It’s that time of year again, time to celebrate Read Across America Day, Dr. Seuss’s birthday or World Book Day. Today the spirit day was to dress up as on of your favorite Dr. Seuss characters at school. Elliot went with a fun Cat in the Hat costume.
I love dress-up day school! 🙂 Even though we already had a Lorax costume on hand, Elliot opted to wear a Cat in the Hat costume instead. And since then, he’s dressed at the Cat in the Hat a few more times at school.
It should come as no surprise that a Cat in the Hat costume is the most popular Dr. Seuss costume at school. Maybe because the Cat in the Hat is so iconic or maybe because it’s a pretty easy costume to DIY. Regardless I saw several different Cat in the Hats at school, so it is definitely a favorite character among students.
Read below on how you can make a great kids costume for Dr. Seuss Week with no sewing skills necessary!
Cat in the Hat Accessories
The cat’s hat is the most obvious and key accessory in Dr. Seuss cat costume. We already had a Cat in the Hat costume hat from Elliot’s Lord in the Hat costume. The hat has turned out to be one of our most used accessories in our costume box.
If you don’t want to buy a red and white hat, check out my friend Kim’s Cat in the Hat party hat tutorial. It’s a very simple Cat in the Hat costume accessory tutorial that uses a red solo cup and paint! You could even use a white ribbon instead of paint.
I also love this cat hat headband you can buy with cat ears attached. It’s perfect for adult costumes that you can throw on quick with a black shirt and feel like you are participating without wearing a full costume.
How to make a Cat in the Hat Costume Red Bow
An oversized red bow is the next key piece for a Cat in the Hat costume. My boys have dressed at the Cat in the Hat for Dr. Seuss Day several times now, so I have a couple of different bow ideas to share with you.
The easiest bow option is to use an extra large red ‘velvet’ Christmas bow. You might have one stashed away in your Christmas decorations or you could look for one at a local thrift store.
Or if you are really proactive about Dr. Seuss day, buy one during Christmas when all the stores are stocked with festive decorations.
DIY Cat in the Hat Costume Red Bow
If you can’t find a red Christmas bow to use, then you can simply make one from red vinyl or felt. The felt bow is the best option for most people unless you own a Cricut or other vinyl cutting machine.
Start by finding a great bow image online to use as a template, like this one from PreKFun. Simply trace the design on to the red felt and cut it out. I recommend using very sharp scissors when cutting felt, otherwise you will get frustrated. I have one set of scissors set aside for fabric that I use, I hide them from the rest of the family.
To give the bow a little more dimension, I glued another small piece of red felt to the center of the red bow tie. Then use a safety pin to attach the bow to your t-shirt.
How to Make Cat in the Hat Costume T-Shirt
Start with a plain black t-shirt, either long sleeved or short sleeved. All you need to do is add a white cat belly to the front of the shirt. The easiest way to to do that is using white duct tape.
Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the shirt and draw a template for the cat’s belly. Flip the paper over and add strips of white duct tape over the design, make sure it’s fully covered. The parchment paper trick is the best way to cut duct tape.
Now flip the parchment paper back over and cut along your template. Using parchment paper makes it easier to cut through duct tape. After you cut out your cat belly design, simply peel off the parchment paper and stick the white belly to the black t-shirt.
You could also do a similar design with iron-on vinyl but using white duct tape is less permanent. After Dr. Seuss Day, we simply peeled off the duct tape and the boys had their blank black t-shirts again.
Or go old school and make a belly using white felt and attach it to the black shirt with a hot glue gun.
More Cat in the Hat Costume Details
If you want to kick up your costume a notch, add a cat tail, white gloves, or a little face paint. Or don’t, it still turns out super cute and couldn’t be easier!
DIY Cat In The Hat Costume Materials
- Cat in the Hat Costume Hat
- Extra Large Red Bow
- Black T-shirt
- White Duct Tape or White Felt
- Black Pants
- Face Paint *optional
- Gloves *optional
- Cat Tail *optional
If your school requires your Halloween costume to represent a storybook character, the Cat in the Hat costume is a fun, silly way to meet that dress code.
More Dr. Seuss Character Costumes
- Mr Brown Costume
- Lorax Costume Sweatshirt
- Fox In Socks Costume
Don’t miss a huge list of World Book Day costume ideas.
This post was originally published March 2, 2017.
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