How to Make a Cow Costume

PDF download Download Article
PDF download Download Article

If you’ve decided to dress up as a cow – for a school play, for an upcoming Halloween party, or for Chick-fil-A’s Cow Appreciation Day – you’re in luck. A cow costume is one of the quickest and most comfortable costumes you can make! All you need is a white base outfit and some black felt for spots. Accessorize your look with a rope tail, glove udders, and ears or horns and you’ll be ready to join your herd in no time!

Part 1
Part 1 of 2:

Attaching Spots to a White Base Outfit

PDF download Download Article
  1. You’ll want to pick a solid white top and bottoms as the base for your cow costume. For the top, a loose-fitting white t-shirt will be lightweight and comfortable. Or, you can dress warmer in a white sweatshirt. Find some white sweatpants to complete your base outfit.
    • Feel free to use a white dress or skirt if you prefer. [1]
    • If your white base garments have visible logos, don’t worry! Plan to cut out spots large enough to cover these up. [2]
  2. Watermark wikiHow to Make a Cow Costume
    You’ll need a few letter-size felt sheets from a nearby craft store. [3] Using a white or yellow wax marking pencil, draw large- to medium-sized organic blob-shapes onto the felt.
    • Felt works best because it is easy to attach to clothing and it won’t unravel when you cut it, but you can use scrap fabric or fake fur if you prefer.
    • Look at pictures of Holstein cows for reference on spot shape and scale.
    • Feel free to give your cow brown spots instead. Or, if you’re creating a fantasy cow, go wild with color! For example, you could add purple spots to a light blue background. It works best when the spots are much lighter or much darker than the background.
    Advertisement
  3. Watermark wikiHow to Make a Cow Costume
    You can use paper, craft, or fabric scissors to cut out the felt pieces along the lines you marked. Cut just inside the marked line so that your markings won’t show up on the finished spots.
    • The more care you take in smoothly cutting around the curves, the cleaner the shapes will look on your finished costume.
  4. Watermark wikiHow to Make a Cow Costume
    Working in a well-ventilated area, use a spray adhesive that bonds with fabric. Hold the spray can a few inches away from the felt and spray until the felt has a light coating of adhesive covering the middle and edges.
    • If your marked cut lines are still visible, spray the adhesive onto that side so that they won’t show up on your finished costume.
    • If you’d rather remove the spots from your clothes later, safety pin the spots around the edges instead of using spray adhesive. [4]
    • If you have hand-sewing skills and a little more time, you can pin the spots in place on the garments and then whipstitch them with black thread instead. [5]
  5. Working on one garment at a time, smooth out the area of the garment where you plan to add one of the spots. Place the adhesive side of the spot down onto the garment, and press around the center and edges to make sure it’s completely attached. Let it dry for a few moments before repositioning the garment.
    • Refer to the directions on your spray adhesive for the necessary drying time.
    • To avoid getting your cow costume confused with a dalmatian costume, don’t add too many small spots or place the spots too close together. [6]
    6. Advertisement
Part 2
Part 2 of 2:

Making the Tail, Udder, and Horns

PDF download Download Article
  1. Watermark wikiHow to Make a Cow Costume
    Measure your rope so it’s about same length as your elbow to fingertips. Tie a double knot at the top, and fray the bottom end to make it look like the tail has hair. Tie the knotted end to the center of a piece of white string that’s long enough to wrap around your waist.
    • You can use the tail from a black cat costume if you have one. [7]
  2. Watermark wikiHow to Make a Cow Costume
    Pink nitrile gloves – similar to the ones worn by dentists – work best for this. Hold the end of the glove so that only a small opening is left and blow it up like a balloon. Tightly tie the end closed. This will be your cow’s udder.
  3. Get into your spotty cow clothing first. Then, tie the rope tail around your waist using the white string. Tie a small but secure knot at the center of your stomach and tuck in the loose ends.
  4. Watermark wikiHow to Make a Cow Costume
    Hold the glove udder in place in the center of your stomach, with the fingers sticking outward. Then, wrap the white string around your waist and the udder. Secure the string with a knot.
    • If you don’t have someone to assist you, tie the knot in the front and then twist it to the back.
  5. Watermark wikiHow to Make a Cow Costume
    With the same black felt you used to make the spots, cut out a teardrop-shaped piece slightly larger than the size of your palm for each ear. If you have a pair of devil horns or Viking horns from a previous costume, feel free to repurpose these and paint them black for your cow.
  6. Watermark wikiHow to Make a Cow Costume
    If you’re using felt ears, attach them to a stretchy elastic headband with safety pins or stitch them on with black thread. If you’re using plastic horns, hot-glue them to a sturdy plastic headband. This accessory will top off your cow costume.
  7. Cows are known for their lovely long eyelashes, so feel free to dress up with fake eyelashes. [8] If you want to add some jingle and pizzazz to your costume, make a cowbell necklace using some rope and a golden bell, which can be found at a craft or costume store.
    8. Advertisement

Community Q&A

Search
Add New Question
  • Question
    Why would someone want to do this?
    Community Answer
    There are tons of reasons: Halloween, theatre productions, videos, free chicken sandwich day at Chick-fil-a, etc.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 6 Helpful 18
  • Question
    If my pants are black or grey, should I simply cut out and affix white shapes?
    Community Answer
    While you could attach white "negative space" to dark pants, it may be easier and simpler to purchase white pants and then add black or brown spots.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 5 Helpful 8
  • Question
    Can I put milk in it?
    Community Answer
    No. Instead, you can carry an empty milk carton as part of your costume.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 6 Helpful 11
See more answers
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Tips

      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

      Things You'll Need

      • White or yellow wax pencil
      • Scissors
      • Black felt
      • Spray adhesive
      • White sweatpants
      • White t-shirt or sweatshirt
      • White rope
      • White string
      • Pink nitrile glove
      • Headband
      • Safety pins (optional)
      • Plastic horns and hot glue (optional)
      • Cow bell (optional)
      • Fake eyelashes (optional)

      You Might Also Like

      The Best Way to Carve a Pumpkin for Halloween
      How to
      Make a Sheep Costume
      How to
      Make Reindeer Antlers
      How to
      Make a Tail
      How to
      Make a Mouse Costume
      How to
      Make a Bee Costume
      How to
      Look Like a Cat
      How to
      Make a Lion Costume
      How to
      Make a Chicken Costume
      How to
      Make a Monkey Costume
      How to
      Make Cat Ears
      How to
      Make a Duck Costume
      How to
      Draw Whiskers on Your Face
      How to
      Make Mickey Mouse Ears
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ https://youtu.be/03S_T-_PCnE?t=16
      2. ↑ https://youtu.be/K-FI3GnAXj0?t=15
      3. ↑ https://youtu.be/03S_T-_PCnE?t=35
      4. ↑ https://youtu.be/03S_T-_PCnE?t=67
      5. ↑ https://www.shinyhappyworld.com/2016/10/everything-need-know-working-felt.html
      6. ↑ https://youtu.be/03S_T-_PCnE?t=250
      7. ↑ https://youtu.be/03S_T-_PCnE?t=91
      8. ↑ https://youtu.be/03S_T-_PCnE?t=80

      About This Article

      In other languages
      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 262,481 times.

      Did this article help you?

      Advertisement