Classic Halloween Costumes

Halloween is fast approaching! Have you figured out your costumes yet? I know sometimes life gets busy and all of a sudden you realize Halloween is only two weeks away and you haven’t made a costume yet. When this happens for me, I always lean on the classic Halloween costumes that seem to never get old. But there are so many infinite versions of pumpkins, witches, and bats all over, which one do you choose? And what do you have time for? Well, we’re here to help. Today we have three iterations of your classic Halloween witch, bat and pumpkin. They’re purposefully quick hacks you can make in a pinch. Not only are they simple, they’re almost too adorable to handle. Scroll down to learn how to make these quick and easy classic Halloween costumes!

Witch, Bat and Pumpkin

One of the main requisites of these classic Halloween costumes is simplicity. Of course we love a good elaborate Halloween costume, but sometimes there’s just not time for that. We purposefully designed these three Halloween costumes with that in mind. Some of them do require a bit of sewing, but just simple, straight lines that even the most beginner of sewists can handle. And if you’re not ready for sewing? You’re in luck. Our bat costume can be made with safety pins and staples alone, no sewing required.

Comfy and Cozy

One Halloween back in elementary school, I decided I wanted to be a crayon. I made this amazing costume out of a rolled up piece of poster board, decorated it and wore it to school. The only problem was that I didn’t think about sitting down or moving. I was a little robot all day, tottering around in this big tube that wouldn’t allow me to sit down or run around and play. Eventually I just took it off and people had to guess what I was based on my little sweatsuit alone. Not a dream for a child who loved the costume aspect of Halloween.

I’ve since learned from my crayon Halloween costume experience. We designed these three classic Halloween costumes with your child’s mobility in mind! They can bend, jump and play freely, all while being clearly identifiable as a witch, bat or pumpkin. That said, here’s how to make all three of our classic Halloween costumes:

How to Make a Witch Costume

Materials:

Witch templates, Black poster board, Black fabric (we used a linen/viscose blend–it has the look of linen, but is much cheaper), Black ribbon (1” and ½” wide), a knobbly stick, twine, and raffia.

Hat

1. Using the hat template, cut out the hat in black poster board.
2. Next, roll up the half circle so it’s a cone. The rounded edge will be the bottom edge of the cone.
3. Now, use a pair of scissors to clip the bottom of the hat all the way around with ½” cuts.
4. Fold the cuts out and tape or glue the rim of the hat onto them, so they’re hidden underneath.
5. Last, tie the 1” wide black ribbon around the hat into a bow.

Dress

1. First, cut out the front and back of the dress, using the template provided. You can shrink or enlarge the template based on your child’s size.
2. Next, hem the bottom and sides of both the front and back.
3. Now, for both front and back, fold the top over twice and sew down to make a casing. Insert a ribbon into each casing, leaving enough slack on each side to tie bows.
4. Last, sew ribbon onto the sides, as shown in the photos. There should be one on each side of the front and back so they can tie together.

Broom

1. The broom is simple! To make it, bundle the raffia around one end of the stick and bind in place with some twine.
2. Done!

To embellish the costume, wear a simple black dress, black tights and black boots or mary janes.

How to Make a Bat Costume

Materials:

Bat templates, Faux fur, Black ribbon (1” and ½” wide), Black cardstock, cardboard box (use an old shipping box), black and white acrylic paint, black webbing strap, adjustable strap hardware (optional), Stapler/staples, glue stick, Scissors, craft knife.

Body

1. For the body, cut out the template shape for both front and back.
2. Then, add ribbon to the top two corners of front and back.
3. Now add ribbon to the sides of both front and back (they should be positioned to tie at the waist). To add ribbon, you can either sew or safety-pin the ribbon on. It’s your preference!

Wings

1. First, cut out two of the wings template. They should mirror each other. Tape them together at the center and wherever else you need, if you’re using multiple pieces of cardboard put together.
2. Next, paint the wings on both sides as shown in the photos. Let the paint dry before moving on to the next step.
3. Last, staple on straps. If desired, you can make them adjustable, as we did. To see how to make them adjustable, see this tutorial.

Feet

1. First, cut out the feet template using cardboard. Curve the ends of the claws over a bit.
2. Next, paint the feet as shown in the photos.
3. When the paint is dry, attach the feet to the shoes with ribbon, elastic, or tape.

Ears

1. For the ears, cut out two of the ear templates.
2. Next, fold them together at the slit at the base and tape in place.
3. Last, cut a length of 1” black ribbon (long enough to tie around your head like a headband) and staple the ears on it.

Nose

1. Use the nose template provided to cut out the nose pieces. Use the craft knife for the nostril holes.
2. Next fold the rectangular piece with narrow accordion folds.
3. Now cut slits along one edge of the rectangular piece you just folded.
4. Next, fold the slits out and curve the rectangle around the front nose piece and glue in place.
5. Last, cut off the excess and shape the nose to your face, then tape in place on your face. If you don’t want to tape, you can also tie the nose around your head with string.

How to Make a Pumpkin Costume

Materials

Pumpkin template, Orange linen/viscose fabric, Black fabric scraps or felt (we used scraps from the witch’s outfit), Green ribbon, Orange cardstock, brown cardstock, green pipe cleaners, scotch tape, scissors, and string. 

Pumpkin

1. First, cut out the front and back of the pumpkin costume using the template provided. Remember, you can make it smaller or larger depending on the size of your child.
2. Next, as with the witch, hem the bottom and both sides of front and back, then make a casing for the top edge.
3. Now feed a ribbon through the top casings of both front and back, leaving some excess at each end to tie bows.
4. You’ll also need to sew ribbon to the front and back at the waist, with enough slack to tie.
5. For the face, cut out the template provided in black fabric. 
6. Then, fold over and iron each piece so the raw edges are hidden, then pin and sew in place. If you don’t want to fold over and iron each piece, you can use felt or something else that won’t fray.
7. We sewed our face on the pumpkin, but you can also glue it if you don’t want to sew.

Hat

1. For the hat, cut out the template pieces provided (the “c” shape should be cut out in orange, and the rectangle in brown).
2. Follow the step photos to see how to assemble. Tape the pieces together to secure.
3. Now wrap pipe cleaner around a pencil to make a spiral, then poke one end into the pumpkin hat and tape on the inside. We added about four pipe cleaner vines to our pumpkin hat.
4. Last, tape a piece of string to each side of the hat so it can tie around your child’s chin.
5. Done!

What did you think of these classic Halloween costumes? Will you use them in a pinch? Drop your comments below!

More Inspiration

Did you love these classic Halloween costumes? You might be interested in our other Halloween costumes! Check out our wild things costumes, mommy and me costumes, and best cardboard costumes. For even more costume inspiration, check out this list of our top 15 favorite costumes! Also see influential women costumes, these costumes made from everyday supplies, and these paper costumes. Short on time? Check out these three last minute Halloween costumes! Looking for a real showstopper? Don’t miss our Tortured Artists, Frida Kahlo, or Medusa costumes.