How to Make a Bird Costume

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: June 2, 2021 References

You don't have to spend a lot of money to get the perfect costume. Bird costumes, in particular, can be pretty easy to make if you have a bit of time and patience. Some costumes are more complex than others, though, so make sure you know what you're getting into before you start.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Designing a Bluebird Dress

1
Gather your materials. Before you start creating your costumes, you will want to gather all of your materials. Gather:
- A skirt, petticoat, or tutu that fits you. Start with a solid cother like white or blue.
- Blue feathers or boas
- Hot glue gun
- Leggings and a tank top
- Craft mask or a homemade mask
2
Start with a petticoat, skirt, or tutu. You will want to start with a solid color that will emphasize the blue of the feathers. You will want to pick the colors of a bluebird, such as blue or white. Avoid garish colors (green, orange, red).

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3
Attach the feather boas to the bottom of the skirt. Use a hot glue gun to attach the boa, starting from bottom hem and working toward the waistband.
- Apply a line of glue all the way around the bottom edge of the skirt and press the feather boa into the glue until the entire bottom edge is covered.
- Continue to wrap the boa upward in a loose spiral to create a feathered look.
- Note that if the petticoat or tutu has a fringe at the bottom, you should glue the feather boa above this fringe. Do not overlap the fringe with the boa.
- If you want a more elaborately feathered skirt, repeat this procedure with a second feather boa in a slightly different shade of blue. Glue this feather boa around the bottom of the skirt, directly above the boa at the bottom.
- You can repeat this once more with a third feather boa in yet another shade of blue.
- Let the glue dry before you continue.
4
Create a simple mask that covers the eyes. Take a desired material (such as blue felt or poster board) and trace a mask around your eyes, forehead, and over the bridge of your nose. Cut the shape out.
- Make sure you cut holes large enough so that you can sufficiently see out of.
- Thread a piece of ribbon or elastic on the sides of the mask. You will want to poke a hole using a pair of scissors or hole puncher to do this.
- Or, to skip the above steps, you can purchase a simple craft mask at a craft store that you can then decorate.
5
Adhere the feathers to the mask. Use hot glue. Do this when the mask is not on your face. ^{[1]
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- Start at the outside corner of one eye hole. Use a hot glue gun to glue the feathers so that they fan out diagonally from this corner.
- Move in toward the inner corner of the same eye hole. Glue more feathers so that they fan outward to the same side, overlapping the previous layer of feathers but not the eye hole itself.
- Repeat this procedure with the other side of the mask.
- Trim a few feathers down to 1 inch (2.5 cm) lengths. Glue these pieces in the center of the mask, covering the overlap space between the two previously feathered halves.
- Let dry.
6
Put together the rest of the outfit. Now that you have the feathery parts done, you need to dress with a good foundation outfit. Try and stick with colors that will not stand out but will create a good background for your feathery accouterments.
- For example, you could try wearing a leotard to bring more attention to your craftiness. Or, try and wear leggings and a tank-top.
- You can wear simple black shoes, or if feeling more adventurous, try and mirror a bird's legs by wearing orange leggings/shoes.
7
Combine all the elements. Everything should work together and you should look like a pretty blue bird!
- The blue feathered skirt corresponds to the bluebird's blue feathered tail, and the blue mask similarly corresponds to the bluebird's blue face.
- A chest of a bluebird is usually a mixture of tan and white, which is why a tan boa or white tank top may be used instead of blue ones.
- A blue shrug or sweater represents the blue wings of a bluebird.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Owl Costume

