21 Brilliant Homemade Halloween Costumes

Channel a beloved children’s book character with this homemade Pete The Cat costume from @pslovemissnikki. The blue button is attached to the shirt with a slinky-like spring for a fun ‘boing’, and the blue cat ears bring in the cat element. Steadfast, determined, and kind, Pete is a protagonist you’ll be happy your little one is emulating on Halloween and beyond.

This homemade monstera plant costume (aka “Momstera) from @terynskye is really creative but still manages to be pretty easy — at least, easier than it looks. The key is nailing those felt leaves (and also having a baby who smiles while sitting in a terracotta pot). Use a monstera leaf template, like this digital download from Etsy, which you can trace onto felt to get the shape just right.

This easy homemade costume from @pslovemissnikki runs on flower power and good vibes. There are a surprising amount of places to find bell bottoms for your littlest hippie (like these baby and toddler flares from Etsy). Style with a head scarf, funky sunglasses, and of course a peace sign necklace for ‘70s vibes you won’t be able to stop snapping pictures of.

This Pac-Man family is ready to crunch some Halloween treats. The kids’ costumes are easy to recreate using colorful solid fabric (you can use hot glue for the eyes), and while Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man are a little more involved, you can make these suits using cardboard and foam board; This costume still totally works if you take a short cut and make the 2D Pac-Man face instead of a costume you need to step in to.

If there’s a spice or a seasoning you love, why not make it your homemade Halloween costume like @manhattan_roti did? Print the label of your favorite brand (you can scan it to get it just right) then wear a shirt of the same color. It can help to carry around the jar, too, if you’re not sure people will know who you are.

They won’t be a fish out of water with this cute (and super easy) homemade fisherman costume from Creative Green Living. Kids can wear jeans, a bucket hat, boots, a flannel shirt, and a vest (even a grown-up vest works well because it will be oversized). They key to making this costume really great is the fishing rod with a stuffed fish attached.

Light up the night with this innovative costume from Delia Creates. The thing that sets this homemade costume apart is that that the tulle skirt actually lights up — though if that level of DIY overwhelms you, skip it. To make the skirt light up, you’ll sew battery-powered LED lights into the tulle, which makes it look super glowy and pretty in the darkness of Halloween night.

A Beautiful Mess nailed the easy DIY costumes with this easy idea. It will be almost as much fun thrifting these Golden Girl outfits as it will be going out in them. When searching for homemade Golden Girls costumes look for jewel tones, oversized collars, funky patterns and a bit of glitz. The wigs seal the deal here.

For a fun homemade costume that comes together super quickly, try a Sims costume like @catherineharris_ did. The great thing about this idea is that you can basically wear your normal clothes, so it’s a good option if you don’t love costumes but need to wear one anyway. Try an online printable for making that telltale Sims diamond, (also called a Plumbob), and attach it with wire to a headband to complete your look.

Chances are good your kid already has shorts, a bandana, and sandals, and you can easily find binoculars and a cool safari hat to recreate this homemade costume from @stickynikkiz. The vest is an awesome DIY made from a paper bag and it even has pockets and a snack on the back.

This is the type of homemade Halloween costume that will win the costume contest, no question. To recreate this look you’ll need expanding foam from a craft or hardware store, a silver platter (or a plastic one spray painted) for the spoon, foam board, and a squishy red ball for the cherry on top. Check out the step-by-step process of how Kenya (mother of @go_rosie_grow) made this costume; you’ll be blown away by the creativity.

A skeleton won’t win the most unique costume award, but it’s fun, cute, and easy enough to throw together at the last minute. A Little Craft In Your Day used a Cricut machine for this costume, but you could get a similar effect by using a template or even just cutting out some “bones” and sticking them to a black sweatsuit.

Look, Mean Girls will always be relevant. A t-shirt dress easily transforms into that infamous burn book with the help of some lettering that’s available as a free print-out from Studio DIY. If you don’t want to permanently alter a dress, use hem tape, which is strong enough to keep the letters on all night but won’t cause any damage.

Ninja Turtles are always fun and so recognizable. And, as far as homemade costume ideas go, Girl Loves Glam had us at “no-sew”.

It turns out those disposable metal kitchen pans aren’t just for lasagna. For this knight costume from Handmade Charlotte, you’ll need some cardboard, gray clothes, a non-slip mat you don’t mind cutting up, and aluminum cupcake pans for the shoulders. Plus this is one costume your kid probably won’t change their mind about at the very last minute, because it’s hard to resist wielding a sword.

All aboard the magic school bus with this DIY Ms. Frizzle costume from Hands Occupied. She actually made the dress and the wig by hand (truly next-level homemade Halloween costume) but you could also just make the felt pieces and glue them to a solid dress, or look for a funky, nature or solar system-themed dress and an orange wig.

Your little Lego lover will freak for this DIY costume from Lovely Indeed. It’s instantly recognizable and also pretty easy to make if you have a cardboard box and something to make the circles with. If you happen to have leftover caps to laundry soap or something aerosol like shaving cream, that shape works well. Then spray paint the costume your favorite color and you’re ready to go get some candy.

Waldos sure are easier to spot when there’s a trio of them, like with this homemade family costume from Lovely Indeed. If you have jeans and red-and-white striped shirt, you’re pretty much set for a costume. However, if you’re looking for a bit more of a DIY element (or you don’t want to buy new clothes) use red washi tape on a plain white tee and beanie to create the look of stripes.

What household doesn’t love fruit snacks? Sugar & Cloth has all the tips to make this fun homemade family Halloween costume. This one is budget-friendly, and it’s a decent last minute option as most of the work comes from gluing felt fruit onto a white dress or shirt.

This innovative and pretty mother/child jellyfish costume from @bluebellgray is a true showstopper. You have to love an intricate costume that actually doesn’t require you to wear more than a sweatsuit — these jogging suits have some subtle blue tie dye going on, but plain white would work just fine. You can recreate this idea at home by using a clear umbrella lined with a bit of tulle (just hot glue it along the bottom edge of the umbrella). Then finish with plenty of iridescent ribbon strands.

If you want to really work with an authentic collection of stickers, you can buy this very specific collection from Etsy shop Lubly. But if you’re in a hurry — like, if you need a day-of Halloween costume — you could grab stickers from just about any grocery store and quickly pull of this Olivia Rodrigo-inspired costume.