Fun is in the air as the carousel goes round and round. Phoenix and Gryphon are the carousel horses, ready to take you for a spin. Gryphon is the horse with the lavender mane and tail, while Phoenix has a mane and tail of light blue. Climb onto the horse of your choice, grab onto their shiny brass pole, and enjoy the ride! We decided to dress up our dogs as carousel horses this year because we thought it would be unique, and carousels are so beautiful and colorful. Dogs already have the body shape of a horse, which makes it a little easier, but we wanted to make sure they had new manes and tails, and a new color for their bodies, not just use their regular color. We thought that would really complete the look.
Phoenix and Gryphon the Carousel Horses
Bodysuits and Saddles
Materials:
- White Spandex Fabric
- Blue and Purple Felt
- Rhinestones
- Jewels
- Ribbons
- Tassels
- Flowers
To make it look like the dogs had the bodies of white horses, we thought white body-suits would be perfect. This would cover most of their gold fur, and give them a different look. The bodysuits were sewn out of white spandex, which was stretchy and comfortable. They were made with a space underneath for ease when going potty. The saddles that went atop the bodysuit were made from felt, one in blue and one in purple. The saddles were then decorated and embellished with rhinestones, various jewels, ribbons, tassels, and flowers. The saddles were then glued in place with the glue gun onto the body-suit.
Decorating the Saddles
Carousel Poles
Materials:
- Thick Foam
- Gold Lamé Fabric
- Foam Ball
- Gold Rope Trim
- Foamboard
The most distinctive part of a carousel horse is, of course, the poles. We wanted the poles to be light, but sturdy, and stand up by themselves while the dogs moved around. The poles were made from gold lamé fabric, which was wrapped and sewn around sturdy thick foam. The ball atop the pole was made in the same way, with a foam ball. The poles were then decorated with gold rope trim, which was wrapped around and glued in place, to give the pole more texture. The poles were attached to the saddle by gluing the side of the pole into the top dip of the saddle, and the bottom of the pole onto the white body-suit. A small square was cut out of foamboard and glued underneath the base of the pole to give it more substance when attaching it to the body-suit, so it would stand up. We were really pleased with how that worked. One of the things we were most worried about when planning these costumes was whether the poles would hold themselves up and stand straight, especially while the dogs were moving around. We found they actually held up really well, and stayed pretty straight.
Gold Cord on the Carousel Poles
Headpieces with Mane and the Tail
Materials:
- White Fabric
- Purple and Blue Yarn
- Fabric for Bows
The horse headpieces were made from white fabric that fit around the heads, with pointy ears sticking up. They extended down, to leave room for the manes. The manes were made from yarn, purple for one and blue for the other. We thought colorful hair would be fun, rather than classic hair colors for a horse, because carousel horses are a little more fanciful and colorful. The yarn was glued in loops into the headpiece, then cut to make even strands. Some yarn was also added to the forehead area, for bangs. The tail was made from yarn in a similar way, onto a base of white fabric, and attached onto the back of the bodysuit. Big bows were made from fabric and glued onto the headpiece and base of the tails, to make it even more decorative.
Attaching Tails to the Bodysuits
Horse Mane
Hooves and Ankle Decorations
Materials:
- Black Denim
- Elastic
- White Fabric
- Ribbons
- Tassel Trim
We thought hooves would be really cute to really emphasize that they were horses. The hooves were made from black denim. They were made with a hole in the bottom, to allow the dogs to walk comfortably. Elastic straps were sewn in around the back, to hold them in place. The ankle decorations were made from white fabric, with elastic sewn into the top, to hold them in place, with an open bottom. They were decorated with ribbons of different colors and tassel trim.
Ankle Decorations
Horse Hooves
Bridles
Materials:
- Thin Elastic
- Thin Gold Ribbon
- Various Fabrics
The bridles were made by making a circle of thin light elastic to fit lightly around the dogs’ snouts. The elastic was then covered with thin gold ribbon. The ribbon was extended to go along both sides of the face and around the back of the head, like a horse’s bridle. The bridle was then decorated with small circles cut out of various fabrics.
Making Bridle Accents
Making the Bridles
Carousel Background
Materials:
- Canopy Top
- Jewels
- Posterboard
- Yellow Felt
- Blue Ribbon
- Foamboard
- Woodgrain Wrapping Paper
- Blue Felt
We wanted to create an actual carousel type scene for the horses to stand on, so it would look like a real carousel. A canopy top intended for a children’s room was used for the top of the carousel. It was decorated with jewels. The center pole was made out of posterboard, which was covered with yellow felt, and glued into a tube shape. It was then decorated with blue ribbon going around it. The floor of the carousel was made out of foamboard. Three layers of six sheets were glued together and cut into a circle shape. The circle was then covered with woodgrain wrapping paper. The edges were covered with blue felt, and jewels were glued all around it. When we had the dogs pose in their outfits on the carousel, we really thought it came to life. When we showed people, they were amazed, and said it was one of their favorite costumes. It was a lot of fun!
Carousel Background
Related costumes:
Funny Carousel Horse Costume for a Dog 
Carousel Dress Costume 
Homemade King Candy and Princess Lolly Costumes for our Pet Dogs 
Cool Amusement Park Carousel Costume for a Girl 
Horse and Rider Costume: Biker Girl on a Harley Horse 
Scary Undead Necromancer Costume 
Creative Homemade Carousel Costume 
Lina the Awesome Horse as Buckbeak the Hippogriff