Halloween is quickly approaching, and perhaps you're wondering what your costume should be. Look no further! We've put together a list of 11 simple DIY Pokemon costumes you can assemble in no time, with only basic sewing and crafting skills. Ever wanted to dress up as Ash? We've got you covered. Fancy being a Poliwhirl? That dream can be a reality, too. Loved Team Rocket when you were younger -- or not so young? There's a costume guide for that.
Other than being easy and inexpensive to put together, one of the best things about these costumes is that you can wear them for expos or conventions, too --not just for Halloween.
Ash Ketchum DIY Costume
With this super-easy costume from Keeping It Simple, you can truly be the very best -- yes, like no one ever was. All you need are basic sewing and painting skills to pull this one off like a pro.
What you'll need for the vest:
- 1 blue vest
- 1 white collared shirt
- Yellow felt, enough for a band around the bottom of the vest and the pockets
What you'll need for the other pieces:
- 1 red hat plus white and black felt to attach to it
- Glue (if you didn't already guess that one)
- 1 small styrofoam ball, plus white and black paint
- Green gloves
The creator of this particular costume sewed the shirt into the vest, but if you're going to wear a different shirt under the vest, you can just cut the collar and sleeves off, then sew them to the inside of the vest -- which might be the easier route to take. For the gloves, you could cut the tips off the fingers of any green pair of gloves.
The yellow felt lining gets sewn onto the inside of the vest, both for pockets and bottoms. Hand-sewing might be easier because of the location of it, but you could use a sewing machine if you've got one handy.
If you fancy something more involved or plan on wearing this costume more than once, check out this video for another way to make your own DIY Ash costume.
Misty DIY Costume
The trio of character costumes couldn't be complete without Misty! And this DIY costume is equally easy to put together. All you need to complete this look is:
- 1 yellow tank-top or crop-top shirt
- 1 pair of denim shorts
- 1 pair of red suspenders
- 1 red backpack
The above picture shows red high-top shoes, but really, your favorite sneakers would work just as well. The wig is optional, of course; you could just dye your hair or put it in a side ponytail. The Togepi is optional, too -- adorable, but completely optional.
For guys, here's how you can pull off the Misty look, too.
Pokemon Go Female Trainer DIY Costume
This Pokemon GO costume is a bit more involved, but only requires basic proficiency with a sewing machine. And it is definitely worthwhile, especially if you plan on wearing it for conventions or expos.
As you would expect, there are a few more materials involved for this costume than the others on this list. We've adapted the materials list from the video page for easier viewing.
General supplies you'll need to start out:
- Sewing Machine
- Thread
- Ruler
- Pins
- Scissors
- Safety Pins
- Tailors' Chalk Pen/ sharpie
- Iron
What you'll need for the jacket:
- White Hoodie (or dress shirt & a zipper)
- Red Stretch Fabric or Spandex -- ¾ yard
- Tailors Chalk/pen
- Pliers
What you'll need for the romper:
- Tank Top & Shorts
- Newspaper (scrap paper)
- Blue Stretch Fabric -- 1 yard
- Black elastic
- Circular things of different sizes, such as paper dinner plates, etc
- White Spandex Fabric -- ¼ yard
- White Double Fold Bias Tape -- 1"
- Navy Deco Fabric
- Fabric Marker
- LEGGINGS Black Leggings
- Blue Stretch Fabric
- BELT
- Gray Craft Foam- 1 sheet
What you'll need for the Poke Cap:
- Blue (or black) cap
- White Spandex Fabric
- Black or Blue Spandex Fabric
- Yellow Foam -- 1 sheet
What you'll need for the Belt:
- Light Gray Craft Foam
- 1 sheet White Craft Foam
- 1 sheet Red Felt
- Glue Gun
- Stick On Velcro
Pokemon GO: Male Trainer (Team Instinct)
Never fear, male Pokemon trainers! There's a Pokemon GO costume for you too, and it's a lot less involved than the female costume (sorry, ladies). This one also requires some basic proficiency with a sewing machine and can be easily adapted for the other Pokemon GO teams. Here's what you'll need:
General Supplies:
- Sewing Machine
- Thread
- Ruler
- Pins
- Scissors
- Safety Pins
- Tailors Chalk
- Pen/sharpie
- Pattern Paper (newspaper/advertisement paper/gift-wrapping paper)
What you'll need for the jacket:
- Two Yellow Polos (or dye two white polos yellow)
- White Fabric -- ½ yard
- 1” Double Folded Bias Tape
- Gray Fabric -- ½ yard
What you'll need for the visor:
- One black visor
- Glue gun (and sticks for the glue gun)
- Grey fabric -- ½ yard
Jessie and James Team Rocket DIY Costumes
This is one of the easier ways to make your own Team Rocket costume(s). It's a no-sew project where your main material is just white T-shirts -- even for the skirt. This is everything you'll need:
What you'll need for Jessie:
- 1 white T-shirt
- 1 black T-shirt (if you aren't comfortable with Jessie's short crop-top)
- 1 pair of black gloves
- 1 pair of black boots
What you'll need for James:
- 1 white T-shirt
- 1 black T-shirt for an undershirt
- 1 pair of white pants
- 1 pair of black boots
- 1 pair of black gloves
You can easily find the gloves and boots at a party store if you don't want to buy regular of each. The video also links to a how-to for the Jessie wig, but Halloween hair dye for both Jessie and James would make the process much easier. However, if you are up for a challenge, here's how to make the wig.
