On my first Halloween as a mom, my child was nearly a year old, crawling at turbo speed, and had just started to walk with assistance. I could not wait to choose his costume based on what would be the cutest on a crawling baby and plan my own costume around it.

As I hemmed and hawed about what he should be, and Halloween crept closer, my husband stumbled upon this GIF and we decided our eleven-month-old had to be a skunk.

 I mean, how freaking cute is this?

I looked to get this costume on Amazon but found it was rather pricey. It also seemed bulk and itchy as most store-bought Halloween costumes are. Having some basic crafting skills and tools, I knew I could create a more comfortable and practical version of this costume that would not break the bank.

My first desire with costumes is to use real clothing as the base of the costume so it is much more comfortable for the kids and easier to get in and out of. For this one, I started with a basic black zipper hoodie.

My supplies for this costume included:

• A black zipper hoodie
• A white fur boa
• White felt
• Black felt
• A cut of fuzzy black costume material (but a big enough cut of felt could also be used)
• A hot glue gun
• Plastic bags or stuffing material
• A sewing machine and basic sewing skills

The Fur 

Start by gluing the white feather boa to the hood of the hoodie. You can do one center strip or two strips. I chose one because the hood of a 2T hoodie is not very big. Make sure you get glue on the centerpiece of the boa and not just the feathers or it won’t stay in place well.

Once the boa is in place all the way down the hood, cut it off.

Next, decide on the stripe pattern down the back. I went with two stripes here and glued in place.

The Front 

For the front of the hoodie, cut the white felt into a rounded oval shape that reaches from the bottom of the hoodie to a few inches from the top. Cut the shape in half and glue down to either side of the zipper making sure the zipper still functions and any pockets are accessible.

The Ears 

Skunk ears are super round and tiny. To creat life-like ears that stand up, cute two equal horseshoe or rainbow shapes from your black felt (rounded but with a flat edge on the short side). Cut a similar but slightly smaller shape from your white felt.

Glue the white on top of the black then cut a short slit from the flat edge up into the circle about half way. Pull the cut sides together to create an overlap and make the ears round inward like a petal or a bowl. Glue to secure the shape. Next, glue to the top of the hood on either side of your boa stripe.

The Tail 

For the tail, we want it to be full with a lot of bounce just like the above GIF. Using the fuzzy black fabric or black felt, cut two matching oblong shapes that resembles a full skunk tail. Think about the width of the tail in proportion to the costume wearer. It should be nearly the width of their body.

Sew with right sides together leaving the base open (we will be turning it right side out and stuffing it) and if you do not have a sewing machine, you could even glew it together. The fur we add will hide any ugly bits.

Turn the tail right side out and stuff it with fluff, plastic bags, or fabric scraps to give it fullness. You can use a long skewer or bent wire hanger to push the stuffing into place.

Glue the remaining boa piece around the tail leaving an inch or two at the base. This is where you will attached the tail to the hoodie and you don’t need the extra bulk.

To attached the tail to the hoodie, lay the tail flat up the back and glue the base of the tail to the bottom band of the hoodie. Glue the opening of the tail shut as well. Once dry, the tail will fold over as it hangs creating more movement and bounce.

We intended to use black pants for the rest of the costume but we live in Florida so he went without pants.

To make it a family costume, I dressed as a zoo keeper.

You never get a do over for the first Halloween costume. Make it a good one!

Happy Halloween.