Toy Story is one of our favorite Disney films, so we are so excited to be checking out the new Toy Story Land opening at Walt Disney World. We plan on disneybounding as Toy Story characters on our trip, so I needed to make a few fun costume pieces for a Woody costume including Woody’s vest.
Don’t miss our Toy Story inspired disneybound outfits, Duke Caboom Costume, and our Forky costume, the zany new character from Toy Story 4 that Woody can’t help saving over and over again. Forky and Woody would make a fun Halloween costume pair!
Woody’s Vest for Adults
I’ve made a no-sew cow-print vest several times over the years including for Elliot’s first Halloween when our family costume theme was Toy Story! Our Toy Story Halloween costumes were the sweetest and best costume theme.
That year Peter was Andy’s favorite toy cowboy, Woody. I found the perfect fleece cow print blanket at a thrift store. A cow print jacket or cow print tablecloth would work too. You just need something big enough to cut out the super simple woody cow-print vest, essential for any Cowboy Woody costume!
Woody Toy Story Costume
A few years later, I used the leftover fabric to make both boys their own Cowboy Woody’s vest. We celebrate Rodeo days in Tucson every year with a couple days off from school. Little kids often dress up as cowboys at school during that week and participate in stick horse rodeo games and activities.
Cowboys are classic boys costumes that can be sized down for baby costumes or up to a larger size for adult costumes. Add a few key accessories and you have a cowboy costume inspired by the Pixar movie Toy Story!
Toy Story Costume Patterns
This time around I needed lightweight material to make Woody’s vest. We were headed to Disney Parks and the Florida heat in June is no joke. There was no way I could ask Elliot to wear our exciting fleece vest just for a fun disneybound. I found a thin cotton cow print material at my local fabric store that worked perfectly.
The hardest part of making the vest is cutting out the material. The first time I made the cow-print vest I sort of guessed at the shape and freestyled the design.
Thankfully this time I found a super sweet (and free) vest pattern online. The pattern is actually for a stylish vest with pockets and buttons but I just used it for sizing the front and back vest pieces.
DIY Cowboy Woody Vest Materials
- 1 yard of cow print material
- vest pattern
- scissors
- heat’n bond iron-on adhesive
How to make a Woody costume vest
Start by printing and cutting out the pattern pieces. I made the biggest version of the pattern for Elliot, figuring a little bigger was better than a little smaller.
The pattern I used was made for kids, you’ll need to find another pattern if you are making Woody’s vest for an adult.
Fold your fabric in half and place the back piece of the pattern along the fold. Pin the pattern piece to the fabric so it doesn’t slip when you are cutting it out. After cutting it out, unfold the fabric and you will have the back part of the vest.
Don’t place the front part of the vest pattern along a fold but you do want to fold the fabric in half before you pin the pattern on the fabric. This will allow you to cut both sides of the vest front at the same time. 
Sewing Alternative for Woody Vest
Now you have three pieces of fabric that you will piece together to create Woody’s vest for a DIY Woody costume. You could simply sew the pieces together quickly if you have access to a sewing machine at this point.
I didn’t have a sewing machine so I attached the pieces together using Heat’n Bond Iron-On Adhesive. Attach the sides and the top edge of each front piece of the vest to the back piece of fabric. You can also hem the fabric using the Heat’n Bond as well if you like.
Heat’n Bond is pretty easy to use. Think of it as tape you place between two pieces of fabric. Iron over the fabric and it melts the ‘tape’ and turn it into a glue that adheres the two piece of fabric together.
That’s it, now you have a simple cow print vest perfect for a homemade Woody Costume.
The rest of a Woody costume comes together fairly easy once you have his cow-print cowboy vest. You just need a few simple pieces, some of which you may have already at home or you can pick up at a thrift store.
DIY Woody Costume Materials
- Cow-print Vest
- Yellow button down shirt
- Blue Jeans
- Cowboy Boots
- Cowboy Hat
- Red bandana
- Sheriff’s Badge
- Brown Belt
If you find a plain yellow long sleeve top, or button down shirt you can draw red stripes on it using a fabric marker. We did that once, we’ve also just found yellow plaid shirts that we were ‘close enough’. You might not end up as the spitting image of Woody but you will be close enough. This cowboy accessory kit includes a red bandana, badge and hat!
If you don’t already have a sheriff’s badge in your dress up box or from a cowboy themed party, you can skip buying one and simply make one using yellow craft foam.
I used this pattern to cut out the star from craft foam and then hot glued it together, add a safety pin and you are set.
DIY Cowboy Woody Vest & Costume
Woody Costume Ideas from Amazon
Are you less of a Pinterest mom and more of an Amazon mom? You can still pull together a semi-homemade costume with a few key pieces from Amazon. Who doesn’t love Amazon Prime? Perfect for last minute costume changes!
- Woody Costume t-shirt
- Brown Cowboy Hat or wide-brimmed hat
- Gold Sheriff Star
- Red Bandana
- Jeans or Blue Pants
More Toy Story Characters Halloween Costumes
If you are looking for a fun costume pair, then naturally Andy’s Favorite Toy should be paired with Buzz Light Year or Bo Peep. Sheriff Woody could also be paired with a Jessie costume if the cowgirl is your favorite character.
If you are are a fan of Toy Story 4, then check out this Forky costume idea. Forky and Woody have a sort of love-hate relationship. Basically you can make a fun pair or choose plenty of characters for a big group costume party theme.
This post was originally published January 31, 2015.