How to Make a Taco Tuesday Dog Costume

this idea

Last year I made a sushi costume for my dog Charlie, and this year I thought I’d stick with the same food theme… so he’ll be going to our local Halloween “Yappy Hour” as Taco Tuesday! Click through to check out the tutorial.      

Materials

• Felt in red, green, yellow and cream
• Hot glue gun and extra glue
• 12×12 inch piece of burlap (or a few inches larger for a big dog)
• 1 inch piece of velcro
• Marker that matches your dog’s fur color
• Black Sharpie
• Cardboard
• Gold and yellow acrylic craft paint
• Foam brush
• Scissors
• 2 feet of white elastic, 3/8 inch wide

Step

Begin by cutting two half circles out of cardboard. These will be the taco shells. Measure from your dog’s front legs to his or her hind legs and use this measurement as the length of your semicircle. 

Step

Use a foam brush to paint both taco shells. Use yellow and gold together without mixing them to get this textured look. Let them dry and do the back sides also.

Step

Next, cut out your “toppings” from felt. Cheese, tomatoes and lettuce are my favorites!

Step

Glue them down randomly using a hot glue gun, overlapping different colors. Leave the sides empty as shown above… this is where you will eventually attach the toppings piece to the taco shells.

Step

Next, cut a piece of yellow felt in half and glue the two pieces together end to end so you have a long strip that’s 24×4 inches. Then glue the edges together lengthwise as shown above to create a long tube that the collar will slip into. 

Step

Trim it so that it is just a touch shorter than your dog’s collar. Flatten it out and write “Taco Tuesday” on the area without a seam using a black Sharpie.

Step

Flip the collar cover over and glue two 6 inch pieces of elastic to the back – one almost at the end, and one about halfway over. Use a marker to color the elastic the same color as your dog so it blends in with his or her fur.

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Next, glue one end of the toppings piece to the inside of one taco shell as shown here, about 3 inches from the top. Repeat this process with the other side of the toppings piece and the other shell.

Step

Try it on your dog at this point and measure how far the collar should be from the taco shells and then glue the elastic pieces at that point. Add one more piece of elastic about 1/3 of the way down the bottom edge of one shell and glue the soft side of the velcro to the other shell as shown above. Measure on your dog one more time, and then glue the corresponding piece of velcro onto the elastic at that measurement.

Clip the collar around your pooch’s neck, attach the velcro underneath and you’re ready for Halloween! 

It’s really pretty adorable, and he got used to it once he had it on for a few minutes. Plus, your friends will get a kick out of it. Happy Halloween!