Bumble Bee and Ladybug Costume for American Girl Dolls

I have been working on these costumes for days and finally, they’re here. Yay!!! Happy Halloween…If you want your dolls to wear costumes, this is the time to start doing it to make sure that they would make it to trick or treat. And I have the perfect doll costumes for you, they are both so easy to make.

BUMBLE BEE COSTUME

Basically, this bumble bee costume  just a combination of the previous tutorials that I  posted in this blog.

The top for the bee costume is made using the tutorial/pattern from my “Easy to Sew Tops” post which I noticed have been pinned 4K already (wow!). What I did differently was I added 4 strips of ribbon after Step 2. I sewed it on the fabric but using fabric glue would work too.  I used a 3/8 inch size yellow ribbon.

Link to tutorial for making the top

For the tutu, I used about 3/4 yard of yellow  tulle.  This is a no sew tutu and again, I already posted a tutorial for this.

Link to tutorial for making the no sew tutu. .

The black stockings is from Michael’s. The little pumpkin baskets are from 99 cents store, they sells for 6 pieces for $49 cents.

The flower is from a strip of tulle that I rolled and shape into a flower and then I sewed a button in the middle.

Lady Bug Costume

The Top
For this one, you can use the top tutorial I posted on this blog or you can use any of your favorite bodice pattern, just like what I did here. I used a red fabric with black dots on it to represent a lady bug.  I would have prefer one with bigger dots but I can’t find any.

How to Make the Black Tulle Skirt

1) For this skirt, I used a soft black tulle, black knit fabric and 1/2 inch black elastic. These are the measurements:

tulle – 4 inches in height by 44 inches in width
black knit fabric – 4 inches in height x 30 inches in width
black elastic – 10 1/2 inches long

2) Gather both the tulle and the knit fabric until they are the same size as the black elastic.

3) Sew the knit fabric and the tulle together. Then sew them on the elastic as indicated in the photo below.

4) With right sides together, sew on the back seam to finish the skirt.

Antenna

1)To make the antenna, I used pipe cleaners and pom poms that I bought from the craft store.

2)To make the headband, twist 3 pipe cleaners together in such a way that the end product will almost double the original size so it can fit around the doll’s head.

3) Wrap it around the doll’s head and twist it again to lock it in place. Cut the extra pipe cleaners.

4)To make the antennae, cut about 2 four inches long of pipe cleaners and twist it around the headband to lock it in place. Glue the pom poms on top of the antennae and it’s done.

Wings

1)I used a specialty paper that I got from Hobby Lobby for the wings for the bee. For the lady bug, I used felt paper. I pasted both wings on a cardboard so they are more stable. I uploaded the pattern for the wings so it can be downloaded.

Click here to download the wings pattern.

2) I used a penny to cut the black circles. I then pasted it on the red wings.

3) I used a big safety pin to attach the wings.

Photos that my daughter took in our backyard.

My daughter and I had so much fun doing these costumes. She was a bumble bee last year so this time, she is thinking of wearing a lady bug costume and bringing in Ivy with her when she goes trick or treating. So what are your dolls going to be this Halloween?