As a kid, my daughter used to dress up as a cat for Halloween, and even way before and after the holiday. Once she saw the costume, she wanted to wear it, and pretend that she was a cat.
Here you'll find some of the costumes I've made, along with basic tips on how to make them. You'll also find a variety of choices of ones that you can purchase online, and/or some cat accessories.
For the first cat costume, I used a pair of her footed fleece pajamas. They're a warm and comfortable choice, which makes a good place to start from.
Here are some ideas for fleece pajamas for kids, that are on Amazon.
I made a basic hat from some soft material, added tie strings, and sewed on two ears. The hat can be as simple as two squares of soft, somewhat stretchy material, sewed together. You can also round the top corner to better fit the head.
I had her use white gloves for the paws; you can also use mittens.
I used brown eyebrow powder to draw whiskers on her face.
In place of making a hat, you can also use animal print headbands.
I made a tail out of the same fabric that I had made the hat. Simply cut a tail length piece of fabric that is approximately 2-1/2 inches wide. Fold the right sides together, and make a 1/4 inch seem down the length of it, and then across one end. Then turn it right side out, fold the open edge a bit to the inside and stitch to the suit.
If you like the costume already made, check out these cat costumes for kids on Amazon.
As my daughter got older, she no longer needed, nor wanted a jumpsuit style. But she had fallen in love with Nala (From the Lion King.), and wanted to be a cat again. We decided to go with a vest. The vest works out great for beginner sewers. Using a furry type material, means you don't have to hem the armholes. The material wasn't as soft on the inside, so I lined this hat with some lightweight material. You can make two basic hats, then put right sides together, and stitch around three of the edges, turn it right side out, then turn under the remaining edge. When you add two strings for tying, you can add them before or after turning the final edge under.
You can check out furry fabric on Amazon.
Our daughter still loved dressing up as a cat for Halloween, as she got older, but she wanted less in the way of a costume. She just wanted a cat headband. Wow, that was easy!
I think I'd add a bit of pink to these ears, or go with making some from headbands again.
Premade cat ears can be found on Amazon.
What do you think? Will you be making a costume or finding one ready made?
Cheryl Paton
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