This fun and colorful piñata costume is made with crepe paper, fabric glue and a store-bought dress. It’s an creative, no-sew costume that’s perfect for Halloween or any theme party.
Last week we went to a costume party, and the theme was the letter P. I decided to go as a piñata and thought it would be an easy costume to make myself. Although my DIY piñata costume took more time that I originally thought, it was definitely a success as far as homemade costumes go – even though some people at the party didn’t know what I was!
I purchased a cheap tank dress from a discount store and then bought a ton of crepe paper streamers. Once I cut all the fringe into them – the most time consuming part of the process – I laid out a few pieces to determine my color placement. I wanted it to look random but organized at the same time…and kind of like a Mexican fiesta.
More DIY: succulent planters / canvas art / glitter shoes
How to make a pinata costume:
I stretched out the dress with a long art canvas that was wrapped in plastic, but I’m sure really anything would work. Then, I started applying the crepe paper with fabric glue – two strips of each color at a time.
Some of the paper pieces that I used were a bit too wide for the dress so I simply cut the excess off and secured the new ends with some extra glue.
Once the first side was finished, I let it dry overnight and gently flipped the dress over and started again, lining the colors up with the first side. Around the arm and collar I folded the paper over the edges and added glue to keep the “hems” in place. At the top of the straps, I added a horizontal strip flat over the seam to finish the costume off.
For the hats – I made the strips shorter, smaller and with thinner fringe. Then, I glued them to party hats and topped them with long, thin streamers of crepe paper. I used glue sticks for this step.
I added the red belt to define my waist because the dress made me look a little bit puffy!
(Sorry about the terrible cell-phone picture, but it’s the only full-length picture I took because we were in such a rush. I’m really disappointed that I don’t have any others.)
If you are following this tutorial and making your own piñata costume, I would love to see how they turn out! Would you mind emailing me pictures of your costumes? I may even feature them right here on Simply Whisked!
Readers’ Costumes:
How cute does Cassidy look in her piñata costume? I’m loving the color she chose and check out those awesome colorful lashes. They totally make the costume!
Hi there! I love your costume idea and I am trying to replicate it myself =) How did you keep your party hat on? I bought the cheap paper party hat with the strap but I feel that may be uncomfortable to wear all night. Thoughts??
I just wore the elastic strings that came on the party hat. They weren’t too bad. Maybe you could replace them with a thin elastic string that’s a little longer so it would be more comfortable?
Hello I used your basics, made my costume and it was a hit Thank you
I made this costume following your tutorial this year and everyone loved it! I used plastic table cloths you find in the birthday party section at Hobby Lobby. I had also bought a couple colors at the $ Store but they were pretty thin and cheap. I recommend the ones from Hobby Lobby because they were a little thicker. I just cut into strips and hot glued to the dress. Fabric Glue did not work using the plastic. Also it was very important to keep the dress stretched out a little as you were gluing them on. Oh also I found a adorable Mexican head piece in the themed party section at Hobby Lobby! Let me know if you want to see a picture of the finished costume 🙂
Yes! I definitely want to see it 🙂 Do you want to email me the picture? I’d also love to feature it in the post for future costume makers (only if you want to be featured, of course).
I tried to make this last year, and I am going to try again this year because it failed. It looked amazing on the hanger, I used a tight fitting stretchy dress, and glued strips just like you did. I believe my mistake, if you can confirm, was I let the glue dry off the canvas, so when it came time to put on the dress, the dress did not stretch anymore. This year I am going to try it with a skirt that has a zipper, and it will only need to stretch a little bit, and a crop top, The crop top I have will definitely need to stretch. Did you let your dress dry on the canvas, before taking it off slash moving it up the canvas to finish it etc?
Yes. I let it dry on the canvas. Using a skirt with a zipper is a great idea! I think you should still leave it on the canvas until each part is dry.
Hey Melissa, beautiful costume. I am looking to make this one for my toddler and thinking to do it on one of her 1-piece pajama. I have a doubt on the crepe paper. Does it hold good or can it tend to tear away considering a child would run errands wearing it. I thought of replacing the crepe paper with felt, but it will make it quite heavy. Any suggestions? Much appreciated!
The pieces do rip off easily, which is fine when you’re walking around as an adult, but if I were you I would totally switch to felt! It will definitely be more comfortable too. The paper can get a tiny bit itchy.
I made this costume a few years ago, except that it was cold that year so I made mine with colorful felt hot glued on to a white sweatshirt and white leggings. I also put some felt on a pair of cheap white sneakers, and carried a bag of candy around to toss to people who felt the need to hit me 😉 I’ll try to find a picture!!
That’s a great idea! I hope there weren’t that many people that hit you though!