Make Your Own: Simple Ghosts

DIY Halloween Ghosts

Fight the temptation to buy plastic Halloween decorations this year and instead, use what you have at home to make some yourself—or with your kids. My children absolutely love decorating for Halloween. They also dive into art projects with such fervor that our living room often looks like a bomb of art supplies went off. That’s precisely why this particular project turned out to be the most enjoyable mix of both of their interests and was a huge hit (minus the mess). Plus, it built memories while also reusing what we had—fighting waste and overconsumption. It’s a simple project and doesn’t require a lot of prep, clean-up, or money.

The process of making DIY ghosts is quite simple, but in case there are any questions, here are the details:

Materials:

Fabric: Use an old pillowcase, sheet, or t-shirt and cut it into squares. My tiny ghosts work well with 5″ x 5″ squares. If you want larger ghosts, measure for larger squares.
Stuffing: You can use more of the scrap cotton sheet or t-shirt (shirts with stained underarms that you don’t wear anymore work well). Wool stuffing, tissue, or even old dryer wool balls will work too. To keep the ghost from tilting over with a heavy head, be scarce with how much stuffing you use.
Cotton string or twine. Ideally something compostable or a ribbon rescued from an old gift.
Scissors
Optional: Pencil, ruler, and cardboard to make a “pattern” to trace a square on the fabric.

Instructions:

Timing: About 51 seconds (for an adult) per ghost once you get going.

Cut the fabric into squares. You don’t need to be precise about lines but having a square (as opposed to a rectangle) is helpful. I used to piece of cardboard that I measured out to 5” x 5” to help me trace the square outline with a pencil on the old pillowcase.
Gather a small ball of stuffing and position it in the middle of the cotton square.
Pinch the fabric tightly around the ball of stuffing, twisting the fabric slightly to create a secure neck.
Wrap cotton twine around the neck of the fabric, ensuring you leave about a 12-inch tail of string that can be tied to chandeliers, bedposts, fences, doorframes, or any other place that inspires you. You can also use a 6-foot string, and add ghosts every 12 inches or so to create a “garland” of ghosts to be used along mantles and stairrails.

Enjoy!

September 18, 2024