Ring Bearer Dog Illusion Costume

This adorable dog costume is the perfect canine wedding attire or just as an awesome halloween costume. My dog, Leo, modeled it perfectly.

Note: I specifically made this so it would be more comfortable than a lot of the other illusion-type dog costumes. However, please make sure your dog is used to wearing clothes before you try this.

You will need:

- Black and white fabric scraps for tuxedo (Felt is cheap and easy to work with)

- Hot glue

- Small pillow

- Thin blanket or sheet

- Old socks (preferably black and white)

- Stuffing

- Stuffed animal

- Stuffed animal dress or suit

- Lots of safety pins

For this miniature tuxedo, cut the black fabric as shown in the second photo. I only had half-sized scraps, so I hot glued the two together.

Next, cut your white fabric as shown in the photo and hot glue that to the black cloth.

For a bow tie, I accordion-folded a scrap piece of felt and wrapped the center of it with a thin strip of felt. Attach that with hot glue.

To do the pants, I used two pieces of black tube sock and hot-glued it to the back of the tuxedo.

Finally, attach a piece of yarn or string to the back of the tuxedo using hot glue. This makes it easier to tuck into the dog collar, which will make the illusion of wearing the tuxedo.

To hold the rings, the ring bearer and flower girl need arms!

Use old socks and hot glue them so they become skinnier, like arms. See the photos above for details on how to fold. It should be folded in on itself in a way that the seam is on the inside.

Then, stuff 'em! I found that a fair amount of stuffing is needed to make the arms stiff enough, but too much makes them too stiff. Trim them to the desired length, then secure with a rubber band, hot glue, or safety pin. to the stuffed animal and the tuxedo.

To add white hands to the black arms, just safety pin a scrap of white fabric.

Other dog illusion costumes use a cut box that fits over the middle of the dog. That seemed really uncomfortable, so for a platform, I used a pillow which would sit on top of the dog. Use a piece of cloth to secure the pillow to the dog (not too tightly!)

To cover it all up, use a blanket and duct tape to attach it to the pillow. To really complete the illusion, fold the blanket to the desired shape and size. It should be large enough to drape over the pillow and the dog's body without touching the floor.

I made the rings using two empty rolls of duct tape.

For the silver ring, I simply covered it all with silver duct tape.

For the diamond ring, I painted the roll gold and made a diamond out of card stock. The template is attached: just print, cut it out, fold at the dotted lines, and tape it all together. I attached the gem to the ring using a dollop of hot glue.

Loosely sew the rings to the blanket to secure.

Attach the stuffed animal to the ring platform using safety pins, tucking the pin underneath so it is hidden.

Tie the ring platform to the dog using the strip of cloth and put on the mini tuxedo. Secure the tuxedo by gently tying the string around the dog's neck. I ended up adding a bit more black fabric to cover more of my dog's chest.

Finally, pin the tuxedo arms to the ring platform, giving the final illusion of the dog holding the platform.

I hope you all enjoyed! This is my very first costume instructable, tell me what you think.