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Halloween Pet CostumesFunny? Scary? Just plain adorable? What "look" does YOUR little cutie want this Halloween?
Southern California doesn't forget our 4-footed friends at Halloween time! Pet activities...such as the costume parade & contest for dogs in Long Beach...are popular and well-attended. If you plan to participate, your pet will need a costume in order to join in on the fun!
(Note: If you don't want Rover to be "all dressed up with no place to go," you can find cute SoCal Halloween activities for pets---well, mostly dogs!---on the
Halloween Pet Events page of the www.AlleyCatScratch.com website.
Think ahead! Before you start to plan which Halloween costume you'll choose for your pet, there is one important thing you should keep in mind...and that's this: Many SoCal malls now have Santa & Me pet photo nights during the month of December, and more malls are adding themselves to this list every year. You and your pet will want to take photos with Santa at the mall this year, right? So, before you begin your costume planning, think ahead to what you'll want your pet to wear for the Santa photo. Will you want one costume to serve for these 2 events? Or, will you use two separate outfits? Because, if you only have time to sew one pet costume (or the money to buy one outfit) then something sort of "multi purpose" (fireman suit, bumble bee costumes, for example) would fit the 2 different seasons better than a costume that definitely "says" Halloween (like a skeleton or witch pet costume.) Of course, during December, a warm & snuggly pet sweater makes a good choice for Santa photos, too. Decisions, decisions! Halloween Pet Costumes: Buy or sew?
If sewing isn't one of those skills on your long list of talents, then this question is already decided for you!If you DO love to sew, you'll have the advantage of being able to create a one-of-a-kind Halloween costume for your pet. You can pick a durable fabric which will stand up to every cute little antic your dog or cat wants to put it through...jumping all over you, rolling in the wet grass in the back yard, trying to dig under the fence, etc. What a strain pets can put on an inexpensive Halloween costume in just one night! Even human toddlers...well known for being active busy-bodies...are not going to put a costume to test on Halloween night like a frisky, inquisitive 4-footed friend can! (Note: if you BUY the costume, remember to keep your pet's active nature in mind when you make your selection. You want your little fellow to have FUN...not feel restricted or get yelled at for messing up his costume.) On the other hand, the "down side" of sewing a Halloween pet costume is this: despite the wildly growing popularity of animal costumes, the sewing pattern companies are very slow to "catch on" to this craze. The selection of sewing patterns for cat and dog costumes is pretty slim! And, even after sewing your cat or dog's costume, you may still have to purchase any accessories that you'd like to go with it. We'll spend the next couple of paragraphs talking about what's available for you to sew for your pet this Halloween. COSTUME SEARCH BOX: If you've definitely decided NOT to sew your pet's Halloween costume, you may use the following search box to get ideas about what's available for sale. This search box is from BuyCostumes.com, one of the internet's largest costume companies. Some of the costumes you find for sale here may be available at your local costume, pet supply or discount stores. And, if not, at least you'll know where you can come back to find one you like. Simplicity Pet Halloween Costumes
1.) Dog Pirate Costume, a doggie dragon suit, a Mexican serape for pets, and dog Superhero costume patterns all come in one handy little package when you choose the Simplicity 3667 Halloween pet costume pattern. Would your dog like to look like Captain Jack Sparrow? No problem! Simplicity #3667's doggie pirate costume can be customized to give your dog an outfit with the exact colors and fabrics that look best with his or her coloring. The one-piece pirate suit is made with a black body and white sleeves when sewn to match the envelope's picture, and a scarf pattern (which the envelope suggests to be made in contrasting red & white stripes) comes included. All you need to buy, if you'd like, is a Pirate Hat, like the one modeled by Reina the Dog (in the photo to your right.)The dog dinosaur costume is another one-piece suit...but this pattern has an attatched hood and 4 sleeves (instead of 2.) This versatile pattern could actually be done up in several different ways. You could turn it into a dog clown costume by using a fabric featuring bright polka dots or stripes and adding a clown hat. Or, you could make sleepy-time dog pajamas by sewing the suit in flannel. This pattern could even be made into a pet Santa Suit by using red velvet fabric and adding a furry white trim. Let your imagination run wild with this one! 
