Last Halloween Kevin and I went to not one, but 3 Halloween parties! This is huge for us because our tradition the past few years has been to stay in and spend the night handing out candy to neighborhood kids. Because though some of you might be a little offended, I’m just not that into Halloween. Yet after not dressing up the last few years, we DIY-ed our way into some last-minute costumes that ended up being a big hit and some of my favorite costumes to date!
If you’re a fan of the Netflix animated series, Bojack Horseman, then keep reading to learn everything you need to know to make your own Bojack or Princess Carolyn costumes! And if you haven’t watched it yet, add it to your already long list of shows to watch. But hurry up, because season 4 just came out last month and it’s the best one yet!
to make a Bojack Horseman costume
The only part you have to DIY on this costume is the pullover sweater. Rather than spend a ton on a knit sweater (and to make it look more like the cartoon), Kevin used black fabric paint to paint x’s and dashed lines all over the front of a blue long sleeve t-shirt. So easy—and he’s definitely worn this again after Halloween!
And if you want to go all out, you can get teal colored jeans and red all-stars.
to make a Princess Carolyn Costume
The Princess Carolyn costume is a little more involved, but still do-able. I started with a teal tank dress and added the fish pattern using yellow heat transfer vinyl. I used my Silhouette to cut out the fish but you could totally cut them out by hand too. Just make sure to cover the vinyl with a scrap piece of fabric before placing a dry, hot iron on top. Add a skinny belt and my favorite mustard yellow cardigan and you’re almost done.
I used yellow oven-bake clay to make the triangle charm for the necklace. Once it baked and cooled, I added a dot of red glitter glue in the center. You could also glue on a red jewel if you happen to have one.
The “ears” were made by cutting wrapping sticky pink craft foam around a headband. Once I wrapped it around, I used scissors to shape each piece into an ear. I then used black paint (you could also use a permanent marker) to draw the inside details on the ears. You can finish the costume off with pink heels but since I have chronic foot pain I opted to wear comfy sneakers instead.
Are you a fan of Bojack Horseman too? If so, which character would dress up as? I’d love to know!
Anna
Love it!! Where did you get the horse head? I can’t find it anywhere!
Sarah
AnnaThanks Anna! I got mine on Amazon but it’s no longer available there. I found it elsewhere and provided a link under the supplies list at the end of the post.
Maggie Quinn
Hey I know it’s been like a year since you posted this , but I just wanted to ask a question about your costume b/c out of all the Princess carolyn costumes I’ve seen online yours by far is the most impeccable and pristine I’ve come across and you put it all together quite well and I was wondering for the little yellow vinyl fish did you iron on each one individualy? And did you iron it on for 15 secs 30 ? Thank you so much for graciously sharing your wonderful interpretation of Princess Carolyn cosplay you came out marvelously! I am trying to make my own Princess Carolyn costume this year for Halloween and any tips you could offer would be amazing. Thank you so much for your contributions!
Sarah Khandjian
Maggie QuinnAww fish! Thanks so much, Maggie! To answer your questions, yes, I did place and iron each fish individually so I could get more per sheet of vinyl. I probably ironed it for about 30 seconds, but I’d just follow the directions that come with the heat transfer vinyl for specific instructions. Good luck making your costume!