Last Minute Costume – Easy Poodle Skirt

Want to learn how to make a poodle skirt? This DIY poodle skirt is so quick, easy, and super cute.
DIY Poodle Skirt Easy Poodle Skirt Tutorial
Wendy from Gurgle Turtle sent me this picture of her super cute DIY poodle skirt that she made her girls and I just HAD to beg her to share her tute with y’all.  It’s crazy simple but with such polished results, you can totally whip one up before the friday school halloween parade!  Take it away Wendy from Gurgle Turtle

So I wanted to make my little girls a DIY poodle skirt without spending hours dealing with patterns or elastic waistbands. The girls would only be wearing these for a couple of hours, so why spend too much time making them? That’s when I decided to make the poodle skirts in a wrap style. Super easy, super fast, and totally cute!

Get the full Easy Peasy DIY Poodle Skirt Tutorial below…


Easy Peasy DIY Poodle Skirt Tutorial

Ok here we go:
First, measure your little girl’s waist. Add 2 to 3 inches because it’s going to “wrap” or overlap. Then measure the length you want the skirt to be. Add a 1/4 inch for the hem you are going to sew.

(*note* -if you are using felt, and want to make this even easier, don’t sew a thing! Felt won’t unravel or fray! It would look nicer with finished edges, but if that’s not important, skip it!)

Next, using a big piece of paper or newsprint, draw a circle the size of your little girl’s waist measurement. In my case, it was 22 inches (20 inch waist plus two inches of overlap). Then you are going to use your length measurement and make a bigger circle around your first one:

Ok, so take these measurements and figure out how much felt you need. In my case, I needed a square of felt 35 inches by 35 inches to make one. (I made three skirts, so I purchased more)

You’ll also need some felt for a poodle, some ribbon for a leash, a rhinestone for an eye, and thread to sew. (I used Tacky Glue to put the finishing touches on, so this could still be a no-sew project if you’d prefer!)

I could not draw my own poodle outline for some reason, so I found an outline here: Poodle Shape

Alright, lay your felt out and start cutting your circle. Cut it open in one spot. It’s gonna wrap!

Cut out your poodle applique.

If you are not sewing, this is what an unfinished edge looks like.

If this is what you’d prefer, then skip down the page a bit. If you are going to sew, then Sew all of your edges:

I used these convenient little sticky back Velcros to close the wrap. These can make you life so easy!

Now it’s time to glue the poodles! Figure out where you’d like to place them.

Get out the Tacky Glue and go to town!

I left the pins in place while the glue dried. Don’t forget to glue a sparkly little eye on the dog!

There you have it!

After it is all dry, have her try it on. Watch her twirl and admire your work.
You just made a 1950’s DIY Poodle Skirt in under 30 minutes!

Thanks Wendy! This is so cute. Don’t her girlies look adorable? Thanks for teaching us How to Make a Poodle Skirt!

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41 Comments

Elizabeth

When I was younger my mom made my sisters and I poodle skirts very similar to these! I remember feeling so awesome in that big twirly skirt. Definitely my favorite Halloween costume growing up. This tutorial is great and brings back lovely memories for me! I will be filing it away for next year. My one year old daughter already has plans to be a black cat. 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Wendy!

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Shelley Keefner

This is great, I made this for my 6 year old for their 50’s celebration at school. For the applique I used my Embellisher Machine. This machine if you do not know what it is, it fuses any kind of materials together. No need for stitching or glue and it is much faster. No thread involved either. Special needles that fuse together fabrics as it goes through them.

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Sunni

I wonder how easy this would be to do for an adult. I made my daughters' costumes, but I haven't decided whether I will dress up. But like you always say "When given the opportunity, wear a costume." And you know I live by what you post on here!!

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SandyQuilts

Love using felt … doesn't ravel so need to hem. I've made plenty poodle skirts in my days. Oh gosh one year I had to make a "coke" bottle instead of a poodle. What fun that was.

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babalisme

I love poodles!! Oh my, they are just almost too cute for words. And the felt poodle, if resized, can make a great ponytail holder or a hairclip!

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ti_jean_54

Great skirt.I will have to make one for my Smallest grand-daughter.And then make her big sister one so they can play dress-up.1 1/2 yr old just loves to even sleep in big sis's s t-shirts.
She will love having same as Sister.

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Sher' Cares

Love the skirt, I am making one for my daughter and myself for a Sock Hop Valentine's Day dance at school. I noticed you did something to finish your poodle applique. What did you do to make it look slightly puffed and crimp the edges?

Thanks,
Trying to be a crafty mom, but have along way to go.

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Aubrey

It would be a great help if you would provide instructions for making the circle on the pattern. It’s not as simple as it looks and by going off the waist measurements didn’t work for me.

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Nikki

i am wanting to make one with an elastic waistband…i can’t find a pattern for that…i am not a very technical seamtress..so i guess i should have went velcro…

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samantha

this is awesome…you could also just use the bumpy side of the Velcro to make it more adjustable as the girls get older because it will hold to the felt on it’s own.

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Shannon

After you get the waist measured and add 2 inches, how do you make the circle in the middle of the felt the right size?

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Amanda

I’m thinking that this is going to be our family halloween costume! Seems super easy to make in a hurry, and since I’m a mommy of 2 babies and on a budget, can’t think of a better idea! Thank you so much!

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at home workout

Many thanks a good deal intended for expressing the following with all of persons you know very well what you are speaking about! Saved as a favorite. You need to also check with my site Is equal to). We could use a web page link alternate design in between us

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Destineez Angel G.

Great tutorial! Very helpful, especially with the pictures to help. I do wonder however, if your girls wore any sort of flared slip (the undergarment to help the skirt flare out……it’s late & I am drawing a blank on the correct name of this piece) under the skirt you made them? If so, where did you purchase those in a kids size? Thankyou for posting this again Wendy. Definitely the best tutorial I’ve seen out of the dozens out there to choose from!

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Valerie Parris

Made one last night for my daughter when she came home begging for a puddle skirt for 50s day..the next day. I’d love to send you a pic!

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