Halloween is only days away, and I couldn’t resist sharing a few last-minute costume ideas—especially since it’s Hayes’ first Halloween. I put together three simple, adorable DIY costumes for babies and toddlers in partnership with Uber. They’re quick to assemble, customizable for older kids or adults, and very baby-friendly.
Read on for three easy-to-make baby Halloween costumes: a clown, a mouse, and a moon-and-stars outfit.
First up is a DIY clown costume. I know some adults find clowns unsettling, but baby clowns are undeniably cute. We wore this costume to a neighborhood Halloween event and even used the Pickup Messages feature in the Uber app to tell our driver, “I’ll be the one holding the baby clown.” It was a silly, useful identifier among a crowd of costumed little ones.
As a one-car family, I use Uber often—whether I need to meet friends, grab lunch, or head to a local party without worrying about parking. Uber also helped me pick up craft supplies for these costumes. Here’s how to make each look.
DIY Costume for Babies #1: Clown
This clown costume is a nostalgic nod to my own childhood costume my mom made. For a baby-sized clown, gather a playful outfit, a pom-pom maker (or cardboard circles), yarn, scrap fabric, scissors, and a sewing machine or needle and thread.
Make three small-to-medium pom poms. Sew two pom poms to the front of the pants or the overall section. For the ruffled collar, adjust dimensions to your child’s size. For a very small baby, my collar had an 8-inch outer circle with a 4-inch center cutout for the neck, and a second 9-inch outer circle with a 4-inch center. Cut a slit to open the circle, sew a 1/4-inch channel around the neck, and pull a string through using a safety pin. Gather and tie the string to create the ruffle, then tack the two collar layers together at the sides.
For the hat, use a sturdy fabric or layer heavyweight canvas with a lighter fabric. Cut two triangles about 5 inches per side, sew along two sides, leaving the base open. Attach two ties to the base so the hat can be secured under the chin, and sew a pom pom to the tip. Quick, festive, and easy to wear.
DIY Costume for Babies #2: Mouse
The mouse costume is the simplest of the three and can be adapted into many different animals by changing colors and ear shapes. You’ll need a white onesie, a white hat or bonnet, pink scrap fabric, heat-bond fabric tape, an iron, and a short length of pink yarn.
Cut a light-pink oval and adhere it to the front of the onesie using heat-bond tape and an iron, following the tape’s instructions. For ears, either sew or glue pink ear inserts into a hat that already has ears, or craft ears from fabric and attach them to a plain baby hat. Finish by securing a 6–8 inch length of pink yarn to the back of the onesie for a tail. That’s it: a sweet, comfortable mouse costume ready in minutes.
DIY Costume for Babies #3: Moon and Stars
Because Hayes’ middle name is Moon, I couldn’t resist making a moon-and-stars costume. For this look you’ll need a plain onesie, yellow fabric, polyester fiberfill (pillow stuffing), scissors, and sewing supplies.
Trace a crescent moon and a star on fabric, double the fabric, and cut about 1/4 inch outside the traced lines so each shape has two identical pieces. Pin each pair together and sew around the edges, leaving a one-inch opening to insert the stuffing. Turn right-side out, fill with fiberfill, and hand-sew the opening closed with an invisible stitch. Sew the moon and star onto a solid-colored onesie; when Halloween is done you can remove them with a seam ripper and keep the shapes as room decorations or keepsakes.
Photography Amelia Lawrence
Those are the three DIY Halloween costumes I made for Hayes this year. Which one is your favorite? I’d love your help deciding which outfit to choose for the holiday!
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This post was created in partnership with Uber. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Paper & Stitch running.