Part of the fun of Halloween is dressing up as all sorts of weird and wonderful things, and it gets better when you find inspiration for your pet to join in too. Even if you have a small, relatively uncommon pet, like a ferret, they can still enjoy tagging along on your trick-or-treating adventure with their own unique costume.
Although you can find plenty of pictures of ferrets dressed up as Tootsie Rolls and Beanie Babies, finding DIY patterns is a little harder. We found three DIY plans for ferret costumes, as well as simple pet costumes for dogs, cats, and guinea pigs that you can redesign for your ferret.
We hope that one of these will inspire you to try your hand at making your ferret’s new Halloween costume!
Ferret Costumes
Feisty and energetic, ferrets need costumes that are sturdy enough to withstand their constant movement without interfering with their playing. While it can be easier to buy your ferret’s Halloween costume from an online store, there are a few DIY ferret costumes that are much cheaper and fun to make.
The 8 Awesome DIY Halloween Costumes for Ferrets
1. Ferret Tutu
| Materials: | Tulle, elastic |
| Tools: | Scissors, needle and thread (optional), tape measure |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
One of the easiest costume designs anyone can try is a simple tutu. Made with tulle and elastic, it’s a quick project if you need a last-minute costume that still looks great. The design doesn’t require sewing, so you don’t need to worry about threading a sewing machine or finding a needle. For extra security, though, you can hand-sew the tulle pieces to the elastic.
You can personalize the design by experimenting with different colors to give the tutu a special Halloween feel.
2. Tootsie Roll
| Materials: | Brown fabric, white fabric, red ribbon, Velcro or buckles, |
| Tools: |
Scissors, needle and thread, sewing machine, tape measure, embroidery machine
|
| Difficulty: | Medium |
Tootsie Rolls are popular sweets, and you can give your unique pet a DIY Tootsie Roll costume. This design is a simple one, but it does have a few more steps than some other DIY plans.
Sewing is involved, and you’ll need plenty of space for your sewing machine to do most of the work. If you have an embroidery machine too, you can make the iconic Tootsie Roll logo in no time at all, or you can stitch it all by hand.
3. 1950s Ferret
| Materials: | White t-shirt, pink and black fabric, Velcro, ribbon, hook clasp |
| Tools: | Scissors, needle and thread, fabric marker |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Halloween isn’t just a good time to dress up as monsters; you can also be unique by revisiting vintage fashion. The 1950s were stylish and refined, and your ferret can look just as snazzy with a homemade, vintage outfit.
Use an old white t-shirt and pink and black fabric to create a simple suit jacket and skirt. There’s minimal sewing too, so you can try hand sewing rather than breaking out the sewing machine.
4. Candy Corn/ Witch Hat
| Materials: | Paper, sticky tape, sequins |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This is a super easy DIY project that’s charming and creative. Making a tiny witches hat out of paper is fun, and you get to dress up your ferret once you’re done! This hat is safe, and the paper is easy to remove if your ferret decides they don’t want to wear it anymore! Sequins, colored paper, and press-on flowers can be used to decorate your ferret’s hat.
5. Pumpkin Hat
| Materials: | Orange craft paper, green craft paper, brown craft paper, tape |
| Tools: | Scissors, black pen |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This adorable pumpkin hat is easy to craft and safe for your ferret, and it’s so cute that you’ll never want to take it off! You’ll use scissors to cut the pumpkin shape and a little tape to create this lightweight headwear, which won’t weigh your ferret down. You can personalize the pumpkin’s face however you like, and it requires no sewing for a quick and cute costume. Pair the hat with an orange and black tutu for an impressive look!
Small Pet Costumes to Redesign
While ferrets are fun to own, they’re not among the most popular small pets that people like to keep. It can be challenging to find instructions for DIY plans for Halloween costumes that are designed specifically for ferrets. So, here are seven pet costume plans intended for other small pets that you can redesign for your ferret.
6. Bat Wings
| Materials: | Black felt, fabric harness |
| Tools: | Wing templates, sewing machine, fabric glue |
| Difficulty: | Medium |
This bat wing design was intended for cats and dogs, but it’s easy enough to adjust to suit your ferret. Instead of printing out the larger wing templates in the instructions, try using the smaller template on the first page. Remember to check to make sure the wings aren’t too big for your ferret or their harness before you cut the felt.
