If you’re in a pinch for a Halloween costume, you can never go wrong with a DIY bat costume you can make in minutes. There are two kinds of people in the world: Those that love to spend days, even weeks, DIYing an intricate Halloween costume, and the rest of us who are lucky if we can find 10 free minutes between dropping the kids off at school and cooking dinner to put a costume together. Even if we tell ourselves we’re going to start early this year, we procrastinate and are left scrambling to find something on October 31.

Luckily, it’s actually pretty easy to put together a pretty awesome costume at the 11th hour. Chances are you have a LBD, black fabric and some hot glue chillin’ in your closet somewhere — and if you do, you’ve got yourself one adorable bat costume. Just add some sleek black heels and lipstick and you’re ready to impress on All Hallows’ Eve.

This DIY women’s bat costume is super simple to make, and no one will know you threw it together at the last minute.

Our mission at SheKnows is to empower and inspire women, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Materials needed:

Directions:

Bat wings:

Image: Merrick White/SheKnows. Merrick White/SheKnows.

Step 1:

Image: Merrick White/SheKnows. Image: Merrick White/SheKnows.

Fold your 2 yards of black fabric in half and cut inverted scallops on the diagonal, as shown.

Step 2:

Image: Merrick White/SheKnows.

Cut 2 (3-inch) sections of elastic and loop them, as shown. Sew each loop onto the ends of the bat wings using a straight stitch, and go back and forth a few times to secure it.

Image: Merrick White/SheKnows.

Bat ears:

Image: Merrick White/SheKnows.

Cut 4 identical triangles of your thick black fabric. With right sides of the fabric together, sew up the sides of the triangle, leaving the bottom open. Repeat for the second ear. Turn your bat ears right side out. Hot glue onto a headband. Let dry, and you’re done!

Image: Merrick White/SheKnows.

Now pair with your favorite little black dress, a pair of strappy black heels and some dark lipstick! Oh, and this year, a stylish face mask.

Face Mask with Filter

Courtesy of Brave New Look. Courtesy of Brave New Look.

Face Mask with Filter $14.00 Buy now

BCBG Debby Sandals

Image: Courtesy of DSW. Image: Courtesy of DSW.

BCBG Debby Sandals $69.99 Buy now

Black Dress

Image: Courtesy of Nordstrom. Image: Courtesy of Nordstrom.

Black Halogen Dress $59.00 Buy now

Nars Black Lip Pigment

Image: Courtesy of Nordstrom. Image: Courtesy of Nordstrom.

NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment $26.00 Buy now

Image: SheKnows. Design: Ashley Britton/SheKnows. SheKnows. Design: Ashley Britton/SheKnows.

Originally published October 2014 and updated August 2020.

For more DIY costume ideas, check out our gallery below: