Because we love Halloween so much, and because this is such a weird year, we decided to do more than one Halloween costume this year. We figured why not get extra festive and spend some time celebrating and dressing up as the things we love (see our Hamilton costumes that I shared last week). Our family LOVES The Mandalorian series, and we have watched it several times since our first binge session when visiting my family in California last year. Because of how much we love it (and Star Wars in general – see our Star Wars: The Force Awakens costumes from a few years ago), deciding on Mandalorian Halloween costumes was a no-brainer! This is the way.
We got really into this one. The hubs had to be Mando, AKA Din Djarin (the Mandalorian), I chose to be Cara Dune because I knew I could pull it off with my hair color and length (plus she’s just awesome), Grayson decided to be the bounty hunter/nurse droid, IG-11 (because Grayson lives for complicated DIY projects), and Sawyer chose the Ugnaught Kuiil as his character. We decided to DIY our Mandalorian costumes for a few reasons: 1) Being such a new show, there weren’t ready-made options for many of the Mandalorian costume ideas we chose, 2) the really nice, cosplay-quality versions on Etsy were hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, and 3) part of the fun for us is getting a little crafty. We absolutely loved the results! I’m sharing how we made all of our DIY Mandalorian Halloween costumes, including links to buy the components in today’s article. Comment or hit me up @fabeveryday on social media if you have any questions!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. This does not cost you anything additional, and helps me to keep the rest of my content free, so thank you!
Cara Dune costume DIY instructions
I made my Cara Dune costume out of a women’s Darth Vader costume, of all things. It worked out shockingly well for transformation into the ex-shock trooper’s outfit! Here’s what you need to make this Cara Dune costume DIY:
- Women’s Darth Vader costume with the following changes:
- I removed the cape, groin and shin plates (I repurposed the shin plates on the hips to resemble Cara Dune’s holsters), and cut the sleeves short.
- I spray painted the belt and stomach plate with black spray paint, then used metallic silver acrylic paint to create a pattern on the stomach plate that resembled the details on Cara Dune’s top.
- I used teal fabric paint to color the pants part of the bodysuit, as well as the chest and shoulder pieces. I added some light sprays of black spray paint to add some faux patina to the chest and shoulder plates.
- Black gauntlet wristbands, spray painted with teal fabric paint and light sprays of black spray paint to add some faux patina.
- Black gloves
- Black boots
- Rebel dropper tattoo set (this Cara Dune tattoo set includes the arm stripes and the Rebel Alliance emblem face tattoo)
- Teal fabric spray paint
- Black spray paint
- Metallic silver acrylic paint
- Side parted hair with a tight French braid on the left side
DIY Kuiil costume
Sawyer’s children’s Kuiil costume was probably the most unique of our Mandalorian costume ideas. We decided to have our favorite Ugnaught riding a Blurrg, which we made out of an inflatable T-Rex costume. Here’s how we put it all together:
- Inflatable dino rider T-Rex costume with the rider legs painted brown and the dinosaur painted gray. We used acrylic paint applied with sponge brushes, and only needed a single coat to transform the T-Rex into a Blurrg.
- Steampunk goggles
- Green fishing shirt
- Brown knit scarf
- Deadpool belt with pockets. We turned the belt around to hide the Deadpool logo. The pocket belt not only made the Kuiil costume look more authentic, but it also gave us a place to hold the controls for the inflatable dinosaur costume.
- Gray acrylic paint
- Brown acrylic paint
DIY IG-11 Halloween costume
Of course Grayson opted for the most complicated of characters for our Mandalorian family costumes. As you might recall from our Star Wars: The Force Awakens costumes, G loves an opportunity to play a droid, and he loves a good DIY opportunity. Here is how we made our lovable bounty-turned-nurse droid, IG-11 Halloween costume:
- Grey unitard
- Papier-mâché helmet, fashioned out of crafting chicken wire and the top of a 1-liter plastic bottle (see the image below). We used empty TP rolls and circles of red cardstock for additional helmet details.
- Multiple plastic bottles (two .5-liter, four 1-liter, and two 2-liter sizes) with the tops and bottoms cut off and spray painted metallic silver. These became the pieces for the upper and lower arms and legs. We added pipe cleaners around the tops and bottoms to resemble the wiring and joint connections of IG-11. These pieces are separate from the bodysuit and can be added or removed as needed, since the cylindrical bottles naturally wrap around limbs.
- Two bandolier sashes, spray painted black, then a section hand-painted with metallic silver acrylic fabric paint.
- Nerf Star Wars blaster rifle, spray painted metallic silver then hand-detailed with rusted pipe acrylic paint for some faux patina.
- Nerf Star Wars blaster, spray painted metallic silver then hand-detailed with rusted pipe acrylic paint for some faux patina. Several of us used this as a prop for our Mandalorian Halloween costume photos.
