13 DIY Halloween Costumes to Make Right Now and WOW Your Kids

As Halloween ticks ever closer, many of us are on the hunt for the perfect Halloween costume for our little ones. Ok, and for ourselves too, perhaps. And aren’t there just a million gazillion to choose from?!?

If you are anything like me, time gets away and you are left scrambling for ideas, fabric, needles and the glue gun. And never mind that the children change their minds every 37 seconds. Or they come up with a vague idea of wanting to dress up as “lots of colours”. Umm…

To take some of the stress off, I have done a stack of research for you and found 13 fun-to-make, colourful and creative costumes that you can put together for your trick or treaters!

There is something here for everyone. Whether you have left it until 30^th October to start, this is your 200^th Halloween costume, or you can’t manage a sewing machine to save your life, there’s bound to be something in this list of 13 DIY Halloween costumes that takes your fancy! See for yourself…

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Halloween Costume Round-up: Fun Costumes to Make Yourself

For creative types, Halloween can be a real highlight of the year. Time to whip out all those fabrics and craft supplies and dazzle the kids, the neighbourhood and ourselves!

Not all Halloween costumes are created equal though. Some are easier than other, which can make them the perfect beginners sewing project. Some must be sewn while a hot glue gun and a pair of scissors are all you’ll need for others. Others still can be a bit of both.

No matter which costume(s) catch your eye, they all involve working with fabric, turn out great and are a load of fun to make.

The costumes I’ve found for you here cover a range of ages, and while your 14-year-old son may not want to be Toothless this year, perhaps a skeleton would be more in order. And vice versa: your 4-year-old girl mightn’t even know what to do with a Star Wars costume, but will fall in love with unicorn cuteness.

And of course, you can up the size requirements and almost any of these costumes can be made for the bigger kids and grown-ups in your house too 😉.

Let the inspiration begin!

Halloween Costumes to Sew

01 How to Sew a Terrific Tiger Costume (even if you don’t have a pattern)

From Everything’s Famtastic this costume requires some sewing skills to complete and looks totally brilliant when it’s done! You won’t need an animal costume pattern, but you will need some simple clothing patterns to put the costume together. Of course, a roaringly good faux tiger fabric helps too! You can grab the details HERE.

02 How to Sew the Perfect Hulk Costume

To sew this costume, you’ll need some simple clothing patterns and the pattern for the green face mask. Oh! And don’t forget, the superhero six-pack 😉. Your little one will look absolutely, well, incredible in this costume. Check it out HERE.

03 How to Make a Vampire Cape with a Stand-up Collar

Doesn’t this cape from Cucicucicoo look dashing and mysterious?!? With a little bit of maths (grab a pencil, paper and your calculator) and some gorgeous black fabric, anyone can sew this vampire cape. Before you know it, you’ll have your own Count swishing through the house! For all the details look HERE.

04 DIY Toothless Costume… from “How to Train Your Dragon”

OMG how adorable is this little dragon from Make It Love It?!? A lot of this costume can be finished off with a hot glue gun but you definitely need a sewing machine for a few of the steps. This Toothless costume can be created for any sized person. Read the tutorial HERE.

05 Harry Potter Hogwarts Robes (and Tie and Wand!)

Whether you’re wanting to recreate Harry Potter himself or any of the other Hogwarts students, here you’ll find directions to sew a dashing robe, a school tie and abracadabra (yes, I know at Hogwarts they don’t say such nonsense, but you get the idea) a magic wand. Grab the details HERE.

06 DIY Jedi Robe

Since we’re on the topic of robe-wearing folk, Live Free Creative Co. has got a great Jedi Robes sewing tutorial. Like some of the other costumes, you’ll need to do a little math and then you’re on your way! Because this costume requires you to measure the person you’re sewing it for, it’s a great Halloween option for people of any age (or height!). Read the tutorial HERE.

07 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Costumes

Who wouldn’t want to dress up as a mutant animal this Halloween?! And not just any, but a turtle that knows martial arts!! Voila! The Scrap Shoppe Blog has the best tutorial for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costumes I have seen. Sew or buy the green body clothing and then there is a mix of snipping, sewing, painting and gluing. But all in all, pretty easy and certainly creative! Take a look HERE.

No Sew (and Minimal Sewing) Halloween Costumes

08 No Sew Unicorn Halloween Costume

This costume is almost too sweet to be worn at Halloween! But hey, anything goes as long as it’s dressing up, right?!? The instructions for making this unicorn costume from Taz + Belly are no sew. If you are a sewing fan, you could choose to sew your own pieces instead of purchasing or gluing. Again, it’s your choice! Have a look HERE.

09 Shadowy Bat Costume

Like many of the Halloween costumes in this section, this costume only requires 2 places where the fabric layers need to be attached to each other. You choose whether you use a sewing machine, stitch by hand, or even break out the hot glue gun. If you’re after a mega easy, super quick costume this is the one for you! You can find it HERE.

10 DIY Skeleton Halloween Costume

For this simple yet spooky-looking skeleton costume from Polkadot Chair you don’t need to sew a thing. Although I know some of you hardcore types will anyway, LOL. What you will need though is one of the cutter machines, like Cricut or Brother Scan n Cut (my favourite, BTW). This Halloween costume can be done in no time! Find out more HERE.

11 Easy No Sew Ghost Costume

Yes, ghosts are a classic Halloween costume. But what I liked about this ghost costume from Bombshell Bling is that it looks way more professional than just the plain “just cut 2 eye holes in the old bedsheet” type of ghost. Yet it’s still simple and can be done with no sewing if that’s the way you roll. Visit HERE.

12 DIY Octopus Costume

This octopus costume from Giggles Galore is easy-peasy and really creative! You don’t actually need to sew anything at all for this costume, although of course you could choose to sew some parts rather than pin, glue or buy. To see what I mean, go HERE. 

13 Quick and Easy No Sew Knight’s Costume

Last but not least, The Bear and The Fox serve up a super simple no sew knight costume. Like the other Halloween costumes in this section, you can go the glue gun route or sew the pieces together. Team it with a sword and helmet and you’re done! Read the tutorial HERE.

And that’s that: 13 awesome DIY Halloween costumes to make this year.

Speaking of which, I need to clarify what “lots of colours” means. 🤔. I’d better hop to it and get sewing!

Which costume would you choose to make first?