1
Gather your materials. Before you get started, you will want to gather enough materials to successfully complete the outfit. Acquire:
- Brown, gray, and black fabric - enough to stretch from the finger on one hand to another. You want it wide enough to make a cape to attach feathers
- Additional fabric to create enough feathers to attach to your wings
- A circle template to make large enough hole for your head. A standard dinner plate is a good size
- Hot glue
- Ribbon or elastic
- Sewing machine or needle and thread
- A plain gray sweatshirt you do not mind cutting/gluing things to (cheap ones can be found in consignment shops or craft stores)
- Gray sweatpants
- A craft mask or a homemade cut-out mask from craft board, foam, or fabric
2
Cut out a gray wing. Cut out a length of gray felt that is as wide as your arm span and as long as the distance between your neck and the back of your knees. From this, cut out a basic wing shape.^{[2]
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- Position a dinner plate face-down over the center top of the fabric. Trace around half the edge using chalk, then cut this portion out. This dip will be positioned around your neck when you wear the wing cape.
- Place a straight edge at the corner of your neckline. Run it downward diagonally at a 20 degree angle (approximately) until you reach the edge of the cape. Trace this line and repeat on the other side. Cut along the two lines. This will be the top of your cape.
- Create a zig-zag line all around the bottom of the cape. Sketch out a half circle extending from one end of your wing to the other. Draw alternating triangles and inverse triangles around this curve until you reach the other side. Cut along this line.
- This completes the top wing of your wing cape.
3
Cut out a black wing. Place your first wing on top of a larger piece of black felt. Trace along the neckline and top edge of the wing using chalk, but extend the edge past that of your gray wing by the length of your triangular zig-zags. Cut along these lines, then make your zig-zag pattern on the bottom edge of the black wing.
- When you make the zig-zag pattern for this wing, the triangles and inverted triangles should alternate in opposite order. In other words, when you line up the two wings, you should see a black triangle in the gap left by every inverted gray triangle.^{[3]
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4
Sew the wings together. Line the two pieces up so that the neckline and top edges lie evenly with each other. Sew a straight stitch across the neckline only.
- You can either use a sewing machine or sew the pieces together by hand.
5
Attach two pieces of ribbon to the neck of the wing cape. Measure out two lengths of black ribbon. Sew one end of each piece to either corner of the neckline, on the side of the black wing.
- Each length of ribbon should be long enough to wrap around your neck once.
- Instead of sewing, you could attach the ribbon using a hot glue gun.
- This step completes your wing cape.
6
Measure a gray sweatshirt. Measure the distance from the sleeves to the bottom of the shirt. Also measure the width of the front. You will need to cut enough feathers from desired fabrics to completely cover this patch of material.^{[4]
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- Cut out a patch of almond-shaped material for each feather. Each feather should be about 3 inches (7.6 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide.
- Divide the width of the shirt by 2 inches (5 cm). This number is the number of feathers you will need per row.
- Multiply the row count by three for your total number of black feathers.
- Multiply the row count by two for your total number of gray feathers.
7
Secure the feathers to the sweatshirt. Apply each feather to the sweatshirt with a dab of hot glue. You will alternate back and forth between black rows and gray rows, and should start and end with black rows.
- Start with the bottom row. The bottom of each feather should just barely extend below the bottom hem of the shirt.
- Gradually work your way up, row by row. The feathers of each row should slightly overlap those of the row below it.
- Line up each feather so that they lie side by side within each row.
8
Make an owl mask. Sketch out the shape of a mask or trace a pre-made pattern onto soft black craft foam. Cut around the outline of this shape and cut out two holes for eyes. Glue the mask onto a pair of cheap sunglasses.^{[5]
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- If you do not feel comfortable freehand sketching the mask there are free patterns on many craft sites you can print.^{[6]
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- After cutting out the mask and the eye holes, cut out two rings made with gray craft foam. The inside of each ring should be large enough to fit around each eye hole. Glue these rings to outside perimeter of the eye holes.
- Let everything dry after gluing the mask together.
9
Put it all together. Put on your feathered sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. Tie on your wing cape, and finish off the outfit by slipping on your owl mask. With this, the costume is complete.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Raven Costume