The pet superhero costume has been turned into a dog Superman outfit when made as the pattern package suggests. On the other hand, with differently colored fabric and decals, any caped super hero could be made from Simplicity #3667, including a dog Batman costume. The cape is NOT detachable, meaning that your dog can't lose it...even if he should run around in circles and climb under the fence.2.) Dog king and queen (or princess) costumes, a pet Jack o Lantern/pumpkin costume, a doggie Santa Suit, a dog witch costume and doggie "hot dog in a bun" patterns all come in the package for Simplicity's #3952 sewing pattern. In some ways, this Halloween pet costume is not quite as versatile as Simplicity #3667 (which had both 2 and 4 sleeve views; whereas Simplicity #3952 features only 2-sleeve styles.) On the other hand, you'll get directions for some really CUTE costumes. Plus, hat patterns come included with this pattern. An advantage of Simplicity #3952 is that you can really "get deluxe" with this pet costume pattern. The assembly of the costume calls for sewing some intricate details. You'll need to know how to make gathers for some views of this costume, and the patterns include more pieces. This pattern, while not requiring you to have the skills of a professional seamstress, is definitely not as simple to make as pattern #3667. 4.) Doggie & Me matching Christmas clothing: Are you looking for the perfect thing to wear for your pet photos with Santa Claus? How about making matching outfits for you & your pup to wear to the event? You'll see adorable matching Santa, Elf and Snowflake-themed outfits you can whip up for yourself & Fido on the cover of Simplicity Christmas pet costume pattern #3973. 5.) Dog clothing and accessories: Some people reach this page hoping to find info about sewing patterns for dog shirts, dresses, beds and carriers rather than costumes. If you're not interested in costume patterns, you may use the following link to view the Simplicity pattern company's dog & cat clothing & accessories page. Butterick Halloween Pet Costume PatternsButterick pattern #B5117: Beginners, take heart---you CAN sew your pet's Halloween costume! Butterick's simple costume pattern for pets makes it easy for you to turn out good results with minimum sewing skills! You can make either a cat or dog devil's costume or a pet witch costume by using this Butterick sewing pattern. And, if you're more inclined to choose a simple "hat and collar" costume for your pet, Butterick #B5117 gives you several different decorative cat/dog collars from which to choose.You may use the following link to view Butterick' pet costume pattern, B5117. McCalls Dog Costume Sewing PatternsMcCalls Costume Pattern #M5502 includes several different styles from which you may choose. Like the Butterick pet costume sewing pattern, this McCall's costume makes a great project for beginners. You'll be able to choose from a dog's Superman cape, doggie angel wings, a simple princess outfit (with Damsel cap) for pets, and doggie butterfly wings.If you'll follow the upcoming link, you'll be able to take a peek at this McCall's
easy pet costume sewing pattern on the McCall's website.
Where to buy Halloween Costumes for Pets
Halloween costumes for pets are more popular than ever before! Therefore, you can find them in more stores and on more websites than ever before! Note: in addition to pet stores, you'll be able to find Halloween pet costumes seasonally at Walmart and Target stores.1.) Petsmart pet costumes: The Halloween costumes on this page (modeled by our little Reina) all come from a PetSmart store. The good: PetSmart does have some cute pet Halloween costumes and accessories, as well as Halloween-themed pet toys. The bad: The variety of PetSmart's Halloween costumes for dogs isn't as large as it could be. PetSmart sells the doggie devil suit that you see Reina the Dog wearing in the photo to your left. At our local store, we also found a "firetruck" costume (no, not "fire fighter;" fire TRUCK) plus pig costumes, doggie lion costumes, a strawberry costume for pets, a witch costume, a skeleton costume for dogs and a few others. Sadly, some of the PetSmart website's cutest pet costumes were missing from out local store...like the Darth Vader dog costume and Princess Leia dresses for pets (from Star Wars;) the Batman and Superman costume for dogs; and the black spider dog costume. PetCo carries some of the officially licensed Disney costumes for dogs, such as Peter Pan pet costumes, Snow White, Mr. Incredible, Tinker Bell and Minnie Mouse. There's a good selection of "traditional" Halloween costumes that PetCo carries in versions for pets...such as dog skeleton costumes, witch costumes, pumpkin costumes, and pirate costumes. You'll find other really "fun" and unusual pet costumes here, too...like the doggie constructions worker costume, the fireman and policeman costumes for pets, a unique "headless horseman" costume, and others. Your pet can even dress up as another animal...such as a zebra, elephant, giraffe or peacock! Here's a link to the
PetCo official website's Halloween section
so you may look over the Halloween costumes and pet toys before heading to the store. Halloween Pet Costume picturesPerhaps you'd like to see photos of other people's pets modeling THEIR Halloween costumes! If so, you may view Halloween pet pictures in the Google widget to your left. These photos were taken my members of the Flickr photo sharing community...just ordinary people like you & I who want to share their snapshots with the world! As new members add their pets' pictures to the Flicker photo base, this slide show will rotate some of the new photos IN and some of the older photos OUT of this widget's slide show. So, you may return another time to see all new pet costume pics! (How often the photos rotate depends upon how fast members add pictures at Flickr.) Enjoy!
Halloween Pet Costumes on EBayStill another fun place to find pet costumes is on the EBay internet auction website. You'll find pet costumes and clothing up on the bidding block all year long!Below, you'll find a widget which shows you the latest dog costume auctions which are going on RIGHT NOW on EBay. As one auction ends, the widget updates itself with a new one...so that any time you return to this page, you'll get all new pet costume ideas from the EBay pictures that you can see! (This widget is set for "Halloween dog costumes." If you're looking for something else...for example, dog clothing or pajamas, cat costumes, etc, you can simply use the search box on the widget to pull up different EBay auction categories.) Backwards Links: HOME :: Latest News :: Select a different Halloween page: Halloween Section: Family Halloween Fun, overview :: Costumes: Jack Sparrow, pt 1 :: Captain Jack, pt 2 :: Animal Costumes :: Boys Superheroes :: Clowns :: Disney Princesses :: Pet Costumes :: Pirates/kids :: Witch and Vampire costumes :: Stores: Disney Stores :: Halloween BuildABears :: Party America :: Party City/Los Angeles :: Party City/other So Cal :: Spirit Halloween :: Year-round costume stores :: Activities--Disney: Disneyland Halloween Events :: Woodys Roundup pics :: Haunted Mansion pics :: Haunted Mansion, pt 2 :: Disney Pumpkins :: Disney Candy Corn :: Mickeys Halloween Parade :: Dance w/Disney Characters :: Halloween Disney Characters :: Knotts-- Knott's Halloween Events:: Scary Farm Pics:: Halloween Haunt Pics, pt 2:: Six Flags-- 6 Flags Fright pics :: Magic Mtn pics, pt 2 ::
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