DIY Bowser Jr. Costume

This easy to make Bowser Jr. Costume is a great option for your Super Mario loving child who wants to be a character they won’t see another of at the school Halloween parade! He’s got a similar look to his dad, Bowser, but with some even more fun props. His signature giant paintbrush and go-to clown car complete the costume.

And the best part is, it’s quite easy to create his look with just a sweatsuit so it’s comfortable (and warm!) for kids to wear in the chilly fall months.

Supplies Needed

To make the Bowser Jr. costume, you’ll need:

• Yellow Zip Up Hoodie (This link gets you 25% off + free shipping for the hoodie and pants set!)
• Yellow Sweatpants
• 1/2 yard of green fleece (or more for adult costume)
• 1/2 yard of white fleece
• 1/4 yard of pale yellow fleece (or use white if you cannot find pale yellow)
• 1/2 yard of white felt
• Sheet of red felt
• Polyfill stuffing
• White square napkin or bandana
• Velcro
• Black, red and purple fabric markers
• Red feathers
• 2″ wide black elastic (enough for two straps, plus the cuffs of the hoodie)
• Sewing machine

For the giant paintbrush, you’ll need:

• Wrapping paper cardboard tube
• Package of white pipe cleaners
• Clear domed cup lid (find one at your local coffee shop!)
• Two 3″ wood circles (or lids or other round flat object, anything works!)
• Silver duct tape
• Yellow duct tape
• Blue and white duct tape (or paint)
• Orange vinyl (or paint)
• Blue paint
• Fabric scissors
• Hot glue gun

To create the Clown Car Trick-or-Treat Bucket, you’ll need:

• Black witches cauldron trick or treat bucket
• White duct tape
• Green, black, red and orange felt (I used faux leather scraps that I already had)

Step-by-Step Bowser Jr. Costume Tutorial

Here are the steps for making a Bowser Jr. costume.

1. Draw an oval on your yellow fleece. It should be just shorter than the length of the front of your hoodie, from 2″ below the top of the zipper to the top of the bottom band.
2. Cut out and cut in half.
3. Stitch one half to each side of the hoodie, along the zipper, using a zipper foot as needed. Then, stitch horizontal lines across it, about 1-2″ apart to give the effect of Bowser Jr.’s stomach.
4. Cut two cone shapes, about 3″ tall out of white felt. Hot glue or sew each one into a cone shape. Stuff each with polyfil stuffing.
5. Glue two to the top of the hood, one on each side.
6. Cut a 2″x12″ piece of black felt. Gather a handful of red feathers and wrap the piece of black felt around them using hot glue to form the “hair.”
7. Hot glue the hair piece to the top of the hoodie.
8. Stitch or glue black elastic to each arm cuff.

9. To make the bandana, fold the bandana or napkin in half, diagnoally.
10. Draw a mouth and color it in to look like his using fabric markers.
11. Hot glue one piece of velcro to each of the two narrow corners and one piece of velcro to each side of the hood to attach to. (You could just tie the bandana around if it’s big enough, but I found it better and more comfortable to attach to the hoodie instead.)

12. To make the shell, cut two ovals out of green fleece. (The size will be dependent on the child’s size. I should be slightly wider than their back, and go from about the base of their neck to the top of their hips.)
13. Cut an oval out of white felt that is 2″ smaller than the green ones. Set aside.
14. On one green oval, draw hexagon shapes as desired with a fabric marker or sharpie (this will get hidden on the inside of the shell).
15. Layer the other green oval behind it and use the lines as your stitch guidelines to stitch the hexagons.
16. With the good sides together, layer the white oval on top of the green ovals (so, the side without the marker should be touching the white oval) and pin the edges together. Stitch the edges together, leaving a 4″ opening for turning the piece right side out.
17. Turn the shell right side out. Stuff as desired with polyfil stuffing and hand stitch or hot glue the opening together.

12. Cut a piece of fleece 7″ wide by 2″ longer than the circumference of your shell.
13. Fold it in half, length-wise, and stitch the long edges together. Turn right side out and stuff.
14. Hot glue the long fleece piece around the shell, leaving a few inches on each end hanging off.
15. Overlap the two ends and hot glue down.
16. Cut 10 cone shapes out of white felt, about 3″ tall. Sew or hot glue each into a 3D cone shape and stuff with polyfil.
17. Add a 1/2″ wide strip of red felt around the bottom of each.
18. Hot glue the cones, one on each hexagon.
19. Add elastic straps. Cut two pieces of black elastic at the length desired and attach the two pieces together at the top of the back of the shell, and then at the bottom of each side to form straps.
20. If desired, you can add an additional piece of white felt to cover the ends of the straps and where the outer piece of the shell attaches.
21. Pair with yellow pants and shoes and you have your costume!

Giant Bowser Jr. Paintbrush Tutorial

Bowser Jr. carries around that awesome Magic Brush! It makes the perfect costume accessory! To create this giant paintbrush prop, follow these steps:

1. Cut about halfway up the cardboard tube and overlap the ends so it narrows towards the bottom. Glue in place.
2. Wrap in yellow duct tape.
3. Wrap two cardboard or wood circles in white duct tape (or paint white) and the sides in blue duct tape (or paint)
4. Cut a bowser silhouette shape out of orange vinyl or paint on.
5. Wrap the top of your cardboard tube in silver duct tape, covering the open top as well.
6. Hot glue a plastic domed lid on top. Cover in silver duct tape.
7. Glue the white discs on, one to each side of the silver duct tape.
8. Gather a package of white pipe cleaners together to create a brush shape. Hot glue the tips together. (This will be covered in paint so it can, and should, be messy to help create the base for the paint.)
9. Paint the tips blue.
10. Hot glue the bottom of the pipe cleaner brush to the domed lid.
11. Make two silver spikes out of duct tape and glue one to each side.

Clown Car Trick-or-Treat Bucket Tutorial

We all know the Koopalings, and Bowser Jr., love to ride around in their Clown Cars. While making a full size Clown Car would be quite a feat (but doable if you want to try it, check our paper mache tutorials for a starting point!), try making a trick or treat bucket version instead! To make the Clown Car trick or treat bucket, follow these steps:

1. Wrap the bucket in white duct tape, including the handle.
2. Cut two eye shapes out of black felt, four accent pieces out of red (as shown), a mouth out of orange and two propeller pieces and a center circle out of green.
3. Draw a line on the mouth shape with a sharpie or fabric marker.
4. Hot glue on to the bucket as shown.
5. Glue a piece of green felt around the top of the bucket.

Costumes to Pair with Bowser Jr.

If you’re looking to go as a duo or group, or looking for trio costumes, here’s a few ideas for what to pair with a Bowser Jr. Costume:

• Bowser & Bowser Jr. – Especially fun for a parent/child combo!
• The Koopalings – Since Bowser Jr. is second-in-command of the Koopalings, this is a fun group costume idea!
• Classic Mario Characters – Add him into the mix with the classics like Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Princess Peach!

This Bowser Jr. Costume is sure to be a hit with your child, and the hoodie and pants can even be reused throughout the fall! Happy Trick-or-Treating!

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