Want to know how to make a minion costume? Get the supplies and the step-by-step tutorial below as you continue reading!
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How to Make a Minion Costume | DIY Costumes
DIY Minion Costume
To make a DIY Minion Costume, you first must understand the minion. Minions are the clever yellow creatures from the movie, Despicable Me who help out in the evil scientist Gru’s lab.
Aside from all the evil (and all the pushing and the shoving), there’s also a lot of hugging and loving going on in the minion world. How could you not love something so mischievous yet intoxicating-ly affectionate?
Becoming a minion is basically the first thing I wanted to do since I watched the movie. So I had to find a way to disguise myself as one right away.
Thus this creation of a minion mask, complete with a giant smile and minion goggles. Put this hood on and you’ll look just like one of the beloved creatures.
You can even customize it to your liking to be your very own unique minion!
Beee boop Bee Bop. Potato.
Supplies Needed for a Homemade Minion Costume:
This is a two-part costume, first, we’ll do the mask, and then the goggles. Here are two lists of supplies for you to gather to make your minion.
I have also included a list of clothes you can wear with your minion mask.
Despicable Me Minion Costume Mask Supplies:
- Yellow felt: 1-yard x 1.5 yards
- Scissors
- Black pipe cleaner
- Glue gun or a sewing machine with yellow thread
- Minion pattern piece PDF (click here for adult size) (click here for child size)
Minion Costume Goggles Supplies:
- Plastic cup
- Something silver to cover cup: (pen, paint, duct tape, or silver cup)
- Black elastic
- Glue gun
- Stapler
- White felt
Clothes Needed for Minion Costume:
- Blue overalls
- OR Blue suspenders with blue bottoms… pants, shorts, skirts, leggings, whatever you want as long as it’s blue!
- Yellow long sleeves
- Black gloves
- Black shoes
The Minion Costume Mask
Step 1: Print Minion Mask Pattern
Use this pdf pattern to cut out your minion pieces. Print it out, and cut it out with scissors along the edge.
Use the colored circles to line up each piece. I have provided a child size and an adult size for you to use.
Click the link below, or select the image to download your pdf.
Minion Costume Pattern – Adult (pdf)
Minion Costume Pattern – Child (pdf)
Step 2: Trace Minion Costume Pattern Pieces
Use the pieces you just printed as a stencil and place them over the fabric. Use a permanent marker to trace the pattern pieces, transferring them to the yellow felt.
Don’t forget to include the triangular notch on the side of each of your pieces. The front piece and back piece have been made to cut on the fold.
Step 3: Cut Out Minion Costume Pieces
Cut out all three pieces carefully with your fabric scissors. Try to cut on the inside of the permanent marker.
Cut in a smooth straight line.
Step 4: Finish Cutting Minion Costume Pieces and Set Scraps Aside
Once you have finished cutting you can clear your area, but you will be using the yellow felt scraps later in this project so don’t throw them away just yet.
This is what your pieces should look like, DO NOT throw away the scraps!!
Step 5: Match Sides Together
Line up the notches (the little triangles) to prepare for sewing together. You want your right sides together, which means the side you marked on with your marker (the wrong side) should face the outside.
The right side of the back piece should be against the table and face up, the mouthpiece should be face down over it, and the front piece should be face down aswell. Only pin the marked side of the mouthpiece, leave the other side unattached.
Step 6: Pin Minion Costume, Manipulate Fabric to Fit
All the notches on the right side of these three pieces should line up. The front piece is narrower than the back piece, so work your fabric so the back piece will gap in order for the front piece to fit.
Pin along the sides and the curve, do not pin the bottom.
Step 7: Sew or Glue Minion Costume Together
In this project, I used a sewing machine, but you can also use a glue gun. Either method will work.
Sew the costume with a 1/2″ seam allowance along each side and around the top curve. Catch only one side of the mouthpiece so it will be a flap to open and close, and leave the bottom open.
Step 8: Turn Minion Costume Right Side Out
Once you have finished sewing (or gluing) your three pieces together, take it out of the sewing machine and turn it inside out. Work your fingers around the inside edges to help bring them out to a smooth rounded edge.
Step 9: Create Stuffing for Minion Costume
Now that you’ve sewn your mask together, you want to prepare the stuffing so the mask will keep its round minion dome. So go find that pile of yellow felt scraps… (Hint: listen for minion giggles, I know they love scraps and they might have tried to snatch them up when you weren’t looking!)
Take back the scraps and cut them into about 4″ strips.
Step 10: Roll Up the Strips to Stuff the Minion Costume
Roll up the strips of yellow felt and glue them at the end so they stay shut.
Step 11: Make More Rolls
Repeat the cutting, rolling, and gluing process until you have about 10 pieces for stuffing.