1
Gather your materials. To make this costume, you will need:
- Sewing supplies
- Black felt
- Yellow felt
- White felt
- Black hooded sweatshirt
- Hot glue
- Dark pants and shoes
2
Cut out a basic beak pattern.^{[7]
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Research source} Sketch out two hooked beak halves onto black felt. Use sharp scissors to cut both pieces out.
- You can freehand sketch the beak pattern, if desired. Note that you need to draw the beak from a side view, rather than a top view. The base should be somewhat rectangular, but the beak itself should appear as a hooked or curved triangular shape.
- Your beak should be large enough to attach to your sweatshirt and make the hood of the black sweatshirt look like the bird’s head. The size may be dependent on if you are an adult or a kid.
3
Sew the beak. Lay the two beak pieces on top of each other and sew along the top edge. Place the beak on the top of the hood, just above the opening, and sew the base of the beak onto the hood.
- Since felt doesn't fray, you do not need to turn the material inside-out as you work. Make sure that your seams are neat and even, however, to prevent the work from looking messy.
- The beak should be positioned in the center of the hood and should hang over the face area when you put the hood on your head.
4
Cut out the eye pieces. For each eye, you will need a yellow circle, a black circle, and a white semi-circle.
- The yellow circles should be about 3 inches in diameter.
- The black circles should be about 2.5 inches in diameter.
- The white semi-circle should be about 1 inch in diameter.
5
Piece the eyes together. Lay the black circle on top of the yellow circle, precisely centered. Glue in place. Lay the white semi-circle on top of the black circle so that the flat edge lies in the center of the black circle. Glue in place.
- Use fabric glue or hot glue for this.
- Let dry before pressing on.
6
Glue a few feathers to the back of each eye. Cut off a few individual feathers from your strip of feathered fringe. Turn each eye over to reveal the back, and glue these feathers around about half of each eye.
- Note that the feathers should fan out from the side of the eye facing the flat side of your white semi-circular portion.
7
Adhere the eyes to the hood. Position the eyes on either side of the beak on the hood. They should be to the sides of the beak, but above the actual beak base. Fix in place by sewing or gluing them on.
- The curved side of the white semi-circles should face inward, toward the beak, and the feathers surrounding each eye should fan out to the sides.
8
Sew the fringe to the outside of each arm. Cut a strip of feathered fringe, out of black felt, long enough to cover the sleeve of your arm, extending from the shoulder seam down to the cuff. Pin and sew in place.
- Note that the fringe should point down and out when you put the shirt on. Keep that in mind as you pin and sew.
- Repeat this process with the other sleeve so that both are covered with black feathered fringe.
9
Put it all together. Put on some black pants and black shoes. Slip on your feathered black sweatshirt, then pull the hood over your head so that the beak and eyes show. This completes your raven costume.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I make a penguin costume?

Community Answer

You can look up more information on this on Pinterest or Google.
Question

How do I make a simple sparrow bird costume for kids?

HumanBeing

Top Answerer

Sparrows are mostly brown. A super simple costume could just be brown tee-shirt or sweater and brown trousers, pants or shorts or a skirt. A triangle of grey card, folded, can be attached with sticking-plaster, such a band aid, to represent the sparrow's beak.
Question

How do I make a hummingbird costume?

Community Answer

First, figure out how to make the wings by searching Youtube or Pinterest for "DIY bird wings." Next, make a beak out of yellow cardstock, for color, a wrapping paper tube, to give it shape, and elastic bands, to attach it to your face. Complete the look by applying hummingbird-like make-up to your face; Youtube or Pinterest may come in handy here, as well.

Things You’ll Need

For Bluebird:

A skirt, petticoat, or tutu that fits you. Start with a solid cother like white or blue.
Blue feathers or boas
Hot glue gun
Leggings and a tank top
Craft mask or a homemade mask

For Owl:

Brown, gray, and black fabric - enough to stretch from the finger on one hand to another. You want it wide enough to make a cape to attach feathers
Additional fabric to create enough feathers to attach to your wings
A circle template to make large enough hole for your head. A standard dinner plate is a good size
Hot glue
Ribbon or elastic
Sewing machine or needle and thread
A plain gray sweatshirt you do not mind cutting/gluing things to (cheap ones can be found in consignment shops or craft stores)
Gray sweatpants
A craft mask or a homemade cut-out mask from craft board, foam, or fabric