Jigglypuff Sweatshirt DIY Costume
Here's another no-sew costume that only takes a short amount of time and few materials to pull off.
What you'll need for the main outfit:
- 1 pink sweatshirt (oversized would probably work best)
- 1 extra pink sweatshirt for the ears, or one 1/2 yard of matching pink fabric
- 1 paper dinner plate
- 2 sheets of white craft or construction paper
- Black, pink, and blue craft or stencil paint
- Craft glue
- Duct tape
- Glitter (optional)
What you'll need for the microphone:
- 1 empty paper towel roll
- 1 paint roller head
You'll use the paper plate as your eye pattern on the paper. The video doesn't show what specific shades of blue used in this specific costume, but any light and slightly darker blue would work fine. Glue your eyes on, paint them, then paint your mouth and swirl; top the painted paper towel roll with the roller head, and you're good to go!
Squirtle DIY Costume
This one might look complicated, but it's pretty simple to put together. Plus, some of the parts -- hood and tail -- are completely optional.
What you'll need to get started:
- A basic shirt pattern (or if you don't have one, you can use an old shirt as your guide, with separate pieces for the sleeves and the front and back).
- Blue and beige fleece or regular cotton fabric for the shirt pieces
- Brown fleece for the shell (enough for two ovals, one larger and one smaller; you can adjust the size to suit your needs, so how much depends on how big you want the shell)
- Additional beige fleece for the shell lining (like before, how much depends on the shell size)
- Ribbon or (recommended) a black felt-tip marker
- Polyfill or whatever brand you use or can find (2 8oz. bags should do the trick)
- Craft glue
- Needle and thread
Put your shirt together following your pattern's instructions. This one calls for black ribbon to be sewed on the front, but really, you can get the same effect with a black marker and a lot less trouble.
For the shell, cut out two ovals from the brown fleece, one larger and one smaller. Sew the smaller onto the larger, and leave an opening for the stuffing. Fill the shell, sew the opening closed, and glue the strip of beige fleece around the edge. Stitch or glue the shell onto the back of the shirt, and that's it for the basic costume!
The Tail
You can also make a tail to go along with it, if you're interested. For the tail, use the fleece or cotton you used for the shirt. Cut out two long triangles, and stitch them right sides together--or, in other words, inside out--leaving an opening big enough for you to turn the fabric right-side out. Turn it, then stuff the tail with cotton stuffing, and stitch the opening closed. For the swirl, roll the end of the tail up and stitch it to the long part of the tail. (How high up you roll and stitch determines how curly it will be). Then, attach the base of the tail to the inside of the shirt.
Easy Pikachu DIY Costume
If the Squirtle costume seems a bit more than you want to put into your get-up, here's an easier one: Pikachu.
What you'll need to complete this costume:
- Sweatshirt and pants (if you can find yellow ones, that's great, but if not, just dye them with regular fabric dye like Rit)
- 1/2 yard of yellow fabric (if you're concerned about the yellows matching, just get white fabric and dye it too)
- Brown felt (how much depends on the size of your shirt)
- Needle and yellow and brown thread
- Glue
- Scissors
- Polyfill or equivalent
- Washable fabric pencil or marker
- Red face paint (optional)
Most of what you're DIYing here is the ears, rear stripes, and tail. For detailed instructions, including PDF pattern pieces if you don't want to wing it, check out the process here.
Poliwhirl DIY Costume
This costume might be one of the easiest ones on this list to make, but that doesn't mean it lacks quality. It only requires a few materials.
What you'll need for this Poliwhirl costume:
- 1 purple or navy sweatshirt with hood (or you can dye an existing sweatshirt)
- White felt
- 1 black felt-tip pen
- Fabric or craft glue
Cut out a circle from the white felt. How much will depend on the size of the sweatshirt you use, but you want it to cover most of the torso. Draw a spiral with your pen, then glue the circle to the shirt. For the eyes, cut out two large ovals from the white felt. Shade in the black portion with your pen, then glue the eyes to the hood.
Nurse Joy DIY Costume
This one might just be easier to put together than the Brock costume. It's also a nice twist on the typical nurse Halloween costume -- one that you can actually feel comfortable wearing. Here's what you'll need:
- Pink dress
- White apron
- Nurse's cap
- Pink hair dye or wig
If you're feeling particularly ambitious, you could even try to copy the classic Nurse Joy hairstyle by putting your hair into pig-tails, braiding it, and putting a wire down the middle of the braids and shaping each into a circle.
Brock DIY Costume
This is probably one of the easiest Pokemon DIY costumes. All you'll need is an orange shirt, brown pants, a green vest, and there you go -- instant DIY Brock costume. You can jazz it up with a sporty green vest if you like, along with a camping backpack, but that's completely optional.
If you really want to go all out, though, you could gel up your hair -- or get a spiky wig -- and then carry around a pet rock and call it Geodude. This is a costume that would work just as well for Brock's female fans, too!
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Whether you're a Nurse Joy fan or a Pokemon GO fanatic, there's something for almost everyone to choose from on this list of DIY Pokemon costumes for Halloween -- or the expo floor.
Which costume are you planning on making? Let us know in the comments below!
Published: Oct 11, 2017 11:33 pm