American Girl Costume

When we saw an idea for a homemade American Girl costume, we knew it would be perfect for Lila’s Halloween costume this year.  She loves all things American Girl and this costume was the perfect fit!  We made a few alterations to the one that we saw and Lila was ready for Halloween!

I used a large box from Home Depot {I liked the original idea of using a box designed for shipping golf clubs but I wanted to be sure Lila could walk without difficulty and the golf box was just too long for her small stature}.

I made little duct tape handles inside the box that Lila can hold onto to steady the box but we realized her sister will have to carry her candy bucket on Halloween.  Oops.  Next time we would cut arm holes and it’s definitely an adjustment I’d recommend if you’re making this homemade costume {wink}.

Use a craft knife to cut the circle for the face, paint around it with white paint then add the other details.

I spray-painted the box with Rust-Oleum Colonial Red {not the exact color of the American Girl box but it was the closest I could find}, added a white duct tape border, red and white vinyl stars, and white vinyl lettering on the front of the box .  I used my cutting machine to make the vinyl embellishments, finding a font that reminded me of the font used on American Girl boxes.  We copied the details of an American Girl doll box as closely as we could.

If you don’t have a cutting machine, use a paint pen and a stencil to create the front of the box.

Lila was so happy with her costume and it won second place in her age category in our neighborhood costume contest.

 
This American Girl costume is really simple to make and perfect even for a last minute idea.

For other homemade halloween costume ideas, be sure to check out this simple last minute Jessie costume for your little Toy Story fan …

… a paint brush costume made with dollar store items …

… and a paper doll costume made with foam board.