Step 12: Glue and Place Rolls into Minion Costume
Take a roll and glue the outside of it, then insert it into the seam along the inside of your costume. Line both seams all the way up the length of your side and along the curve and STOP!
Don’t put that final top piece in yet, you need to add your Minion hair first
Step 13: Poke Holes on Top of Minion Costume
Use a sharp pair of scissors to poke holes in the top of your minion costume. With the scissors, add as many holes as you would like.
Minions are all different, so make this costume uniquely you! Some minions have clumps of hair in the center of their head, others have hair scattered all over.
Maybe yours has a mohawk? Pigtails?
Feel free to get creative!
RELATED: 17 DIY Scarecrow Costume Ideas From Clever to Creepy
Step 14: Add Black Pipe Cleaner to Minion Costume for Hair
Take your pieces of black pipe cleaner and insert them into the holes you just made. Put one end of the pipe cleaner into the mask, then bend it and poke the other half of the pipe cleaner back through.
Bending them in half will help the hairs stay in place.
Step 15: Glue the Hair In
Now that you’ve got all the hair in place, you don’t want your minion going bald! Apply hot glue to the underside of all the hair so the other minions can’t pull it out.
Step 16: Finish Stuffing Minion Costume
Once the hair is firmly in place, you can attach the final pieces of stuffing!
Step 17: Make Your Minion Costume Smile
You can’t have a minion costume without a minion smile now can you? To make that grin use your black felt and cut out a big happy smile.
Or maybe you’re feeling a smirk or a frown? Minions have lots of emotions.
Choose yours accordingly and cut it out.
Step 18: Cut Out Minion Teeth
Minions also have a mouth full of chunky white teeth. To create our own teeth, cut out the white felt, you may need to use your black mouthpiece as a guide to get the sizing right.
Step 19: Glue in Your Teeth
Time to play dentist for a quick minute. Use a glue gun to attach the white felt teeth to the black felt mouth, and then glue the mouth to the minion’s face.
I recommend wearing your mask to find a good height to place the mouth.
Step 20: Velcro the Mouth Flap to the Front Piece of Minion Costume
Apply velcro to the to mouth flap and the front piece. Use your glue gun to glue it in place.
Now you can easily open and close the mouthpiece! This comes in handy for when you and your little minions need to eat and drink, but don’t want to completely de-minion yourselves.
That’s your mask! You’ve now got your minion mask all put together, but you don’t quite seem like a minion yet.
Time to make the goggles…
Minion Goggle Tutorial
Once again, here is our supply list for Minion Costume Goggles:
- Plastic cup
- Something silver to cover cup: (pen, paint, duct tape, silver cup)
- Black elastic
- Glue gun
- Stapler
- White felt
Step 21: Cut Cups into Minion Goggle Lenses
Cut down the middle and then rotate your scissors 90 degrees and cut around the cup to leave just an inch of the silver cup at the bottom.
Step 22: Cut out the Base of the Cup
Use your scissors or an Exacto blade to cut out the bottom portion of your cup. This works best when you have the cup surface down on a table and poke the blade through from above.
Step 23: Make Minion Eyes
Place the cut open cups face down over white felt.
Step 24: Cut Open Middle of Minion Eye
Cut out the middle of the eye like a pie, cut through the middle eight times. Repeat for both eyes.
Step 25: Glue Felt to Cup
Use your glue gun to glue the eight fragments of the inner eye to the cup. Add a small drop of hot glue, and then press down the triangle of felt with your finger to keep it in place.
Do this for every piece of felt. Now your eyes will fall nice and flat against the goggles.
Step 26: Measure Elastic for Minion Goggles
Wrap a strip of elastic around the Minion mask where they would naturally fall. Snip the elastic and leave an inch for attaching to the goggles.
Step 27: Staple the Elastic to Minion Goggles
Double the elastic under itself, with the short end facing the inside. Then place the elastic against the outside of one of the cups, and staple it in place.
Repeat for the other side.
To complete the look you’ll need these clothing items:
- Blue overalls
- OR Blue suspenders with blue bottoms… pants, shorts, skirts, leggings, whatever you want as long as it’s blue!
- Yellow long sleeves
- Black gloves
- Black shoes
You did it! You’ve just made your own minion. Try it on and see how you like it.
Also don’t forget, minions are yellow and wear overalls. I hope you enjoy being a minion, I just have to ask one favor…
Try not to get into too much trouble. 🙂
Check this video from DIY Projects on how to make a minion costume step by step:
Think you can complete this DIY minion costume? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on May 9, 2014, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
Very thorough guide! Love it! Saw soo many great minion halloween costumes last year, this year has to be the same again. I will be sure to promote this on my Twitter and Pinterest!