DIY MACK Truck Bulldog Costume

I wanted to make a costume that went hand in hand with the fact that my dog is a bulldog, but I could not come up with anything really special. My mom has always been so helpful and encouraging of me dressing my dog, and she suggested making Goblin Girl a MACK Truck costume. It was a brilliant idea! I had just moved when my mom suggested it, so I was not able to make it that Halloween, but I promised to make it the following year when I had more time. Sadly, my mom did not live long enough to see her incredible suggestion come to life.

I had never taken sewing lessons, but I inherited my mom’s sewing machine and tried my best to figure out enough to make the costume. I bought the yellow fabric in clearance at the fabric store, and I also discovered black felt that had a sticky side. That would be what I used for the MACK Trucks logos. I bought some lightweight art foam boards to use to help give the truck a more squared shape on my dog’s body. The first piece I made was the little bulldog hood ornament for the hood of the truck. It’s so iconic, and I didn’t want to forget it. I just shaped a few hood ornaments out of foil one night while I was trying to figure out exactly how to make the costume. After I shaped the foil, I poked a piece of thread through each one so I would be able to sew it to the hood when all was said and done. I covered them with superglue to hold the shape and got started on the costume.

I sewed the material over 2 pieces of art foam for the sides of the truck. Then I made a narrower piece for the top of the truck and sewed the sides to that. I added a belt underneath just to hold it more securely on her body. Then I traced the logos on my computer screen, cut them out and traced those on the felt. I had to flip the image for one side of the truck so the dog would be facing the right way on both sides. The felt just sticks to the material, but I added a few stitches here and there just to keep it secure. The two large exhaust pipes were made from the tops of bendy straws and part of an old dishwasher tube my maintenance man found for me. I taped the pieces together, wrapped them in foil, and stitched them onto each side of the truck.

For the front of the truck, I actually just covered an old square piece of Tupperware with cloth. I had punched holes around the edges of it with a nail so I could stitch the fabric in place. I attached an extra strap to slip up over my dog’s neck to hold the front of the truck in place. I cut the grill of the truck out of cardboard. I modelled it after an older model of the truck which has the word MACK in the bottom of the grill. Those letters were extremely difficult to cut out. I covered it with foil and stitched it to the front of the truck. Then I chose the best bulldog hood ornament out of the ones I had made and sewed it on top of the hood. I made the front bumper out of foil and stitched it onto the fabric.

The wheels were not easy to find. I actually had to go to the hobby shop and special order all the wheels. The guys there were so intrigued when I told them what I was making and of course I had to promise to bring her to the hobby shop to show them when it was all finished! When the wheels finally came in, I hand sewed them all on and the costume was finished!

I just love this costume. It was such a great idea, and everyone who sees it loves it. My maintenance man didn’t know what I was making when I asked him to see if he had any parts to fit the description of the exhaust pipes. He has bulldogs, so his family loves the costume too. I just wish my mom had lived long enough to see it. She really would have loved it.

Thank you for letting me share Goblin’s DIY MACK Truck costume!