Making a sheep costume

Content

To step
Part 1 of 3: Making the body of the costume
Part 2 of 3: Making the sheep's head
Part 3 of 3: Putting the finishing touches
Tips
Warnings
Necessities

A sheep costume is easy to make and can be adapted for a child or an adult. All you have to do is use different sizes of clothing. To make the costume, get a black or white sweater and cotton balls or polyfill cotton filling. Attach the cotton balls or cotton filling to the clothing with hot glue or craft glue. Decorate the head with ears and tufts of wool using a headband, hat, or the hood of the sweatshirt. Finish the costume with a black nose, socks for the hooves, and black tape around the wrists and ankles.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Making the body of the costume

Take a black or white jogging suit. Choose a sweater and sweatpants in the size of the wearer of the suit. You can go for white for a completely white sheep or a black sweatshirt for a black sheep. Choose a hooded sweater for a version of the costume or a crew neck if you want a separate hat or headband.
- If you think you're going to get too hot in a jogging suit, you might want to get a long-sleeved shirt instead. Sweatpants are probably the best choice for pants unless you want to choose tights, leggings, or some other simple black or white pants.
- If you are using clothes you already own instead of buying new ones specifically for the costume, remember to use glue that is permanent. Once you have made the costume, the clothes are no longer suitable for normal wear.
Choose cotton balls or polyfill. For a small child's costume, you can use cotton balls because you won't cover an oversized suit. If the costume is intended for an adult, you should use some sort of synthetic cotton or polyfill cotton fill because it will adhere faster and cover more space than cotton balls. You can also use polyfill for a child's costume.
- Cotton balls can be purchased at department stores or pharmacies. Cotton fill is also available at department stores, but you may need to go to a craft store.
- With cotton balls you get more texture and a more authentic look, but cotton filling adheres much faster and covers more space. If you are in a hurry, don't use cotton balls.
Wash the clothes. It will not be easy to wash the costume once it is fully assembled, so wash everything now if you want. It's especially good to wash brand new clothes to soak them in a bit and make them more comfortable. There is no need to wash clothes that you have worn many times when they are already clean.
Glue cotton stuffing or cotton balls to the clothes. Use hot glue or fabric glue to attach the cotton to the sweater and pants. Squeeze the cotton wool while gluing it down to make it look like sheep's wool. Place the cotton balls close together so that there are no gaps.
- You don't have to cover the entire surface of the clothing with cotton. You can leave a few inches blank at the end of the sleeves and trouser legs to mimic the way a sheep's wool stops at the hooves.

Part 2 of 3: Making the sheep's head

Cut the ears from black or white felt, depending on your costume. Make them about 6 inches long and 2 inches wide. Use one layer of felt for regular ears, or sew two pieces of felt together for fluffier ears. Both pieces can be the same color, or you can make an inside and an outside of the ear by using a black and a white piece of felt per ear.
- Be creative in making the ears so they look the way you want them to. Put a few cotton balls or a piece of polyfill between the pieces of felt before you sew them together to make them look fuller.
- Use black and white paper or a fabric other than felt if you don't have felt or don't want to buy it. Only use one piece of felt for each ear if you don't want them doubled.
Glue the ears to a plastic headband. Glue the ears to the headband so that they hang down or stick out to the sides. Cut out a circle of white paper and glue a bunch of cotton balls on it. Glue this to the top of the headband to mimic the tufts of wool on top of the sheep's head.
Make the head with a white or black beanie. Take a white or black nightcap and sew or glue the ears to the sides. Take a handful of cotton balls and glue them to the top of the hat. Make sure to use a hat that fits well on your head and has no point at the top or a drooping back.
- If you don't want to attach ears to the hat, put the headband with ears over the beanie.
Use the hood of your sweatshirt as the head. If you bought a hooded sweatshirt, you can attach the ears and head fluff directly to the hood. Sew or glue the ears to the sides of the hood and attach some cotton balls to the top. This option makes it easy to slide the main body back if you start to get too hot in the costume.

Part 3 of 3: Putting the finishing touches

Wear black socks on your feet and hands. One way to make the costume even more realistic is to wear long black socks that look like hooves. When walking around outside, wear black shoes. Take them off when you are in, if you want. You can also wear black gloves or mittens so that you can still use your hands.
Paint the tip of your nose black. Use washable craft paint, black lipstick, or eye pencil, and cover the tip of your nose. Don't paint all the way to the bridge of your nose or all the way under your nostrils. Paint a piece about an inch in diameter at the end of your nose.
- Put six or seven dots of paint on your top lip under your nose like whiskers and add red lipstick to make the look pop.
Wrap black tape around the wrists and ankles. If you chose a white sweatshirt and you don't wear socks or gloves on your hands, use black tape on the wrists and ankles of the clothing to mimic where the wool ends and the hooves begin. Duct tape or sports tape is suitable for this.