I was digging through an old photo box my mom sent me and found a picture of our dog Max from 1998 dressed as a hot dog. It was literally a cut up tan t-shirt with red felt stripes hot glued on, no pattern or anything. Made me think about how these days people spend 40 bucks on a costume from the pet store, but that old shirt costume had way more personality. Does anyone still make costumes from scratch like that or is it all pre-made now?
I had a gray hoodie with a ripped sleeve so I cut it down into a little cape for my cat Milo. He usually hates anything on him but he just sat there for like 5 minutes not moving. Then he started purring and rubbing against it which he never does with his regular harness. Has anyone else had their pet randomly love something you thought they'd hate?
I was really skeptical about the whole no-sew cardboard costume thing. My dog is a 60 pound lab mix who usually shreds any box within 5 minutes. But last Halloween I made him a simple box truck using a moving box I got from U-Haul for free. I cut arm holes and painted it with some leftover house paint I had in the garage. Figured he'd hate it and I'd be cleaning up cardboard bits all night. To my surprise he actually walked around the block in it for 20 minutes without trying to bite it. The key was making the arm holes big enough so he could move freely and taping the inside edges with duct tape so it wasn't scratchy. Has anyone else had a pet that surprised you by actually enjoying a costume they normally would destroy?
I tried making a lion mane out of felt for my cat Milo back in October, and he hated it so much he wouldn't move. A friend at the Austin pet expo suggested I use a soft bee costume with elastic straps instead of felt. He actually walked around the living room in it for 5 whole minutes before laying down. Has anyone else seen their pet change mood with a different material?
I made a tiny crown out of cardboard and gold washi tape for my cat Mochi last Halloween. She sat still just long enough for me to snap one blurry photo before she shook her head and ran off with it dangling from her mouth. Has anyone else's pet totally rejected a costume you spent way too long on?
Cats are way easier to dress up since they don't squirm as much, so why are we ignoring them, has anyone else noticed how hard it is to find cat-specific tutorial videos compared to dog ones?
I grabbed a "superdog" cape and mask set from PetVault online, figuring it would be a fun Halloween look. The cape ripped right at the neck seam when my dog trotted across the yard, and the mask elastic snapped after one wear. Anyone else had trouble with those one-size-fits-all velcro costumes, or is it just my luck?
I spent 3 hours making my pug into a bumblebee. Wings, antenna, yellow stripes. She said nobody would get it. I was mad at first. But she was right. The wings just looked like floppy fabric. Now I pick one clear thing like a hot dog bun or a lion mane. Simple reads better. Has anyone else had a costume that just didn't click?
I bought a cheap glue gun from a dollar store for my cat's spider costume and the glue came out in big globs that burned my fingers. The nozzle also clogged halfway through gluing the felt legs on. Has anyone tried the low-temp glue sticks for pet costumes?
I made a felt taco shell using some old cardboard and hot glue, no sewing at all. My cat Toby usually hates anything on his head, but I think the velcro strap was loose enough that he didn't mind it. Any tricks for getting a skittish pet to tolerate a hat or hood for a costume photo?
My neighbor Karen told me the eye patch I made out of felt was too small for my beagle, and she was right. I used a 2 inch circle but his eyes are closer together than I thought, so it kept sliding off. Redid it with a 3 inch patch and some elastic string from Joann Fabrics, fits perfect now. Anyone else ever have a costume detail totally miss the mark on sizing?
A few years back at a local pets parade a lady told me my dog's bee costume looked like a sad potato with wings. I mean it stung but she was right I just threw on some yellow fabric and cheap wings. She showed me how cutting the fabric into actual segments with tape gave it shape and movement. Now I spend an extra 20 minutes per costume on proportions and my cat actually walks normal in them. Has anyone else had a random stranger's comment completely change their approach?
After 4 failed attempts (the bun kept falling apart, you know how it is), I figured out the trick. I cut the pool noodle in half lengthwise to make the bun, then wrapped it in tan felt and hot glued it to a cheap harness. The ketchup is just red felt strips. My dog actually walked around for a whole 10 minutes before trying to eat the costume. Best $6 I ever spent at the dollar store. Has anyone else tried using pool noodles for pet costumes? Got any other shapes that worked?
I thought I was saving time by grabbing one of those pre-made felt costume kits for my dog. Supposed to turn him into a hot dog. The glue strips barely held, the felt ripped when I tried to adjust it, and my dog chewed the bun off in 5 minutes. Complete waste of money. Has anyone actually gotten one of those kits to work or am I better off just using old t-shirts?
I spent $15 on a pack of craft foam at Michael's last week and ruined two hours of work because the glue melted right through the foam and stuck to my dog's harness, anyone else had this happen with a specific brand?
Last month I made a shark fin for my cat using fabric tape and it fell off in ten minutes. Then my friend swore by hot glue and now her cat's bumblebee costume lasted all Halloween. Which one holds up better for you.
I took Chester to the local park last Saturday for the annual pet parade. He was wearing this hot dog costume I made from an old tan sweater and some felt. Everything was fine until he spotted a squirrel and bolted. The whole seam just gave up right there in front of like 15 people. Now I'm wondering if no-sew methods are actually reliable for active pets or if we should just accept that glue and tape have limits. Some folks at the park said I should have used fabric glue instead of hot glue for flexibility. But hot glue dried so fast and held for the first hour. Has anyone else had a costume literally fall apart mid-event? Do you lean towards glue or tape or something else entirely for high movement pets like cats or small dogs?
I had four cats dressed as hot dogs and was heading to the annual Oakwood Park costume parade when the sky just opened up. The felt buns turned into soggy messes and two of the cats shook everything off before we even got to the starting line. Does anyone have a trick for waterproofing no-sew felt costumes without making them too heavy for a cat to walk in?
I was making a felt spike strip for my tabby's dragon costume and his tail measured exactly 10 inches, which was weirdly satisfying since that's the same length as the cardboard tube I used for the base, has anyone else found a random household item that matched their pet's measurement perfectly?
I was always against using glue on pet costumes (worried it would irritate their skin) until I made my 50th one last month for my hedgehog, Prickles. A friend showed me how nontoxic fabric glue can hold tiny hat pieces together without any sewing, and now I'm making way more creative hats for him. Anyone else hit a number that made them rethink their process?
I was reading a blog post from the ASPCA last night about pet stress signals and found out animals can only tolerate wearing costumes for about 15-20 minutes before it starts bothering them. I had been leaving my cat Luna in her little hot dog outfit for like an hour during Halloween parties. Has anyone else noticed their pet getting cranky after wearing a costume too long?
My corgi's shark fin kept flopping over during a parade last October until a lady at the dog park told me to thread a 20-gauge wire through the seam, and now it stands up straight every time, has anyone else had luck with that approach?
Last Saturday I spent 2 hours making a taco costume out of felt and hot glue for my corgi, Milo. We joined the annual pet parade down Elm Street, and about 3 blocks in, the 'shell' started peeling off his back. He just kept trotting along with this sad, floppy felt taco dragging behind him, and I had to scoop him up and carry him the rest of the way. Has anyone else had a costume completely fail during an event? What did you do to fix it quick?
I bought the pattern online thinking it would be a quick 20 minute project. Turned out the velcro kept sticking to my cat's fur and she escaped twice before I even finished the hat part. Anybody else have a costume that took way longer than the instructions said?