This year we went classic for Halloween…as ghosts! We wanted to make simple ghost costumes that would be comfortable to wear and quick to put together. These creepy cheesecloth ghost costumes were scary-easy to make and ended up being one of our favorite DIY Halloween costumes yet.

Here’s how we made these Creepy Cheesecloth Ghost Costumes

Materials

cheesecloth (6-12 yards for adults, 3-4 for children)

tea

markers

solid black fabric

sheer black fabric

hat or visor

safety pins

Create a hood and face-mask

Cut enough sheer fabric to cover from ear to ear, across the forehead, and down to the chest. On your hat, pin the fabric to the forehead and on both sides near the ears.

For the hood, use the plain black fabric to create a hood and pin to the hat. Also, pin together the two sides hanging down under the chin to create a V.

Make the cheesecloth look old and nasty

Over high-heat boil a large pot of water. Add several tea bags and steep for 15-20 minutes. Remove pot from the heat and squeeze the remaining liquid from tea bags into the pot. Discard tea bags. Submerge the folded cheesecloth into the water and let sit for 20-30 minutes or until the desired color is achieved (Remember cloth will lighten when dry). Do this in several batches to m different tints of color. Remove cheesecloth and wring out the liquid. Place cheesecloth into clothes dryer until dry. The dryer will set the tea stain into the fabric.

With the cheesecloth still folded together tie one end to something sturdy and stretch to work with. Using several colors of marker (yellows, browns, grays) make random marks across the fabric. Once colored to your liking, unfold and stretch-out the cheesecloth.



Similar to a shirt, tear a neck-hole in the middle of a piece of cheesecloth and drape over the body. Repeat. We also tore arm holes, so the fabric hung under the arms at the side of the body. Once all of the pieces are hanging from the body, we tear random holes and strips to get that rugged, old look. Using a couple more stretched and torn cheesecloth pieces, drape fabric over the hood.

Wear all black under the costume and tuck the sheer hanging fabric into the collar.

Check out some of our other past handmade costumes here.

Cheesecloth Ghost Costume Fan Submissions

It gives me goosebumps when I hear that someone was inspired by my cheesecloth ghost costume. Here are some photos submitted by fans.

Six-year-old Layton from Florida wanted to be a ghost for Halloween this year. His mom put together his costume based on my tutorial. I love the creepy spider addition!

This three-year-old from Alaska is looking scary as can be. His mom mentioned that it’s the perfect costume for cold weather trick-or-treating because he could get all bundled up under the cheesecloth. I love it!!

Six-year-old Mikaela from London, Ontario wanted to be a ghost costume for Halloween 2016. Her mom found the Cheesecloth Ghost Costume tutorial and made her little ghoul a DIY Halloween costume!

This three-year-old was the talk of the town in the DIY Cheesecloth Ghost Costume. I love the addition of spiders and chains!

Found on the Web

Every year after Halloween, I spend some time searching the web to see if I can find some pics of DIY Halloween Costumes that appear to be inspired by my past costumes. Here are some Cheesecloth Ghost Costumes I found on the web.

Did you make the DIY cheesecloth ghost costume? Send me a pic. I’d love to see it and feature it here!

