How to Make a Ladybug Costume

Co-authored by Jessica Gibson

Last Updated: June 29, 2021 References Tested

It's easy to make a no-sew ladybug costume for you or your little one using things you might already have on hand. Create red ladybug wings with black spots using fabric or cardboard and make a simple antennae headband. When you're ready to dress up, just wear the wings over a black shirt and add a few details, such as a ladybug mask or makeup spots. Pair the costume with the antennae headband and have fun!

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Making the Wings

1
Draw a large circle on red felt or cardboard. Decide how large you want your ladybug wings to be at their widest point. Then, lay red felt fabric or a piece of cardboard on your work surface. Use chalk or a pen to draw the circle on your material.^{[1]
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- To make little kid-sized ladybug wings, you might want to make the circle between 16 and 20 inches (41 and 51 cm). For an adult, try drawing a 25 to 30 in (64 to 76 cm) circle.
Tip: Keep in mind that felt wings will be more flexible than cardboard wings. If you'd like sturdier fabric wings, consider gluing 2 layers of felt together before you cut out the circle.
2
Cut out the circle and cut it in half. Use a sharp pair of scissors to carefully cut out the fabric or cardboard circle. Then, you can use a ruler to draw a straight line right down the middle of the circle. Cut the circle in half using the line as a guide.^{[2]
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- You should now have 2 halves for your ladybug wings.
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3
Paint the wings red and let them dry if you used cardboard. Get out a bottle of red acrylic paint and dip a brush or roller into the paint. Cover the cardboard wings so they're completely red. Then, leave them to dry completely. This should take about 1 hour.^{[3]
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- If you used red fabric to make the wings, you can skip this step.
- To make your ladybug wings sparkly, sprinkle a little red glitter over the red paint before it dries.
4
Cut out black fabric or cardboard circles. You can make the circles for the ladybug spots as big or small as you like. If you'd like perfectly round circles, set a glass on the material and trace around it. Then, cut around the circle and use it as a template to cut out more circles.
- Make as many circles for your ladybug spots as you like. You might even make the spots different sizes.
5
Glue the black spots to the red wings. If you're using fabric, squeeze fabric glue onto the black spots before you stick them onto the wings. To glue black cardboard spots onto cardboard wings, try using wood glue.^{[4]
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- You can paint black spots onto the wings instead of attaching fabric or cardboard spots.
6
Glue the top of the wing tips together. Squirt a little fabric or wood glue onto the pointed end of 1 wing. Then, lay the other wing tip over the glue so the wings overlap at an angle by about 3 inches (7.6 cm). This will make the wings look as though they're spreading apart near the bottom. Remember to let the wings dry completely before you assemble the rest of your ladybug costume.^{[5]
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- To make the costume more secure, you can use hot glue to glue the wings together.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Creating an Antennae Headband

1
Choose a black headband. If you're going for a simple look, pick a plain headband that's comfortable to wear. You could also use a black headband that has decorative swirls or detail.^{[6]
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- You should use a sturdy headband, not a flexible fabric headband. This will help the antennae stay in place.
2
Twist the end of 2 black pipe cleaners onto the top of the headband. Take a long black pipe cleaner and wrap the bottom 2 inches (5.1 cm) around the headband. The rest of the pipe cleaner should stick up from the top of the headband. Do this for the other pipe cleaner to make the other antenna.^{[7]
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- Try to leave 2 to 4 inches (5.1 to 10.2 cm) between each antenna.
3
Tape the pipe cleaners to the headband using black tape. Tear off 2 pieces of black duct or electrical tape and stick them onto the pipe cleaners at the base of the headband. The tape will prevent the pipe cleaner antennae from sliding around.^{[8]
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- If you prefer, you could use red tape to give the headband a little more color.
4
Glue a red or black pom pom to the end of each antenna. Heat a hot glue gun and carefully squeeze a little glue onto the pom pom. Then, stick the pom pom onto the end of a pipe cleaner to make the end of the antenna. Repeat this for the other antenna.
- Use caution when handling hot glue because it can easily burn you.
- Use any size of pom poms, but keep in mind that large ones might make the antennae droop over.
- You could also use black pom poms if you'd like completely dark antennae.
Variation: To add a little sparkle to your headband, take 2 small styrofoam balls and coat them in school glue. Then, roll them in red glitter and let them dry before attaching them to your pipe cleaners.
5
Twist each antenna into a curlicue if you'd like wiggly antennae. To give the antennae a sense of movement, wrap each one tightly around your index finger to curl them. Then, slide your finger out and pull gently on the pipe cleaner to unwind it a little.
- Try bending the antennae to make a zigzag design too!

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Putting the Costume Together

1
Pick a black shirt and pants. To make the red ladybug wings really stand out, you'll want to find a comfortable black shirt with black pants or get out a long-sleeve black leotard with leggings.
- You could choose a red or black dress instead of the leotard or shirt.
- Feel free to swap out red clothing for any of the black pieces. You could even cut red fabric circles to glue onto the black clothes.
2
Attach the ladybug wings to the back of your shirt. You can use fabric or wood glue to stick the top 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm) of the fabric or cardboard wings to the back of your shirt near your neckline. This will leave the wings so they hang down loosely. You should leave the glue to dry for at least 1 hour before you wear the costume.
- If you don't want to wait for the glue to dry, use safety pins to attach the fabric wings to the shirt.
- To make a longer lasting costume, sew the fabric wings onto the fabric of your shirt.
Tip: If you didn't want to make ladybug wings, you can use storebought wings. Slide your arms through the bands and pull the wings onto your back.
3
Apply spots to your face with makeup. To complete the ladybug look, use makeup or costume paint to draw small black and red dots across your face. If you'd like to cover more of your face with a design, draw red wings across your eyes and add black dots over them.^{[9]
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- You could also powder your face with a red blush before adding the black dots.
4
Add a tutu to make a toddler ladybug costume. Little kids love the feeling of twirling around with a bunch of tulle. Buy or make a red tutu that you can tie around your toddler's waist.^{[10]
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- You can leave the tutu solid red or glue black fabric circles to the tutu so they look like spots.
5
Wear an eye mask covered in spots. Buy a simple red eye mask and glue small black dots made of foam over the mask. These will look like ladybug spots. If you're short on time, draw the black dots using a permanent black marker.^{[11]
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Community Q&A

Question

How do I make a bee costume?

Community Answer

For a bee costume, follow the same steps as for a ladybug one. However, for the wings, attach yellow stripes instead of red dots. This is the same for your face makeup.