A Quick Homemade Bingo Costume (from Bluey)

For Book Week my son has requested a homemade Bingo costume. Last year that was. Yes, that's how long it's taken me to write this post! It's now Book Week again and he's requested Anh Do's Ninja Kid. Here's hoping you don't need to wait a year for that one. You can check out my socials as I'm sure I'll post something on there.

Getting back to Bingo. Do your kids love Bluey as much as mine do? My older boy went through a stage where it was too “babyish” for him but I notice how excited he gets to watch it at the end of his day. They put it on and the starting song begins. Then both of my boys jump up and dance around giggling and laughing. It's adorable… when it doesn't end in pushing and bumping and someone getting hurt that is.

My littlest one wanted to be Bingo since both my boys relate themselves to the Bluey family unit. Hudson is the youngest child so he is Bingo. Campbell is the oldest child so he gets to be Bluey. Then there's Mum (me) and Dad (their Dad). They sing the song, dance around and point to each of us as the song shouts our name. I'm sure many other children do this also!

Luckily I didn't have more than two children or the opening Bluey theme song could get really awkward for the subsequent kids. We also don't have the “traditional” family unit with Mum and Dad living in the same home. But of course, something like that isn't going to stop my children from jamming out and enjoying the Bluey song!

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Can't DIY your Bingo costume?

I hear you, sometimes creating a costume from scratch just isn't on the cards. If you're not able to make your own homemade bingo costume, I have found some easy Bingo or Bluey costumes that you can purchase.

Supplies for a homemade Bingo costume

The key to the Bingo costume is definitely the free mask that I found on the Bluey website (link below).

You can get resourceful with the pants and jumper. You may already have something at home or you could check second-hand stores. I got this tracksuit in the girl's section at KMart as I couldn't find anything in the boy's clothes.

• Free Bingo mask
• Orange pants and jumper
• 1-2 metres light yellow-cream felt
• 1 pair of light yellow-cream gloves
• A4 sheet (or similar) of felt coordinating to your pants and jumper
• Narrow elastic for mask
• Wider elastic for tail
• Access to a colour printer and paper
• Scissors
• Sticky tape
• Sewing machine or needle and thread

STEP #1: BINGO COSTUME MASK

From the link above in the supplies list, download and print your Bingo mask. I printed mine on a quality 200 gsm paper. It wasn't flimsy but it also wasn't too rigid like a heavy cardstock. You could go higher than 200 gsm though.

Cut your mask out and using the sticky tape, attach Bingo's nose. There are instructions on the mask to guide you. Then measure and attach thin elastic to wrap around your child's head. You could use a ribbon on either side as suggested on the mask download. However, I found it was more secure if I used elastic. That's why you'll notice the supplies image was a little different to the list as I had to improvise.

Side note: This cute mask download is also available in a Bluey mask. Why not adapt the rest of my Bingo costume to suit a Bluey costume too? They would be a great Halloween costume duo. If you have some time there is also a colouring mask that your child can colour and decorate if they wish.

STEP #2: BINGO'S TOP HALF

Using the light yellow-cream felt, cut out an arch for the tummy. I didn't give an exact measurement on how much of this felt you would need as it depends on the size of your child’s jumper. You will also need some of this felt for Bingo's tail below.

Now my jumper had a pocket on it which wasn't ideal but it still worked. Stitch the felt arch around the front of the jumper. I used my sewing machine for this but it would be easy enough to hand stitch too.

STEP #3: BINGO'S BOTTOM HALF (my kids would giggle at that)

The tail consists of two different coloured felts. The A4 sheet of felt was a good enough size for the majority of the tail so I didn't cut it at all. This is the orange colour that should coordinate as close to the costume as possible. I wasn't really too keen on my colour match but since I'm a last-minute kinda person, it was the only option at the time.

The end of Bingo's tail is going to be the same colour felt as her tummy. Cut the end of tail from this yellow-cream felt. Aim for approximately half the length of the orange felt and the same width.

Stitch these two pieces together. Then fold in half to run a stitch all around to seal the tail. Some stuffing inside the tail would look great too as it's fairly flat without it. Bingo is actually 2D though so it suited me just fine to leave it out. At least that's how I sold it so that I could save on time and supplies.

Before sealing the end of the tail, loop the thicker elastic so the tail can be attached around the child’s waist. 

Another book week costume complete

It's as simple as that. Dress your Bingo-loving kiddo in their dog attire, add their tail and place their gloves on. Hudson had to wear shoes to school so I put him in white shoes. If you don't require shoes though, some yellow-cream socks to match Bingo's tummy and paws would look amazing. Then top it all off with the mask.

Above is a photo of my little Bingo with his brother for whom I made Dog Man costume. I did try to convince my older son to go as Bluey but as I said at the start… according to him it's for babies and he couldn't go to school looking uncool. Who am I to get in the way of coolness?!

Have you crafted your own homemade Bingo costume? Perhaps it was a Bluey costume? I'd love to know how it turned out! Upload a photo on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @avisualmerriment