Make a Skunk Costume that Really Sprays!
This costume can even “spray” with a simple pulley system that lifts the tail and leaves the air green!
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How am I going to make that!?
My 6-year old son wants to be a skunk for Halloween! Cue the scary haunted house organ music… “dun dun dun dunnnn…” where do I even begin. Thankfully he had great ideas and even a little sketch for us to follow, so we are off and running to bring this skunk costume to life!
Skunk History
The back story is that my son recently switched his favorite animal to the skunk. We’ve been through bearded dragons, dogs, sharks, sloths, dinosaurs, cats, and have landed here in Skunktown, USA. Naturally he wants to dress up as his favorite little stinky creature for Halloween, but figuring out how to “realistically” depict their defense mechanism, his favorite part about them, was a little trickier. Luckily, for me, he had the perfect idea. The “piece de resistance” of this costume is the pulley system that easily and discreetly lifts the tail, exposing a green “spray” in the form of a green flashlight light. I have to admit, it’s pretty genius and absolutely everyone who has unknowingly encountered this adorable little skunk has promptly been “sprayed,” providing loads of laughs. Not to mention the STEM lesson (for both of us) in trying to build said pulley.
Anyway, I have attached the pattern for the skunk tail, in case that helps anyone. I drew it while intently studying my son’s skunk stuffed animal. He wanted it to be EXACTLY like his pet, with the little curve at the end. It felt a bit like an intense drawing class trying to get the curves of a figure just perfectly, with a critical professor breathing down your neck every step of the way, but in the end, he was very happy with this and the size is perfect for 3 – 8 year olds. So take the pattern and avoid the stress! Trust me, I tried, but turns out the internet isn’t teaming with skunk tail tutorials… who knew! hahaha
For the tail we used fur but you could easily use black and white fleece or any other fabric, really. The fur was pretty messy during the cutting process, but doesn’t shed once sewn together. I made the belt with regular quilting cotton and used fusible interfacing to give it a little body and structure. I sewed on Velcro, which is always my go-to way to attach kids costumes. Buttons and toggles look beautiful but just tend to frustrate my guys.
For the sweatshirt and pants, we cut some corners and just bought an inexpensive Gildan black sweatshirt and sweatpants. We cut two long stripes of white fur and a small black one in the center, and sewed them on. You probably won’t need to overthink this part, but we sure did. Turns out there are many different species of skunk and my son wanted a “striped skunk” which believe it or not, is quite different than the hooded and spotted skunks that exist.
Use what you have! Black sweatshirt and pants!
To build the pulley I hand stitched a key chain ring to the middle top part of the tail. We then tied a black cotton rope around the ring and ran it through sewed on belt loop style loops that I sewed into the sweatshirt. The most important one is on the shoulder. We used black fabric to keep them as hidden as possible. The big “reveal” is much more exciting when the kid doesn’t look rigged up like a crane to begin with. We then threaded the rope through the loops and tied a triple knot at the shoulder. We added a little “lever” which is just a piece of wood my son painted black. It gives him a more ergonomic way to pull up the tail. For the flashlight we bought a green “hunter’s” flashlight on amazon. I read through many different ones and this one had the best reviews and was most reliable. Of course my son has planned to bring an extra set of AAA batteries in his pocket on Halloween – “just in case, Mom.” The kid kills me because he’s 6 and by far a better planner than me. No game time costume malfunctions on his watch! To attach the flashlight I…. HAVE TO STILL DO THIS.
And voila! A bona fide green light spraying skunk costume that you can do absolutely sew at home. The best part is the many little steps. Each part is the perfect after-school project size. My son also made black fabric shoe covers because, well realistic is the name of his game, but I don’t think they’re necessary. We finished it all off with some amateur face painting – I love this blue brand face painting kit. By far the best we’ve tried and not impossible to wash off… yes, I’ve tried others and my kids have the faded blackish, grayish, greenish hue of skin that says “I haven’t bathed in weeks.”
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Let me know what you think and reach out if you need any help!
#skunkcostume
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