A DIY Minion costume comes down to one simple formula: yellow on top, blue denim on the bottom, round silver goggles, and black gloves and shoes to finish it off. Swap out any one of those pieces and the costume stops reading as a Minion, but keep all four and you’re covered whether you’re dressing a toddler, a teenager, or yourself. It’s also one of the easiest group costumes around, scaling from a five-minute no-sew version to a full sewn build. For more ideas, check our list of Halloween costume ideas, or start with the basics in how to make a costume.
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Which Minion Are You? Kevin, Stuart, or Bob
Before you cut a single piece of felt, pick a specific Minion to copy. It gives your costume a real silhouette instead of just “generic yellow guy,” and it changes exactly one thing about your build: the goggles.
Kevin is the tallest of the group and the closest thing the Minions have to a leader. He has two brown eyes, so his goggles need two full lenses connected by a bridge piece. If you’re tall, or dressing the tallest kid in the group, Kevin is the easy pick.
Stuart is medium height with neatly combed hair and just one eye. His costume is actually the simplest of the three, since a one-eye goggle skips the bridge and second lens entirely, a good choice if you’re short on time.
Bob is the shortest Minion and has heterochromia, one green eye and one brown eye, so if you’re painting on eye color, give the two sides different shades. Bob is almost always shown holding his brown teddy bear named Tim (yellow button eyes, floppy arms), and a stuffed bear under one arm instantly signals “this is Bob.” Note that there’s also a separate, two-eyed Minion who happens to be named Tim, so don’t mix up the bear with the character.
The Core Build
- Yellow top. A yellow t-shirt, sweatshirt, or hoodie works as your base. A hoodie is the better pick, since it doubles as a soft head shape under a beanie.
- Yellow beanie. Top the hood or bare head with a yellow felt or fleece beanie. Starting from scratch? A search for yellow felt sheets or a yellow beanie on Amazon turns up cheap options in the right shade for the hat itself or the “hair tuft” details.
- Blue bottom. Real blue denim overalls (thrifted ones are perfect) are the fastest route. No overalls on hand? Pin a blue felt or fleece bib shape over a plain pair of jeans with suspender straps. Your jeans stay wearable afterward.
- The Gru logo. Cut the black three-pronged “G” symbol out of felt, freehand it or trace a template, and back it with a small white felt circle so it pops against the denim. Attach it to the pocket with safety pins or fabric glue so it comes off in the wash.
- Goggles. The signature piece, with its own section below.
- Black accents. Black gloves and shoes or boots close out the color-blocking. Skip these and the costume looks unfinished.
Minion Goggles Four Ways
The goggles make or break the costume, so pick whichever method matches your time and materials.
- Canning jar lid and felt (the classic method). Iron gray felt to both sides of fusible webbing for a stiff base. Trace two overlapping circles with a small cup, then trace two smaller circles inside those for the lens openings. Cut out the shape, leaving a small tab (about 3/4 inch) on each outer end. Slit each tab and thread black elastic through, sized to fit the head, and stitch it in place. Glue the canning jar lids top-side down over the traced circles, then wrap a strip of silver duct tape where the two lids meet to hold them together.
- Cardboard tube version (cheap and fast for kids). Cut a paper towel or toilet paper tube into rings about a half inch thick, paint them silver, and let dry. Glue or tape the rings onto a plain headband or right onto the beanie, then add a black felt or paper circle in the center of each for the “eye.”
- Spray-painted swim or safety goggles (best for adults, most durable). Buy inexpensive hardware-store safety goggles or swim goggles, reshape the lens area into rounder circles with a hot glue gun if needed, then spray-paint the frame and rim silver, keeping the lens clear or lightly tinted. Because it keeps the original strap, this version holds up to repeat wear better than the felt-and-lid build.
- One-eye versus two-eye. For Kevin or Bob, build the two-lens version with a bridge connecting both circles and elastic to each side of the head. For Stuart, skip the bridge and second lens, and make one circle centered on the forehead, with elastic running around the back of the head.
Kids, Toddler, and Baby Minions
Younger kids need comfort more than accuracy, so lean into the simplest versions of each piece. A yellow hoodie or sweatshirt over blue felt overalls pinned to jeans covers the formula without pressure to match every detail. The cardboard tube goggles are the easiest kid-friendly option, since they’re lightweight and skip a rigid frame near the face. For a full roundup of easy sewing projects sized for little ones, see our guide to sewing for kids.
