DIY Wolf Costume for Girls

My mom always made DIY Halloween costumes for us. Sometimes, I have to be honest, I hated it and wanted a plastic store bought costume like my friends. But most of the time I really loved it. Having a custom made, unique costume was fun and I really enjoyed being a part of the planning and design process.

As an adult, I learned to make my own costumes and even dabbled in some cosplay. Maybe I’ll get back into it some day…

But for now I make all of Roo’s Halloween costumes. Some of my favorites have been a bat, and Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

This year, she wanted to be a wolf. This DIY wolf costume was not too complicated to make, and I was able to easily sew it together myself without using a pattern. So here’s my tutorial for a DIY wolf costume for girls.

Supplies for Wolf Costume

*note: this is how much fabric I used for my daughter who was 5 at the time. If you are making for a smaller or older child, you may want to adjust your yardage*
Sewing machine (Mine is this one)
1.5 yards of fake fur
1.5 yards of black velour fabric (make sure to get a 60″ width to do the full circle skirt)
1 yard of cotton fabric (color doesn’t really matter, but black or grey would be great. I had pink on hand.
3 inch elastic
Black thread
Fabric scissors (I love these)
Measuring Tape
Hazmat suit and super powered vacuum-only kidding. Sort of. The fake fur I got was so soft but shed like crazy!

So the wolf costume for girls has four parts. The hat, the vest, the skirt, and the tail. If you wanted to make this for a boy or adult, you can leave out the skirt.

DIY Wolf Costume Hat

• Use a hoodie that fits your little girl well, then add 2 inches for seam allowance.
• Then I added another 17 inches to the ends for the long ear flaps. You can adjust this.
• Cut two of these from the fur and two of these from the cotton. I started with the cotton one first since it was easier to work with.
• Sew the curved ends together but leave the straight ear pieces separate.
• Repeat with the fur.
• Pin right sides together and sew down the center line to attach the pieces together. Then sew along all the edges, leaving an opening at the neck to turn.
• Turn and close the opening.
• Cut four triangles about 2 inches wide and 2 inches long.
• Put two together, right sides facing. Sew along the sides and turn at the bottom. Repeat with the other wolf ear.
• Hand sew the ears to the top of the hat. The fur will hide the seams.

DIY Wolf Costume Vest

I made the wolf costume vest only out of the fur. That meant I had to hem along all the edges. If I did this Wolf costume again, I would line it with cotton the same way I did the hat so I could just turn the edges. If you decide to do this, you’ll need to add half a yard or so of cotton to your shopping list.

• Use the same hoodie as a pattern for the vest. I pulled the sleeves inside the hoodie, then traced the hoodie and sleeve holes on to the back of the fur with chalk.
• Cut two of these.
• Cut one down the center.
• Turn the two pieces to have fur sides facing each other and pin the sides.
• Sew and flip.
• Repeat this with the cotton if you’re going that route. Then sew the right sides together, leaving an opening to turn.
• Turn and sew the opening shut.
  Or
• Hem around all the edges to prevent the fur from shedding out.

DIY Fur Trimmed Skirt for Wolf Costume

I made a simple circle skirt for this costume then trimmed it in the same fur as the rest of the wolf costume.
To make a circle skirt, I love using this calculator to make things easier. Follow the cutting directions there.
I measured Roo’s waist for these measurements so I cut that much elastic.
Fold the center of the donut over the elastic. Or you can just gather the center of the donut to the bottom of the elastic.
Add about an inch of fur to the bottom.

DIY Wolf Costume Tail

With the remainder of the fur, cut two tail shapes. I made a long triangle about 6 inches long with one side more curved than the other. It was about 3 inches at its widest.
Sew right sides together leaving the end open to turn.
Turn and then I pinned it to the skirt.

With black leggings and a long sleeve shirt and a little face paint, my little wolf is all ready for trick or treating or just having a HOWLING good time! My favorite part about this wolf costume is that the hat can be worn for the rest of the cool season.

We love Halloween around here. It’s probably my favorite holiday, even over Christmas. Checkout these Halloween decorations I made with R. Or this fun activity we did with contact paper! Or if you need Pumpkin ideas you can read this post.