A self-made cat costume is always popular not only at children's New Year's parties, but also at costume parties and masquerades for adults. Making such a carnival costume does not require much time, the availability of expensive materials and specific cutting and sewing skills.
How to make the basic details of a cat costume
In order to make a spectacular cat costume, first of all, you need to take care of the manufacture of its main elements: ears and tail. For ear details, either small pieces of fur or felt patches are suitable. A regular hair band can serve as a frame. If necessary, such a rim can be made with your own hands from thick cardboard, sheathed with fabric in the color of the dress and fixed to the hair with invisible hairpins.
The pattern of ears for a carnival costume is built on the basis of an isosceles triangle, giving the sides a slightly convex shape. 4 parts are cut out of fabric or fur of the desired color according to the drawn pattern, the blanks are sewn in pairs, leaving the bottom seam uncovered. Through the hole, both parts are stuffed with padding polyester scraps, cotton wool or foam rubber, fix the ears on the rim and carefully sew up the bottom hole.
Of course, no DIY cat costume is complete without a graceful, fluffy tail! To make this part look as realistic as possible, it is recommended to cut it out not in a cylindrical shape, but in the form of a truncated cone.
To make the tail bend beautifully, you can insert a wire frame inside the workpiece and weight the tip of the part with a small weight. To add volume to the tail of the New Year's costume, the cats are tightly stuffed with padding polyester or small patchwork scraps. The fur piece is carefully brushed and lightly sprayed with hairspray.
How to make the rest of the cat costume
For the top and bottom of the New Year's costume, a turtleneck, corset or top that matches the color can be used, complemented by a short fluffy skirt, overalls, leggings. If you have tulle at hand, you can easily make a spectacular tutu skirt from this fabric. To do this, the fabric is cut into strips, the length of which is equal to twice the length of the future skirt and a width of about 20 cm.
A wide, soft elastic band, equal to the waist, taking into account a small allowance for fasteners, is tied on the back of a chair, after which the skirt is “assembled”. Each stripe is tied with an elastic band with a secure double knot, giving the skirt maximum fluffiness. After finishing work, hooks or Velcro are sewn onto the edges of the elastic.
The finished cat costume is complemented with gloves, soft boots or any other suitable footwear decorated with fur or shiny tinsel.
Makeup and hairstyle
To make the cat's costume as believable as possible, you can use the finishing touches: makeup and hair. Both loose, wavy and smoothly combed hair will look appropriate. Owners of long hair can make a hairstyle out of them in the form of cat ears.
For simple makeup, you need a black soft pencil, with the help of which long thick arrows are drawn on the eyelids, giving the eyes an elongated shape. Then, using face paint or liquid eyeliner, they highlight the tip of the nose, depict a thin mustache and outline the contour of the upper lip. To complete the detailing of the cat's costume, you can use black nail polish, depicting sharp claws with strokes.
