DIY Crazy Purple Minion Costumes - Harvard Homemaker (2024)

Well, Halloween is now six days away, and I only made these crazy purple minion costumes THREE YEARS AGO, but hey – better late than never!! I have had these pictures for so long… finally getting around to sharing this tutorial! (People, let’s not forget that I moved recently. Okay, so maybe it was over two years ago, but I still plan to blame any inability to get things done on that move for at least another year or so… just so you know…)

The yellow minion tutorialis one of my most popular posts – this tutorial is much the same. My kids were minions two years in a row (we basically became known as “the minion people”), and they racked up some serious Best Costume Awards during that time. Just sayin’. I have a feeling your crew will get just as much attention! Did I mention that these costumes require NO SEWING?! You just need to work some glue-gun magic.

Happy Halloween, crafty friends! You’re awesome, and you can DO THIS!

Pep talk over.

Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate/referral links. Please click here for further explanation.

TO FIND THE TUTORIAL FOR THE YELLOW MINIONS, CLICK HERE OR ON THE PICTURE BELOW.

WANT TO BUY COSTUMES INSTEAD?

If you know there isZERO CHANCEyou are going to be making these (!), here are some links where you can order costumes and call it a day! :) Not gonna lie, we are buying costumes this year. Two great places to shop online: HalloweenCostumes.comand Costumes4Less.

Crazy/Evil Minion Costumes:

Find an Evil Minion Child Costume here.

Find a Minion Dracula Adult Costume here.

Find a Minion Dracula Child Costume here.

Yellow Minion Costumes:

Find all types of Minion Costumes here.

Find a Child’s Minion Costume here (overalls style).

Find an Adult Minion Costume here (overalls style – matches the style above).

Find a Minion Costume for your DOG here(LOL!!).

The Perfect Final Touch:

How awesome isthis Adult Gru Mask(see below) to complete your group’s look! I have found that this typically sells out every Halloween, so I would suggest you go ahead and order it if it’s available and you really want to add a “Gru” to your clan! (A great job for Dad!) :)

Adult Despicable Me Gru Mask – $15.99
from: HalloweenCostumes.com

CRAZY/EVIL PURPLE MINION TUTORIAL

SUPPLIES NEEDED

• Large candy bowl for the head
• Poster board for the body (you’ll probably need two pieces)
• Spider web stuff for the hair
• Purple spray paint
• Black fabric for the overalls (I used felt)… enough to wrap around your child’s body (you’ll also use a scrap for the “eye mask” part)
• Purple fabric for the arms – we used something stretchy/comfortable (or skip this step and just have your kids wear purple long-sleeved shirts)
• Tiny black mittens (omit if you’re not making the long, hanging arms)
• Black mesh/see-through fabric (optional – this would cover the mouth)
• Silver Sharpie to draw the logo
• Purple marker to draw in eyes (or cut construction paper perhaps)
• Two buttons per costume (I used large black ones)
• Tuna cans or some other creative way to create eyes (you could cut down an oatmeal box)
• Clear packing tape
• Black duct tape (optional)
• A drill
• Scissors and possibly a box cutter
• Sandpaper (helpful but not necessary)
• Polyurethane (again – helpful but not necessary)

STEP 1

Scuff up the bowl with some sandpaper to help the paint adhere to it. You can skip this step if you’d like.

STEP 2

Spray paint the bowl purple. This part is fun. I don’t know about you, but I feel kind of cool when I’m using spray paint. Like I totally know what I’m doing or something.

STEP 3

Paint the poster board purple, too. You can see mine in the background.

STEP 4

When the paint is dry, drill holes through the bowl at random so you can pull the “hair” through. I learned the hard way that this is easiest from the INSIDE OUT. In other words, drill as shown below, from the inside of the bowl. If you drill on the bottom with the bowl upside down, it may crack. You will feel cool and maybe like a bit of a badass while carrying out this step as well. See, projects are FUN! (How are you doing so far??)

STEP 5

This step is optional, but if you’d like to keep the paint from scratching off the bowl more easily, you can apply some polyurethane. Let dry.

STEP 6

Push the spider web stuff through the holes. You could also use pipe cleaners or some other material to create the crazy hair. I had a hard time getting the webbing to push through the bowl, so I went and grabbed a large paper clip and straightened it a bit. I then used it to help me push the “hair” through the bowl. See the picture below.

STEP 7

Secure the spider web stuff with tape. (I am suddenly aware of how many times I’ve already used the word “stuff” in this post. Making your own costumes is technical business, you guys.)

