Homemade Leopard Costumes

For your leopard costume, start by gathering up every leopard-print garment and accessory you own. Sweaters, purses, jewelry, socks... everything. See what you have, and check what you need. If you have a leopard-print dress (or pantsuit or top and pants/skirt) already, you're halfway there.

Your dress (pantsuit, etc) will be the base of your costume. Beyond that, you can add tights, gloves, scarves, shoes... Anything leopard-print. You'll also need black or leopard-print kitty ears, and perhaps a tail. A tail can be made by sewing a long strip of fabric into a tube (right-sides-together), then turning inside out so the seam doesn't show. Ears could be storebought (you can buy some on Amazon through the links below), or you could sew some spotted fabric into little ear-shapes and attaching to a plain black headband.

Hair can be worn in any way desired. Nails could be painted black (to look like sharp shiny claws) or, with some meticulous design work, could be painted with tiny leopard spots! Keep reading below for mask and face painting ideas!

(photo by scraps patchwork on scrapspatchwork.com)

Leopards have very distinct, spotty faces, so you'll need a mask, or to paint your face.

You could make or buy a mask. If you make one, try using papier mache (Yeah, like we did in Kindergarten! You know. Newspaper strips and flour-water paste). You could also cut regular paper out in a mask shape, or use fake fur or fabric.

To paint your face, try some professional-grade face paints, not acrylics. Snazaroo is a great brand, and it won't itch or give you a rash for Halloween. When painting your face, reference photos of real leopards, as well as face-painting designs like the one in the photos on this page.