What could be cuter than a little ladybug at Halloween? A little ladybug costume that you made yourself!
What You’ll Need:
This DIY costume takes 1-2 hours to make, depending on how you do it. You’ll need the following:
- Black pants
- A red long-sleeved shirt or onesie
- Black felt, fabric, or duct tape, plus scissors and a pencil or pen
- Black thread and a needle (not needed if you use adhesive felt or duct tape)
- A small glass or cup or a compass, plus a piece of cardboard to make a circle pattern, are also helpful
How to make your Cute Little Ladybug Costume
- The most time-consuming part of this costume is first tracing, and then cutting out, all the circles. Depending on the size of your ladybug, you’ll probably want around 18-24 black spots altogether.
- Once you’ve got all your circles cut, just baste them onto the shirt loosely with large black stitches, so they’ll be easy to remove later. I made felt circles when I dressed nine-month-old Kimmie in this costume, and then reused the spots with a larger shirt a few years later for eighteen-month-old Essie.
If you want to save time and don’t care about reusing the spots, you can also buy black felt with adhesive already on the back, or pre-cut black felt circles. (For reference, the ones I made for our costumes were closer to 2 inches across).
Final notes:
- If you’re a stickler for details, you’ll want to sew them on in a symmetrical pattern, since this is how ladybugs look in nature, as my scientifically-minded husband pointed out to me AFTER I’d sewn them all over Kimmie’s red onesie. (I did an internet search for images of ladybugs, and sure enough, they all had symmetrical spots; who knew? You learn something new every day.) When I redid the costume a couple of years later, I made sure to put the spots on Essie’s shirt in a Daddy- and nature-approved pattern.
- A red or black hat is optional; if you use one, you can pin a black pipe-cleaner on top (or poke it through the holes, if your hat is crocheted or knitted) to serve as antennae.
- Or, if your kiddo will stand for it, you could put antennae on a headband(my girls always preferred hats to headbands).
- This costume is very easy to make for adults, too, so you can match your little one for trick-or-treating, if you like.
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Cute outfits! I think this is just perfect for my niece. She will be happy to wear this.
What a cute costume! I can’t believe how adorable this turned out. I am so inspired to make one for my baby now!
This is too cute!!! Babies and Halloween are my favorite. This little lady bug is a great option.
Oh gosh my sister would love this. They had lady bugs at her wedding and they are still all around her house as decor! I bet she would totalyl dress up her kids.
I’m a fan of wearing, and I like different types of clothings. I loved all the items here presented. They looked very pretty to me. Thanks for sharing this awesome post.
This is sooo cute omg!!! I am so gonna suggest it to my niece, so cute…
Glad you liked it! 🙂
This costume is adorable for a little girl. I like how you find out what the kids would like to dress up for Halloween.
Yup – I confess, if I don’t have it nailed down by August, then I start to worry…
Another adorable costume that’s so easy to make! I didn’t realize the spots were symmetrical either.
See?!? Who would think?!? I remember the ladies at the (women’s only) gym I went to at the time thinking that DH was such a killjoy for pointing out that the spots weren’t symmetrical (but were supposed to be) LOL!
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This is totally lovable, the little one seems to be quite comfortable too.
*thanks* – yes, she was totally at ease to crawl around and everything!
Absolutely adorable! Maybe someday I will have a little girl to be a little ladybug! Though, my boys sure do love The Grouchy Ladybug book!
Aww, thanks so much, Becca – so glad you liked it! (Maybe your sons could be grouchy ladybugs? – they might get a kick out of that!)
This is such a clever costume! Looks easy to make and very cute!
Thanks so much, Diana – it really IS quite easy! 🙂
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This is so adorable! It is such a simple idea and proves that costumes can still be made instead of bought in today’s busy world.
*Thanks*, Nicole – glad you liked it! Most of the costumes I’ve DIY’d are about as simple as this one – one of the reasons I hound my kids about costumes starting in August is so I’ve got enough time to figure out how to MAKE it simple! 🙂
Halloween is my daughter’s favorite holiday! This is a cute idea, my daughter was a lady bug when she was 2.
Thanks, April – so glad you like it! There’s something so cute about infant/toddler ladybugs, isn’t there? 🙂
I love this cute little ladybug costume DIY! And what a great idea to make an adult one, too for a little costume twinning! 🙂
*Thanks* – glad you liked it! The year I wore this with Essie, I also made an adult bumblebee costume (see separate post for that one) for my mother to wear so she could match Kimmie’s bumblebee. I love it when twin costumes are so easy AND affordable! 🙂
That is absolutely adorable. We made one similar using footie Pajamas years ago!!
Ooh – that’s a good idea, too! One of the reasons I start pestering my kids about costume ideas in August is so that I can shop for relevant clothing items (here, red shirt and black pants – usually black pants/shirt, but sometimes also white shirt) at our children’s consignment events in Sept.-Oct. That definitely helps to keep the cost down!
That’s adorable and I Iove how simple it is to make!!
ME TOO! Except for my misadventures making a “simple ghost costume” (which you can read about in another post), ALL my DIY costumes have been easy-peasy. (Do check out the others, too, if you liked this one! 🙂 )
What a cute and creative idea! My little one loves ladies bugs, but is such a stinker with anything on her head 🙂 I love DIY costumes.
Thanks! FWIW, it was all we could do with the head part by the time Essie wore this costume, because as a toddler, her head was too big for the original (red) hat I made for (infant) Kimmie to wear with this outfit. It was only last minute I found this black hat I’d crocheted for a different costume, so yeah, the hat part could well be optional 🙂
This looks like such a sweet and easy diy costume! Your little lady bug is perfect. I also love that you’re thinking of Halloween already- it’s my fave!
My rule around here is, I start pestering them August 1 on what they want to be, and by Sept 1, I am asking them daily. Once I get the same answer 3 days in a row, I start plotting how we can make the costume and/or otherwise acquire it on the cheap! Do check out the rest of my DIY costume series too, if you liked this one! 🙂