STEP 8

Use your handy glue-gun and adhere the webbing to the bowl at random.

STEP 9

Spray paint the hair purple. You could also use some of that purple hairspray stuff that’s easy to find around Halloween.

STEP 10

Take enough poster board to wrap comfortably around your child (remember they will have to get this on and off – this can be tricky.). Cut and tape together as needed.

STEP 11

This step needs to have a hidden camera while you perform it. You are going to wrestle with that poster board and show it who’s boss while you try to tape that sucker closed before it flies back open again. OR – have someone help you with this part! :)

You will then tape the poster board to the bowl with an obscene amount of tape.

Can you see how it’s coming together now?? Great job, crafty friend! Keep going! (Are you swearing at me yet?)

STEP 12

Cut holes for the arms. You will probably want to slide the contraption over your child so you can gauge where the arms should go before you cut. Remember to leave space for the mouth and eyes above the arm holes. And don’t make any cuts with your child still IN the costume!!!

STEP 13

Cut the mouth at your child’s eye level. Again – you will want to slide the costume on your child in order to figure out where the mouth should go, and then remove the costume to make the cut.

STEP 14

Add some teeth. I just took some printer paper and cut teeth at random. I then taped the teeth on from the inside of the mouth.

STEP 15

Take some black duct tape or packing tape and secure a wide strip of black fabric to hide the seam where the poster board meets the bowl. This will serve as the “eye mask”. I then used my glue-gun to secure it even more all the way around. I also taped the bowl to the poster board really well inside the costume.

STEP 16

Here’s a good view of the costume from inside… you can see where I taped some of the black see-through fabric to make the mouth look darker in order to disguise your child’s eyes. This looked great for pictures, but it made it harder for my kids to see at night when they went Trick-or-Treating. They ended up tearing it out.

SHOULDER STRAPS FOR COMFORT

I don’t have a picture of the shoulder straps for this tutorial (sorry – forgot to take a picture of this step!), but if you click over to the yellow minion tutorial, you can see how I taped in some long socks to create a place for the costume to rest on the person’s shoulders. You could also use some leftover fabric.

STEP 17

Cut the black fabric (I used black felt) in order to create the overalls, along with straps. I then used a can to trace a circle and draw in the “M” logo. Use a glue-gun to secure the overalls to the poster board, wrapping the fabric around the entire “body”. (You can pan down for a picture to see how the back of the costumes I made look.) You can then glue on a button at the base of each shoulder strap.

STEP 18

Time for the eyes! Be creative here – look around your house for whatever might work! You can use 1-2 tuna cans or cut down an oatmeal box, etc. (I used the round lid from a large plastic container the year prior when I made the yellow minion costumes.)I then just took some printer paper and drew eyelids and eyeballs, and then I glued them inside the cans.

Below you can see what an eye looks like when made from a cut-down oatmeal container.

Whew! Almost there!! You still with me?

STEP 19

Last step! Make some arms. (This could be optional – your kids could just wear purple shirts otherwise). I took stretchy purple fabric and used a glue-gun to “sew” the arms closed at the sides, but I left them open around my kids’ hands so they could still get their hands out to eat, etc. (Also leave the top part open for the arms to slide inside). I then glued tiny mittens to the bottom of the arms. (I could have made the arms a little bigger than I did – I didn’t want them to slide off, but I ended up making them too skinny.)

Sorry I don’t have better pictures for this part. I was trying to crank out three of these (along with a toddler one for my youngest), and I was running out of time! My camera didn’t get picked up quite as much as it needed to for you guys! :(

Ta-da! You did it!!!

I hope we are still friends. :) Aren’t you proud of yourself?!

The view from the back…

The reactions people had when they opened the door to this motley crew were hilarious!

Two of my friends made their kids these costumes as well. Below, one of my daughters is shown with two friends. All crazy minions! My friends skipped making the long, hanging arms. Their kids just wore purple shirts.

The whole gang in the neighborhood – they were a hit! These make for great “group costumes”, and it’s hysterical to see them all bopping around in these get-ups, side-by-side!

How sweet is my youngest down below in her toddler version of this costume? (Read this post before you choose a costume for your toddler!) I have all the pictures to share how I did the toddler costume as well… now I just have to find the time to write up THAT post! (Did I mention that we moved two years ago? I told you, I’m going to milk that excuse for as long as I can, you guys…) :)

Happy Halloween, everybody! I hope these costumes are a hit! For more Halloween fun and fall recipes, click here to find other related posts. And don’t forget to start the Boo-ingexcitement in your neighborhood if it’s not already underway! Best. Tradition. Ever.

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