Somewhere over the weenbowwww!
I know it’s still 62 days until Halloween… But is it ever too early to start planning your dog’s costume? (The only acceptable answer is no.)
For the last few months, I’ve been seeing rainbow dog costumes pop up at all the major retailers. And while I love the ease of a store-bought costume as much as anyone else, I kept looking at the (kind of tacky) ones available, and feeling like I could make a cuter version for the same amount of of money.
And I think I did it? Because how cute is Dave in his rainbow costume?
My favorite kind of Halloween costume DIY is one that’s hard to mess up, and honestly, this rainbow costume comes together without too much detail-work or artistic ability. It doesn’t need anything too crazy either. Just some thick white rope, yarn in five different colors, some cardboard, a tee in your dog’s size, a hot glue gun, and scissors.
The one thing that’s worth noting is that it does take more than a hot second to make this. (AKA don’t try to do this at 5 p.m. on Halloween.) The whole thing took me about an hour—snack breaks included—because you do have to wrap your way around each rope segment. It isn’t hard, just a little repetitive and tedious. But it doesn’t take a whole lot of focus and is definitely something you could do while watching You’ve Got Mail (my personal fall tradition) or whatever else you’re bingeing these days.
As always with our DIYs, you and your vet know your dog best. While creating a cute Halloween costume can be fun for some dogs and owners, pets who struggle with anxiety or illness may not be well-suited to wearing costumes. If you’re not sure if it’s a good idea, check with your vet. And as always, never leave your dog alone or unattended in a costume.
Anyway, are you ready for the instructions to make your very own DIY Halloween Rainbow Dog Costume? Scroll on down for the step-by-step instructions, and happy fall!
First, gather a dog hoodie or tee in your dog’s size, five different colors of yarn, scissors, a hot glue gun, thick white rope, and a piece of round white cardboard. For the cardboard, I used a white 12-inch round cake pad to make things easy, but you could also just trace around a large bowl on some thick white cardboard for a similar effect. Everything I used is linked, but do bear in mind that these are instructions for making a costume for a 20 lb dog. For a larger dog, you’ll need to tweak these steps and possibly swap for a bigger piece of cardboard or more than five rainbow colors.
Next, cut your cardboard circle in half. Then run the rope along the curve of the cardboard so that it’s outlining it the half-circle. Leave an inch or two of extra rope on each end so it hangs off the circle, and then cut the rope to that size.You want to leave room for the fray at the ends of the rope, so give yourself an extra two or three inches on each. Discovering you need to trim the rope is better than realizing you made one too short!
Inside the curve of the first layer of rope, repeat with a second segment of rope. It'll be just a little bit shorter. Keep repeating until you have five concentric half circles. (See image below.)
About an inch from the end of the longest piece of rope, dab hot glue to secure a piece of your first color of yarn onto the rope, then begin wrapping your rope in the color of your choice. This is monotonous, but all you need to do is keep it smooth and even, so it’s pretty easy to multitask. (AKA it’s Netflix time!)
Work your way all the way across the rope segment wrapping it until you’re about an inch from the end. Then dab another bit of hot glue to secure the yarn in place and trim off the loose end.
Repeat the wrapping process for the other four rainbow colors, and then hot glue the wrapped rope segments into place on the round cardboard in a rainbow shape. Trim away the cardboard sticking out from under the rainbow. Fray the ends of the rope (if they haven’t already done that themselves) and trim away any excess. Then repeat the whole process to make a second rainbow.
Use hot glue to attach the two rainbows onto the two sides of the dog tee with the end of the rainbow directly behind the dog’s front shoulders. And then dress your dog in their perfect Howloween costume!
Rainbow DIY Dog Halloween Costume
Ingredients
- A Dog Tee or Hoodie in Your Pup's Size
- 12" Round White Cardboard Cake Pad (Or White Cardboard Cut in a Circle)
- 1/2" White Rope
- Five Different Colors of Yarn
- A Hot Glue Gun
- Scissors
Instructions
- First, gather a dog hoodie or tee in your pup’s size, five different colors of yarn, scissors, a hot glue gun, thick white rope, and a 12-inch round piece of white cardboard.
- Cut your cardboard circle in half. Then run the rope along the curve of the cardboard so that it’s outlining it the half-circle. Leave an inch or two of extra rope on each end so it hangs off the circle, and then cut the rope to that size.
- Inside the curve of the first layer of rope, repeat with a second segment of rope. It'll be just a little bit shorter. Keep repeating until you have five concentric half circles. (See image above.)
- About an inch from the end of the longest piece of rope, dab hot glue to secure a piece of your first color of yarn onto the rope, then begin wrapping your rope in the color of your choice. This is monotonous, but all you need to do is keep it smooth and even.
- Work your way all the way across the rope segment wrapping it until you’re about an inch from the end. Then dab another bit of hot glue to secure the yarn in place and trim off the loose end.
- Repeat the wrapping process for the other four rainbow colors, and then hot glue the wrapped rope segments into place on the round cardboard in a rainbow shape. Trim away the cardboard sticking out from under the rainbow.
- Fray the ends of the rope hanging off and trim away any excess.
- Repeat the whole process to make a second rainbow.
- Use hot glue to attach the two rainbows onto the two sides of the dog tee with the end of the rainbow directly behind the dog’s front shoulders.
- Then dress your dog in their perfect Howloween costume!
