No-shop halloween costumes

If you’re anything like me, it’s close to Halloween and you haven’t gotten a costume for the kids yet, let alone yourself. Time is running out and it seems like the only solution is to go out and buy something. I get it. Those party shops and clothing stores offer more than fast fashion. They offer simple solutions for time starved parents. But buying a brand new halloween costume is a really bad investment, even if it’s cheap. It will probably only be worn once or twice and many are such bad quality that they have no resale value.

Buying a preloved costume is great if you are good at planning ahead but, if you are a last minute kind of person like me, then here three simple alternatives that you can make at home without buying anything new. Good for your wallet. And much better for the environment than buying what are essentially disposable outfits that will probably end up in landfill!

Ghostly family

1. Grab a white bath towel for each family member plus some white hand towels that you don’t mind sacrificing.

2. Fold the small towels into triangles that will fit over your head and attach one to the middle of the long side of each bath towel with loose stitches (so you can remove them after halloween and use your bath towels for bathing again)!

3. Draw ghostly faces on the small towels.

Note: If the small towel looks a little pointy, tuck the point inside itself and add a few stitches so your ghost family doesn’t look like a KKK family.

Jack o lantern jumper

1. Grab an orange t-shirt or sweater and some black material (something broken or fabric scraps).

2. Cut out eyes, nose and a mouth from the black fabric.

3. Stitch on the “face” by hand using big loose stitches that you can easily remove afterwards so you can keep using the t-shirt or sweater.

Batman cape

1. Cut a cape from a pair of old or broken trousers. These were a maternity pair so there was plenty of fabric in them.

2. That’s actually it… There was no sewing involved in this. I used the waist band as the collar and cut the trouser fabric to approximately a cape shape. I cut a new buttonhole in the waistband though so that it became an appropriate neck size.

3. If you have a grey t-shirt you, could draw on a bat symbol to complete the look.