3 DIY Kids Halloween Costume Ideas - Flamingo, Turtle, Tiger

October 14, 2022

Hi there!

Below are step by step instructions for 3 costumes that I made last year. Remember - it's not about perfection. I promise your little one will LOVE anything that you make them. Plus they get to watch you make something with your hands, which is pretty cool :)

Happy Halloween!

xx,

Jen

1. Pink Flamingo

Scroll down for the turtle & tiger instructions :)

For the flamingo you will need:

Pink tulle
Ribbon
Felt - pink, black, & white
Cereal box (or other cardboard)
Something pink to wear
Scissors
Needle / thread (or hot glue gun!)

materials-for-flamingo-costume-kids-halloween-diy

Make the Tutu Skirt:

First cut one piece of ribbon long enough to tie around your little flamingo's waist (about 60" inches), then cut one piece of tulle about 9 ft long (set aside for the flamingo's neck).

Next wrap your whole roll of tulle around one side of a cut cereal box (or something about 9" wide).

wrapping-tulle-around-cardboard-for-tutu-skirt

When you're done wrapping the roll around the cardboard, cut the tulle on ONE side only - now you have your strips for the skirt.

cut-tulle-for-tutu-skirt-flamingo-costume

Tie your ribbon around the cardboard to hold it securely in place, then begin to knot your tulle strips on to the ribbon.

Fold your tulle strip in half and loop around the ribbon, then pull the ends through and down (watch this video for a visual of this technique)

tied-ribbon-around-cereal-box knot-tulle-around-cardboard-to-make-tutu-skirt

Keep knotting all the way around the ribbon to make your skirt. Trim the length as needed.

building-tulle-skirt materials-tulle-tutu-skirt-flamingo-costume

Take the extra long strip of tulle that you set aside and attach it to the front of the skirt, off center, the same way that you attached the other pieces. This is your flamingo neck.

Save a few strips to tie around the shoulder and trim as needed. I used a safety pin to keep mine in place.

long-tulle-piece-for-flamingo-neck shoulder-straps-pinned-in-place

Well done!

Now on to the Flamingo Head:

Cut two pink felt circles (I used the tulle roll as a template) and additional beak pieces from your white and black felt. You will also need 2 small black circles for the eyes.

trace-circle-for-flamingo-head flamingo-beak-felt-pieces

Sew your pieces together with embroidery floss OR hot glue! (I added stuffing to mine, too) Sandwich the neck tulle in between the circles like this:

flamingo-head-with-tulle-neck flamingo-head-halloween-costume

Once the head is attached (and eyeballs added!), grab something pink to wear and your little flamingo is ready!

flamingo-costume-back toddler-girl-in-flamingo-costume-halloween

Watch the video of me making it here

2. Turtle

toddler-turtle-shell-diy

To make a turtle shell you will need:

2 shades of green felt
A cereal box (or other cardboard)
Some sort of stuffing (fabric scraps or old plastic bags would work great!)
Scissors
Needle / Embroidery floss
Glue gun
Something green to wear

turtle-costume-materials

First cut a toddler backpack size oval out of your cereal box (mine is about 13" tall and 9.5" wide). Lay this over your base green felt. You will need one large piece of felt OR sew little pieces together like I did :) Work with what you have!

Trace an oval on your felt a few extra inches out from the cereal box and cut.

oval-shape-for-felt-turtle-shell

Make yourself a hexagon template and cut out 7 hexagons (my hexagon edges are about 2" wide). Arrange these on your base oval to sew (or glue) on.

hexagon-shapes-green-felt hexagon-shapes-green-felt-on-shell

I stitched my hexagons down with matching thread and did a border of contrast thread around each shape.

After your hexagons are attached, loosely add a running stitch around the edge of the base oval. You will use this stitching to cinch the edges up to give it shape.

hexagon-shapes-green-felt-stitching hexagon-shapes-green-felt-contrast-stitching

After stitching all the way around the edge, hold both thread ends and start to pull. You will need to work with the felt to get it evening cinched all around.

After that you can add in your stuffing, followed by your cardboard oval. Then glue the oval felt edge to the cardboard all the way around.

turtle-shell-filling hot-glue-gun-for-shell

You're nearly there! Last step: straps.

I used my extra green felt to cut 1" strips that I stitched together, measured on my little one's back (or grab a backpack to compare) and then attached to the shell.

felt-green-turtle-shell green-felt-for-straps

And now you have a turtle shell!

Watch the video of me making it here

3. Tiger

tiger-costume-halloween-kids

You will need:

Black and white felt
Needle / thread
Scissors
Something orange to wear

This one is pretty straightforward - I cut lots of wavy black pieces for the stripes and one white oval for the tummy. We already had orange lion ears and a tail, I simple added some stripes to those too!

I loosely hand stitched everything on so that it could be removed afterward with no damage.