Dress Like a Clown
Create a playful clown costume using colorful clothes, simple face paint with adult help, a paper hat, oversized bow tie, and practice funny walks.
Step-by-step guide to Dress Like a Clown
Clown Makeup Tutorial Easy
Step 1
Gather all the materials and bring them to a flat workspace.
Step 2
Pick the colorful shirt and pants or dress you want to wear for your clown outfit.
Step 3
Lay the clothes out on the floor so they are ready to put on.
Step 4
Put on your colorful clothes.
Step 5
Roll a sheet of paper into a cone shape to make a hat.
Step 6
Tape the cone seam so the paper hat keeps its shape.
Step 7
Decorate the paper hat using markers or crayons.
Step 8
Cut a rectangle of paper or fabric scrap to the size you want for an oversized bow tie.
Step 9
Fold the rectangle into a bow shape and secure the center with tape or glue.
Step 10
Attach a ribbon or elastic band to the back of the bow tie so it can be worn.
Step 11
With adult supervision apply simple face paint designs like dots or a red nose to create a clown face.
Step 12
Put on your paper hat and wear your bow tie.
Step 13
Practice your funniest walk from one side of the room to the other.
Step 14
Share your finished clown costume and performance on DIY.org.
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can we use if we don't have the paper, tape, elastic, or face paint listed in the instructions?
If you don't have paper for the cone hat, use a clean paper bag or construction paper, substitute ribbon or a shoelace for the elastic on the bow tie, and use washable markers or lipstick with adult supervision instead of face paint.
My paper hat keeps unrolling or the seam comes apart—how do I fix it?
If the cone seam won't hold, reinforce it with extra tape along the seam and add a small strip of cardboard inside the hat base to keep its shape before decorating with markers or crayons.
How can I adapt the steps for younger or older children?
For toddlers, have an adult pre-roll and tape the paper hat and pre-cut the bow tie rectangle so the child can decorate with stickers and receive help with face paint, while older kids can sew a fabric bow tie, create more detailed face-paint designs, and invent a choreographed funny walk across the room.
How can we extend or personalize the clown costume and performance?
Personalize and extend the activity by gluing pom-poms, ribbon streamers, or LED stickers to the paper hat, layering patterned fabric scraps for a double bow tie, practicing a short skit to perform, and uploading the finished costume and performance to DIY.org.
Watch videos on how to Dress Like a Clown
How To Do Clown Makeup
4 Videos
How To Do Clown Makeup
Ringling Bros Presents - How To Be A Clown!
How I Made A Clown Costume ✨ (No Pattern, No Zipper)
Beginning Clowning for Children
Facts about costume making and dress-up play
📄 A simple paper hat can be folded from one sheet of paper—it's one of the oldest and easiest kid crafts.
🕺 Funny walks are a playful type of physical comedy used by performers from Charlie Chaplin to Monty Python.
🎨 Most kid-safe face paints are water-based and wash off easily with soap and water.
👞 Oversized shoes are a classic clown prop because they make movements look bigger and sillier.
🤡 The modern clown character was popularized in 19th-century circuses and theater.
How do I help my child dress like a clown step by step?
What materials do I need to make a child’s clown costume?
What ages is dressing like a clown suitable for?
What safety tips should I follow when my child dresses like a clown?
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