciding what theme our family was going with, so I ended up with a few costume ideas for dogs. Here are the three easy, do-it-yourself dog costume ideas.
The fact that my dog, Daisy is a beagle means this costume is a bit of a cop-out because beagles are known as hunting dogs, but in my defense not many people have seen her in her hunting attire. In order to pull this costume off Daisy would wear a camouflage collar and leash along with a hunter’s orange safety vest. She already owns these items, but you can get then for your dog at any sporting good store or at most franchise pet stores.
You could also do this costume with a basic black leash and collar, a child’s size camouflage t-shirt, and a small piece of bright orange fabric from a fabric store or cut from an old piece of clothing.
Skeleton
This costume really only requires a shirt that fits your dog with a skeleton design on it. I was able to find a set of child size pajamas with a skeleton pattern already on them at a local thrift store, and all it took was a little sewing to make it a perfect fit. However, you could also create this look will with a plain black shirt and some fabric paint. All you would have to do is fit the shirt to your dog, paint on your design, and you are all set.
I’m actually shocked I haven’t dressed Daisy as a flower before, but I’ve really never considered it until this year. What’s more surprising is that dressing a dog as a flower seems to be quite simple. All I needed was some colored felt – I decided on pink for the flower petals, and green from the leaves – and a pattern for both.
To assemble, I cut the leaves and petals out a long with a piece of felt as long as Daisy’s collar and a little more than twice as wide. Then, I arranged and pin the petals and leaves on one edge of the length of long piece of felt. Once I had everything in place, I folded the felt in half creating a tube or pocket and sew along the seam. After sewing the piece, I slid Daisy’s collar into the sleeve, and was all set.
In the end, I decided that Daisy will be a skeleton this year for Halloween. All of the costumes we cute on her, but the skeleton closely match the “day of the dead” theme my husband are going with.
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