Make a Ghost Costume
Does the thought of ghosts give you the chills? Read this wikiHow to learn how to make a chilling ghost costume to give everyone a scare!
Contents
10 Second Summary
1. Cut the brim off a light-colored baseball hat.
2. Put a hat on and drape a sheet over your head.
3. Mark where your eyes are, then pull the sheet off.
4. Remove the sheet and hat and pin them together.
5. Cut the eye holes out.
6. Cut a ragged hem. Consider cutting out a mouth and nose.
7. Pin or glue the cuttings to the sheet for a spooky effect.
Steps
Make a Traditional Ghost Costume
- Cut the brim off a light-colored baseball hat. If you don't want to cut the brim off your hat, you can just wear it backwards. Or, purchase an unwanted one from the thrift store.
- The hat should be as light in color as possible, or people will be able to see it through the bed sheet that will be draped over your head.
- Drape the sheet over the head of the person wearing the ghost costume. If it drags on the floor too much, then mark the place where it should be cut.
- The costume should drag just a little to create a floating effect, but not so much that the person wearing it trips.
- Mark the center of the person's head on the sheet with a black marker.
- Mark the eye holes. Have the person under the sheet poke out his or her fingers to where his or her eyes are, and draw little dots on the sheet at these points.
- Remove the sheet. Pin it to the baseball hat. Place the mark you made for the center of the person's head right in the center of the baseball hat.
- Pin the sheet around the hat; you'll need to use about three or four more pins.
- If you don't want the black dot on the top of the head to be so noticeable, you can flip the sheet over. You should still be able to see where the mark on the top of the head is, but it will be less visible to onlookers.
- You can also just cover the mark with white-out. Or, use a fabric marker pencil that fades (invisible fabric markers).
- Cut out the eye holes. Cut eye holes where the eye positions have been marked. Circle them with black magic marker. The eye holes should be at least twice as big as the wearer's eyes.
- Draw a mouth and nose. Use the marker to draw a nose and a mouth. You can cut a hole for either the nose or mouth, to make it easier to breathe.
- If the sheet was too long, cut it. If you marked a place where the sheet should be cut, cut along that line.
Make a More Elaborate Ghost Costume
- Drape a sheet over the head of the person wearing the costume.
- Draw a circle onto the sheet around the person's neck.
- Mark the area above the person's elbows.
- Mark the area below the person's ankles.
- Remove the sheet.
- Cut a circle around the circular area you marked for the head. You can make it a little bigger when you cut it, to make sure that the person can fit his or her head through the sheet.
- Cut arm holes through the marks you made above the person's elbows.
- Cut along the ankle line. Cut in jagged lines for a ragged effect.
- Take the leftover scraps of fabric and glue them all over the costume in jagged, triangular shapes. Do this with fabric glue. This will create a spooky effect.
- Ask the person wearing the costume to put on a white long-sleeved shirt. You can glue more tattered triangles to the person's shirt so that they hang down like icicles.
- Put the sheet back on the person. The person should be able to easily put his or her head through the top hole and his or her arms should fit neatly through the arm holes.
- Apply white face makeup all over the person's face. Cover all parts of the face, even the eyebrows and lips.
- You can also put the makeup on the person's neck, since it will be visible.
- Draw gray circles on the person's eyelids and under his or her eyes. You can either paint the lips, or leave them covered with the white makeup.
- Sprinkle flour through the person's hair. This will create a dusty look.
Tips
- Painting your fingernails black or white will add to your ghostly look.
- The bed sheet method for making a ghost costume is classic, but remember that it may make it a little hard to socialize. If you're trick-or-treating, this is a great costume, but if you're going to a party, painting your face and draping a sheet over your shoulders may work best.
- Try to wear light-colored shoes with the costume for the most authentic look.
- Children can get finicky under ghost costumes. If your child really wants to be a ghost, the face-paint method may work best as well.
Things You'll Need
Bedsheet Method
- White sheet
- White or light-colored baseball cap
- Scissors
- Black marker
- 4-5 pins
Elaborate Method
- White sheet
- Scissors
- Black marker
- Fabric glue
- Black and white face paint
- White long-sleeved shirt
- Flour
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