Easy DIY Halloween Costumes

With Halloween coming up quick, you might be wondering what costumes you and your family might don this year. There’s always the classics: animals, popular TV or book characters, and little witches and wizards. And while you can always pop off to your local shop and drop $100 on matching couples’ costumes, turning to your own handy work can leave you with a costume that’s both spooktacular and saves you money! 

Take a look below at some of our favorite easy-to-create DIY Halloween costumes. 

One of the easiest DIY costumes is one you can spot in the covers of a 30-year old classic: “Where’s Waldo?” Turn yourself or your child into an easy Waldo (or Wanda!) by picking a long-sleeve white shirt, white hat, a red pom-pom, and red fabric paint. 

Add red horizontal stripes to your shirt, add a wide red stripe to the brim of the hat, and glue (or sew) on the pom-pom to the very top of the hat. If you’re savvy with crochet or knitting, you could even try your hand at creating your own Waldo hat from scratch. Pair the outfit with jeans and a pair of round plastic glasses and you’re all set! 

If you’re looking for costumes for the whole family that are both warm and don’t require sewing, look no further! Turning your family or friend-group into Care Bears is the next DIY costume coming your way. 

Once you’ve picked out the color of your Care Bear, the rest falls into place easily. All you need is felt, sweatpants, a plain sweatshirt, a mid-sized pom-pom, and pipe cleaners in your preferred color, along with puffy paint, scissors, and fabric glue. 

Starting from the top down, cut your felt into two circles for your bear ears, using the pipe cleaners as a support around the edges and at the bottom. Glue these to the hood, bending the pipe cleaners to allow them to stand up on your head. Next, cut a circle out of your felt for your bear’s tummy and glue it to the center of your sweatshirt. Using puffy paint, create the icon for your Care Bear (for example, a heart, sunshine, or raincloud). Lastly, glue your bear’s pom-pom tail onto the back of your sweatshirt. 

Adorn the DIY sweatshirt and a pair of matching sweatpants to make your own Care Bear costume! For more detailed instructions, check out this tutorial. 

If you’re looking for the classics, you can’t go wrong with a Rosie the Riveter costume, especially since the WWII icon originated in Michigan! 

The easiest of all the DIYs yet, all you need for this costume is a pair of jeans, a jean shirt/jacket, and a red and white polka dot bandana. Simply adorn your jean outfit, role the sleeves up to your elbows, put your hair up in a bun, and tie the bandana around your hair with the knot at the top of your head. And ta-da! You and your loved ones are ready to take on the world. 

If you’re looking to get creative with your Halloween costume this year, there are so many amazing tutorials available online to help you pick out the perfect DIY costume. Not only will you end up saving money, but many of the costumes utilize items you’ll already have in your closet! Give your old clothes new life with a DIY costume this Halloween and trick-or-treat in style. 

Your Turn:  Have you created a DIY Halloween costume for yourself or someone else? Share your favorite ideas below!