7. Starbucks Coffee Cup
| Materials: | White and brown cardstock, hole punch, ribbon |
| Tools: | Scissors, non-toxic glue |
| Difficulty: | Medium |
When it comes to DIY projects, getting inspiration from dog designs is an ideal way to create new projects. With a bit of adjusting, this Starbucks Coffee Cup idea will be perfect for a ferret.
You can stick with the original design’s use of cardstock for the body and adjust the measurements for your ferret, or use something smaller, like an empty toilet roll. If you do use a toilet roll, remember to cut one side open so you can put it on and take it off your ferret comfortably.
8. Renaissance Costume
| Materials: | Toy stuffing, three colors of felt, interfacing |
| Tools: | Scissors, needle and thread |
| Difficulty: | Medium |
The regal purple, blue, black, and white color scheme and felt feather give this Renaissance-style cat design an atmospheric feel. While the DIY plan is simple enough, with only two parts and a few hand-sewn pieces, the challenge comes in adjusting it to ensure that it fits your ferret. Measure your ferret to get the right dimensions for the quirky hat and collar.
It’s a quick project to complete, though the ruffled collar will take a bit longer. Make sure you have plenty of time to spare before your trick-or-treating trip.
9. Beanie Baby Tag
| Materials: | TY tag printout, white and red felt, ribbon |
| Tools: | Scissors, fabric glue, or needle and thread |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Many people dress up their dogs as Beanie Babies, and there’s no reason that you can’t do the same for your ferret. It’s also one of the easiest DIY designs that you can use as a Halloween costume.
For this design, make the TY tag small enough for your ferret. You can use cardstock and include the traditional name and birthday on the inside of the booklet. For a softer feel, use felt instead. Add a ribbon, and fix the tag to your ferret’s harness, and you have a real-life Beanie Baby!
10. Dragon Costume
| Materials: |
Black felt, wire coat hanger, black Velcro, fusible interfacing, fusible web
|
| Tools: |
Scissors, hot glue gun, pliers, tube cutter, rotary cutter, ruler, iron, press cloth, ironing board
|
| Difficulty: | Difficult |
Although it’s a bit on the large side because it’s intended for a dog, this dragon costume is possible to adjust for ferrets. While the design includes instructions for making a harness to fix the wings, you can utilize your ferret’s harness if you find it easier to change the dimensions for your small pet.
These dragon wings use a wire coat hanger to keep their shape and give them realistic rigidity.
11. Flower Collar
| Materials: | Flower and petal template, colored felt |
| Tools: | Scissors, needle and thread/sewing machine, Velcro, harness |
| Difficulty: | Medium |
This lovely flower design is highly customizable; any two colors can create fantastic combinations. The plan was initially intended for cats or dogs, but you can quickly scale it down and attach it to the collar part of your ferret’s harness. Two printable stencils come with this design to help you shape the petals, but you can design your own for a more rounded appearance. The difficulty for this costume is medium since it recommends using a sewing machine, but it can be completed with a needle and thread.
12. Pikachu Costume
| Materials: | Newspaper, paper for pattern, yellow fabric, brown fabric, Velcro fastener |
| Tools: | Scissors, needle and thread, fabric glue |
| Difficulty: | Medium |
This project is ideal if you want to dress up your ferret like a Pikachu for Halloween. After tracing your ferret’s profile on a piece of newspaper, you’ll transfer the shape to a paper pattern to make matching yellow sides for the body. For the ears, body stripes, and tail, you’ll cut pieces from the brown fabric and glue them to the yellow fabric. After the glue has dried, you’ll attach the Velcro fastener. Your ferret will be the life of the Halloween party as the adorable Pikachu!
Conclusion
DIY costumes are a fun way to express yourself during Halloween, and you can include your ferret in the festivities. You can also make whatever costume you want without being limited to the stock in costume shops, whether it’s for you or your ferret. Style your ferret’s costume after your own, or try one of these DIY plans to give them their own unique style for this year’s Halloween.
- See also: 8 DIY Ferret Playpen & Playground Plans
Featured Image Credit: Alina Locschanina, Shutterstock
