DIY Hallowe’en: Our pick of great homemade costumes you can fling together fast

You don’t need to be Martha Stewart to DIY your Hallowe’en costumes.

With a little creativity and a LOT of iron-on hemming tape, you can create fantastic DIY Hallowe’en costumes at home. It’s greener, cheaper, and dare we say it – more fun.

Here’s some ideas to get you started.

Rag craft pirate skirt

This cute pirate outfit was made from cut up old clothes and scraps of fabric. Traditional red and white works really well but you can use any colour you like.

1. Cut your fabrics into long strips. Vary the width and length as much as you like. No need to hem the pieces – this looks better scruffy!
2. Cut the waistband off an old skirt or pair of trousers. Alternatively, cut a piece of fabric (felt works great) into a strip long enough to go round your child’s waist. You can either sew it to make a looped waistband, or leave enough length to tie a knot at the back.
3. Now for the fiddly part. Arrange all the strips around the waistband evenly. You can then either run a quick stitch through it with a sewing machine or for a really easy twist, simply stick down with iron-on hemming tape.
4. Combine with a coordinating t-shirt or a white shirt. For extra points, cut up an old black top to make a simple waistcoat. You can also easily make a pirate hat with card by following these online instructions.

Skeleton – three ways

A skeleton is one of the easiest DIY Hallowe’en costumes, and the possibilities are endless. Pinterest comes to the rescue here with several cool ideas that can be put together at the last minute.

Easiest of all, take a plain black outfit and stick on white tape to create a skeleton pattern. Or for a fun twist, stick on long glow sticks and create a glow-in-the-dark stickman skeleton!

Another way to make a skeleton costume is to layer up black clothes with a white t-shirt and then slash the t-shirt to create ‘bones’. You can also slot a cardboard heart in under the ribcage and secure with glue or a safety pin.

Lastly, try this cool Operation-style twist by dressing your kid in neutral or pink and then sticking on organs.

For instructions for any of the above, simply click on the images.

Spooky Sally

This is another great hack for old fabrics. Crafter and Highland Mum Leonie Ham made daughter Phoebe’s Sally costume by simply sewing patches onto an old school dress. Here’s how:

1. Get an old dress – a school dress works great for this.

2. Rip up pieces of material in various sizes. You can use any fabric – the more random, the better.

3. Either sew or glue the patches onto the dress in a crazy paving style pattern.

4. Using a black marker or fabric pen, draw on ‘stitch’ marks around each patch.

5. Draw ‘seams’ with stitches onto an old pair of tights and a long sleeved top.

Classic ghost

Hands up if your Mum used to cut a hole in a sheet for a ghost costume? It’s a classic Hallowe’en hack but with a little more effort you can up the game.

1. Dig out an old lightweight white curtain or table cloth.
2. Cut a ragged shaped hole for the head and trim so the bottom of the ‘dress’ is ragged too.
3. Cut the remaining fabric into long strips and tie or pin them all over the costume to create a floaty effect.
4. Add cobwebs, chains and spiders for interest. A long black wig and ghoulish face paint completes the look.

Speedy spider

This cute DIY Hallowe’en costume is created by stuffing long black socks with newspaper and threading onto a wire coat hanger. Googly eyes stuck onto a beanie complete the look. Very simple but very effective. Click on the image for full instructions.

Cardboard crackers

Make a hot glue gun your new best friend. There are lots of Hallowe’en costumes that can be made easily with card. Here’s a few crowdsourced ideas:

1. Wind up doll – Use a toilet roll holder and some card to make a key, and spray paint gold. Simply dress your child in a pretty dress or a shirt and bow tie, then tie the key around their waist. Whimsical hair and make up complete the look.
2. Aces high – Take a basic white t-shirt and make it look like a playing card by sticking on hearts, diamonds, clubs or spades. Add complementary clothes to make the Queen of Hearts or the Ace of Spades.
3. Paper snail – Got any brown paper packing from a parcel? Twist tightly, roll up and secure with lots of staples, tape and glue. Add to a rucksack and decorate for a cute snail’s shell that younger kids will love. Complete with wobbly antennae attached to a hair band.

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