DIY Easy Ghost Costumes

Last year I made some easy ghost costumes for my kids for Halloween. To be honest, I really just made these costumes so I could take some fun pictures of all three of my kids. Here are my boo-tiful ghosts.

Apparently my ghost costumes have been pinned on Pinterest! One of my blog readers requested that I send her a tutorial with step-by-step instructions so she can recreate the ghost costumes for her kids. So, I thought I might as well share it with you all!

Let's start with our supplies:

1. White onesie or shirt
2. Black fabric paint (I used Tulip Soft Fabric paint in matte ebony)
3. Foam paint brush
4. Freezer paper (found at the grocery store by the wax paper and aluminum foil)

5.  4 yards white tulle
6.  1 package elastic (3/4 inch wide)

Other Equipment:
Scissors
Sewing machine
White thread

Ghost Shirt Tutorial

Let's start by making the ghost shirt/onesie. The first time I made ghost shirts, I used fabric and actually appliqued the face onto the shirt. Since then I have discovered freezer paper stenciling, which is SO much faster and does not require any sewing.

I will give you a brief rundown on freezer paper stenciling, but I am not going to include pictures for every detail. If you need more detail, you can find a great tutorial on the MADE site and a video tutorial on I Am Momma- Hear Me Roar.

First choose your ghost face. I just googled "happy ghost face" and found quite a few that I liked. If you are really talented you can draw your own ghost face. Here is a ghost face that I downloaded and modified. For a boy ghost you could just leave out the eyelashes.

(original image from Embroidery Boutique)

1. Print or copy the ghost face until you get it the size you want. Trace your face onto the freezer paper. Cut out the stencil and then iron the stencil to your fabric (shiny side down).

2. Next you just paint the face on your ghost (don't forget to put cardboard inside the shirt or onesie).

3. Let the paint dry and peel the paper off.

4. Now place a cloth over your face and iron over it to seal in the paint.

You are done with your ghost onesie! If you want to make this even easier, you could draw a face on your shirt with a fabric marker, but it won't look as nice and crisp.

Now we just need to make a tutu to complete the girl ghost costume.

Tutu Tutorial

There are several easy ways to make a tutu. The fastest one involves using your sewing machine, but only to sew a few straight lines.

1. If you buy tulle by the yard, it comes already folded in half. Keep it folded and lay it flat. You should have two layers of tulle with one fold.

2. Next fold your tulle in half lengthwise. This fold is where the casing for the elastic will be created, so be sure on the inside of the fold your tulle is together.

3. Pin the fold down the length of the tulle.

4. Stitch one inch from the fold. This becomes the casing for your elastic, which is why it is important the layers of tulle are together at the fold or there will not be room for your elastic.

5. Remove the pins and trim the bottom of your tulle to remove all folds using scissors or pinking shears. Determine how long you want your tutu and trim to that length.

6. Cut 2 inch strips in the layers of tulle from the bottom to the top, making sure not to cut your stitching!

7. Cut a piece of elastic your desired waist size +1 inch. Insert the elastic through the casing. It helps if you hold the casing out like this as you slide the elastic along. The tulle should bunch up on the elastic.

Adjust the elastic to fit, and sew the elastic together. There is no need to sew the tulle together, since it will be bunched up around the elastic and will cover up the place where the ends come together.

Ta-da! You made a tulle skirt.
(Thanks to my sister at JKmade for help with the tutorial for the tulle skirt!)

If you REALLY don't want to sew, you could still make the tutu. You will just need to buy your tulle in spools and go check out this no-sew tutu tutorial from Tea Rose Home.

 Now you are done and will have the cutest ghosts ever!

Hope all of this made sense to you! Let me know if you have any questions!





Linked up to Wordful Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, and Wordless Wednesdays all over.