What Halloween costumes can you sew with little fabric?

Halloween is just around the corner, and it’s already time to start thinking about costumes for you and your children!

If you’d like to sew an outfit without investing in several meters of fabric, here are a few ideas for economical sewing.

A wizard or sorcerer’s apprentice disguise

If you want to sew a costume yourself without having to spend several days on it, the magician’s costume is for you!

You can start with Lilikou’s pattern for children, which offers two versions: a magician’s dress and a wizard’s coat. In both cases, the patterns are very simple and don’t include buttoning, zippers or any other time-consuming finishing touches. All you need to prepare a costume in no time at all.

And if you choose the coat, your child can simply wear it with black pants or leggings and a t-shirt.

Fabric-wise, you’ll need a fluid material for the dress. For example, a very fine velvet or a shiny satin, and two fabrics for the coat. You can use a fleece, which will cost much less than a wool sheet.

To avoid breaking the bank when sewing your own disguises, buy polyester satin fabric, sometimes called “carnival fabric” or “disguise fabric”, which is very economical. But beware: it’s very thin and slippery, so take your time when assembling it!

A clown costume

To make a clown costume for kids, all you need to do is sew a simple polyester satin jumpsuit like Lilikou’s. It closes with a velcro button tab for easy on and off. It closes with a velcro placket for easy on and off.

You can then add a variety of elements: a tulle ruffle, large decorative tassels on the front of the jumpsuit, embroidered elements…

Halloween costumes don’t have to be horrific. But if your child wants to add a spooky touch to his clown persona, you can daub the ruff with red felt. Or draw a menacing smile on his face with lipstick.

Bat wings

The best way to avoid using too much fabric to make an adult costume is to add an element to existing garments.

This YouTube tutorial shows you how to sew bat wings to wear with a black long-sleeved t-shirt and black leggings or pants. All you need is a soft black fabric, such as cotton or viscose, or fabric scraps.

If you have old black clothes that you no longer use, you can use them as a base for this project!

A pumpkin costume

Pumpkins are the perfect Halloween costume for children and adults alike. This orange cucurbit is one of the symbols of this autumnal celebration. And you can easily make it your own by drawing big eyes and a more or less scary mouth.

To sew a pumpkin costume, you can take inspiration from Heather Handmade’s pattern. It simply uses orange felt rectangles to make the body. Elastic bands are also used to give the desired rounded effect. Then simply cut pieces from black felt to make the eyes and mouth.

The idea is to wear this simple-to-assemble garment with a green long-sleeved t-shirt and leggings. Or slim black or orange pants for the perfect illusion.

A ghost costume

If you don’t feel like spending time on your costume this year, you can make a ghost costume by taking a sheet you no longer use and cutting out two rounds for the eyes.

But if you’d rather opt for something more complicated without using too much fabric, Burda’s pattern makes it possible to assemble a spooky ghost outfit for kids. All you need is grey or white jersey to sew a jumpsuit. And a little tulle to add volume.

You can also follow this tutorial to make a ghost poncho, to be worn with a white outfit. The pattern is designed for children, but simply increase the dimensions to make it suitable for adults.

What about you? Do you usually dress up for Halloween? Do you enjoy sewing your own costumes, or those of the children in your life?