by Jennifer Claerr

Created on: October 26, 2007   Last Updated: January 11, 2008

You don't have to spend a lot of money to create a great Halloween costume for your puppy dog. Here are some creative ideas for homemade dog Halloween costumes. These ideas are especially useful if you have a large dog, and the costume you want is not available in his size.

Homemade Superman Dog Halloween Costume

Get a blue shirt for your dog. A large child's shirt will probably do; check out your local Goodwill or Salvation Army store for cheap items. Create a Superman emblem out of red and yellow felt. Simply hot glue the red felt onto the yellow felt base. Place red socks on your dog's feet. Create a cape out of silky red fabric, or salvage an old child's costume cape. Then use the remainder of your yellow felt to create the belt. Draw with black Sharpie marker to create the detail. For a large dog Superman costume, simply increase the size of the costume pieces.

Homemade Underdog Dog Halloween Costume

For an underdog Halloween costume, simply get a red long-sleeved shirt and hot glue a white U made of construction paper or felt to the front. Fashion a blue cape out of silky fabric, and tie it at the dog's neck. It's that easy!

Homemade Star Wars Dog Halloween Costume

To create a homemade Darth Vader dog costume, first check out this tutorial on how to make a cardboard helmet. Adapt and resize the project for your dog's head. Don't fully enclose the helmet, but allow the dog's face to remain exposed. When completed, remove the helmet to a well-ventilated area and spray-paint it black.

Then get a black shirt, preferably made from shiny fabric, at the thrift shop. Create a Darth Vader control panel out of felt by cutting small colored squares and hot-gluing them to a black base. Use this Darth Vader dog Halloween costume image as a guide. Sew this to the shirt; don't use hot glue on silk or synthetic fabric. Place black socks or booties on your dog's feet.

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