For babies and toddlers, start with a yellow onesie or footed sleeper as the one-piece base, since it’s warmer and needs no separate top and bottom. Add small blue overall shorts or a soft fabric bib on top. Important safety note: skip rigid plastic or hard-lens goggles and any elastic strap on infants and toddlers, since small hard parts and tight elastic are choking and strangulation hazards at this age. Instead, sew a soft felt goggle patch onto a beanie, or leave goggles off entirely and let the color blocking do the work. Always supervise the baby while accessories are worn, and remove them during naps.
The Purple Evil Minion
If you want to go a different direction, the purple “evil” Minion is a fun costume on its own, but it’s worth getting the movie reference right. The purple, feral Minion first showed up in Despicable Me 2 (2013), where the Minions get mutated by a fictional serum called PX-41 that turns them purple, wild-haired, and aggressive. Despicable Me 4 came out in July 2024 and introduced “Mega Minions,” superpowered variants from an experimental serum, but it did not bring back the purple ones. If anyone calls this the “Despicable Me 4 purple Minion,” that’s a mix-up, the purple look belongs to the second film.
To build it, swap your yellow pieces for purple: a purple t-shirt or vest works, or go bigger with a long-pile purple faux fur vest for texture. Keep the same blue overalls and goggles from the core build. For the “crazy hair,” attach purple feather boa pieces, yarn, or pipe cleaners to a headband, or spray-paint a plain wig purple and tease it upward. Smudge on dark eye makeup for the feral look, and keep the black gloves so the silhouette still reads as a Minion.
Light Sewing Upgrades
If you want a version that holds up better than pins and glue, a few small sewing steps go a long way. The yellow beanie can be made from two matching felt or fleece panels, or one folded rectangle sized to the head plus a seam allowance, sewn along the sides with a cuff turned at the base. It comes together in well under 10 minutes even with basic straight stitching. Dark felt or yarn hair tufts can be hand-stitched onto the crown of the beanie, and hand-stitching the Gru logo onto the overalls pocket instead of pinning it means it survives the whole night. If you’re new to needle and thread, our guide to hand-sewing stitches covers the basics for attaching felt pieces cleanly.
Short on time? The no-sew route works too: fusible iron-on webbing bonds felt pieces without stitching, hot glue attaches goggles and logo pieces in seconds, and safety pins handle anything you want to remove easily, like the Gru logo before laundry day.
Make It a Family Costume
Minions are made for group costumes because you can mix and match without anyone looking identical. Dress a few people as different Minions, some one-eyed like Stuart, some two-eyed like Kevin or Bob, and add one person as Gru to complete the set. Gru’s look is a black zip-up jacket over a turtleneck, dark dress pants, a light gray or black-and-gray striped scarf, and a bald cap, with a fake long nose and bushy eyebrows for comedy. Hand out a prop banana or two, real, plastic, or felt, for an easy last-minute add.
Want a printable head start on the sewn pieces? Our library of 155+ printable PDF sewing patterns includes basic hat, bib, and accessory shapes you can resize for a costume like this one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make a minion costume at home?
Combine a yellow top (shirt, hoodie, or onesie) with blue denim overalls or a DIY blue felt bib worn over jeans, add round silver-and-black goggles, and finish with black gloves and shoes. That four-part formula, yellow, blue denim, goggles, black accents, is what reads as a diy minion costume at a glance.
How do you make minion goggles?
The most common method glues two canning jar lids onto circles cut from stiffened gray felt, with black elastic threaded through felt tabs to make a headband. Budget options include painted cardboard tube rings glued to a headband, or spray-painting real safety or swim goggles silver for a sturdier adult version.
What do you need for a minion costume?
At minimum, a yellow top, blue denim overalls (or a blue bib over jeans), goggles, and black gloves and shoes. Optional extras include a yellow beanie with felt hair tufts, a felt Gru logo for the pocket, yellow face paint, and a banana prop.
How do you make a purple minion costume?
Swap the yellow pieces for purple, either a purple shirt or a long-pile purple faux fur vest, while keeping the same blue overalls, goggles, and black gloves. Add wild “crazy hair” using a feather boa, yarn, or spray-painted hair, and smudge on dark eye makeup for the feral look that started with the PX-41 serum storyline in Despicable Me 2.
How do you make a minion costume for a baby?
Start with a yellow onesie or footed sleeper as the one-piece base, then add small blue overall shorts or a soft fabric bib on top. Skip rigid plastic goggles and elastic straps for safety, use a soft felt goggle patch sewn onto a beanie instead, or leave goggles off entirely, and always supervise the baby while any add-on pieces are worn.
What does Gru wear, for a family costume?
Gru’s look is a black zip-up jacket over a turtleneck sweater, dark dress pants, a light gray (or black-and-gray striped) scarf, and a bald cap. Optional comedic touches are a long fake nose and thick fake eyebrows, making him an easy pairing with a group of Minions for a family Halloween costume.