- Crafting chicken wire
- Metallic silver spray paint
- Black spray paint
- Rusted pipe acrylic paint
- Metallic silver acrylic fabric paint
- Brown, gray, and black pipe cleaners
DIY Mandalorian costume
Our DIY Mandalorian costume was the most anticipated of our family’s Mandalorian Halloween costumes, but it was pretty easy to create in the end. As I said earlier, you can find really high-quality, cosplay-worthy Mandalorian costumes on Etsy, but they start at $450 and can reach thousands of dollars to purchase. These 3D printed costumes can be custom sized for you, but they take time to produce in addition to the cost investment. That wasn’t in our budget, so we went a lot simpler and used a budget helmet from Amazon and carboard. I know, it’s not exactly beskar, but it’s fun and it worked for us. Here’s what we used to make our Din Djarin costume:
- Mandalorian helmet
- Black long-sleeved shirt adorned with cardboard armor pieces spray painted metallic silver. We found that thinner cardboard (from toy packaging; think: LEGO set boxes) worked well as it could more easily curve to the body.
- Black jogger pants adorned with cardboard armor pieces.
- Black cape
- Holster sash belt
- Black gloves
- Black boots
- Metallic silver spray paint
Grogu (AKA The Child)
No Mandalorian family costumes would be complete without The Child, Grogu (Baby Yoda) himself. We chose to use a plush version of The Child that my mother gifted to me rather than have a family member dress as him. If you have a pet or a baby, it would be cute to dress them up as Grogu as an alternative to using a Baby Yoda plush. Here’s a cute The Child dog costume and a precious infant Baby Yoda Grogu costume.
Do you love The Mandalorian, too? We can’t wait for the second season to premier just in time for Halloween! This is the way.
More family Halloween costume ideas:
- Easy and fun family Halloween costume ideas
- DIY Loki Variant Halloween Costumes (Family Loki Cosplay)
- Hamilton costume ideas for the whole family
- DIY Stranger Things 3 family Halloween costumes
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens Family Halloween Costumes
- Family Harry Potter Halloween Costumes
- Like and Subscribe! DIY YouTuber Halloween Costumes for the Whole Family
- Super Easy DIY Lego Movie Halloween Costumes for the Whole Family
- DIY Despicable Me 2 Halloween Costumes
More Halloween ideas:
- Easy, kid-friendly Halloween food ideas
- Easy Halloween food idea: Spooky Spaghetti
- Fun Halloween Recipe for Kids – Spooky Spider Hot Dogs
- Halloween-Themed Birthday Party (in April)
- Dessert Recipes for Your Leftover Halloween Candy
- Snickers Brownies recipe (great for using up that leftover Halloween candy)
- BB-8 and Grogu (Baby Yoda) Pumpkin Crafts
- Easy DIY Pokémon Pumpkins
- A bewitching Halloween party costume
Julie says
You guys are amazing! Thanks so much for posting the instructions and links. I’m going to try my hand at turning a Darth Vader costume into Cara Dune for my daughter!
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Thank you for the kind words! I was amazed how easily the Darth Vader worked for Cara Dune. Tag me @fabeveryday if you post about it – I’d LOVE to see how it turns out!
Julie says
Currently in process! How did you attach the shin plates as holsters–fabric glue? Any tips for keeping the black spray light on the teal for patina? (Scariest part for me!) I’m also curious how you protected your black fabric while painting the teal on the chest plate, etc. Thank you!
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Hi Julie! I attached the shin plate/holsters with a hot glue gun (my easiest go-to solution if I don’t feel like sewing). For the patina look with the black over the teal, I just did it from a distance and kept the strokes moving really fast. The imperfect result was actually pretty perfect! Regarding protecting the black from the teal, it wasn’t that tough because the teal fabric spray paint is a finer spray and was more easy to be accurate. Where it did get onto the black I just touched up some black later by hand. The teal didn’t show up a lot over the black (not compared to how it showed up on the silver chest plate) since the black is so dark unless you’re spraying it on thick in a particular spot (like when you do the legs).
Stacey says
This Mandalorian ensemble is AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing such detailed instructions (and links!)! I was wondering what pants you used for the Cara costume?
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Thank you! The pants were part of the full female Darth Vader bodysuit. I just removed the shin plates and added them to the hips.
Cynthia says
Hi,
How did you attach the armor for the mandolorian costume? Also, for the mando helmet do they not sell it anymore on Amazon? I clicked on the link but it’s no longer available. I’m trying to create this for my 8 year old son.
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Thanks for the heads up on the Mando helmet link. I will update it. It seems to be the same as this one: https://amzn.to/3CWkArS. We attached the cardboard pieces with hot glue. I hope this helps!
Kathryne says
Hello! Love the costume ideas. I know you made the madalorian armor from cardboard. Did you use a templet or anything to trace the armor? Thanks!
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Thank you! No, we didn’t use a template. We just kind of estimated it based on pictures of the armor and the size we’d need for my husband.