Last-Minute DIY Halloween Costumes from Things You Already Have

The quickest last-minute DIY Halloween costumes start with clothes you already own in one solid color, usually black, and add one or two simple details that tell people who you are: ears and whiskers for a black cat, a pointed hat for a witch, white tape bones for a skeleton. Most of the ideas below take 15 to 60 minutes and need nothing more than a closet, a roll of tape, scissors, some cardboard and a bit of face paint or eyeliner.

Below you'll find a table to pick a costume by time and supplies, steps for nine easy ideas, fixes for ears that flop or tape that peels, and safety notes for trick-or-treating after dark.

What You Need

• A plain base outfit: black, white, gray, brown or orange leggings, jeans, T-shirts, hoodies or a long-sleeved top
• Cardboard from a cereal box or delivery box
• Scissors and a pencil
• Tape: masking tape, painter's tape, white electrical tape or duct tape
• A headband, a few safety pins and some string or ribbon
• Face paint, washable markers made for skin, or a black eyeliner pencil
• Optional: an old sheet or a large piece of fabric, a flannel shirt, a straw hat, felt, a hot glue gun, and a flashlight or glow stick

Step 1: Shop Your Own Closet First

Start by laying out every plain, single-color piece you own, because a solid base outfit is what makes a quick costume look planned rather than thrown together.

1. Pull out tops and bottoms in black, white, gray, brown and orange. Plaid flannel is the one pattern worth keeping (scarecrow).
2. Add accessories that suggest a character on their own: a long scarf, a bathrobe, a straw hat or an old sheet.
3. Check the recycling bin for cardboard, then pick the costume in the table below that needs the fewest extra items.

Step 2: Pick a Costume by Time and Supplies

Choose a costume you can finish with what is already in front of you; this table sorts nine easy ideas by base outfit and rough making time.

Costume	Base outfit	Key extras	Time
Black cat	All black	Headband, cardboard, eyeliner	15 min
Witch	Black or dark clothes	Cardboard or paper hat, broom	30–45 min
Wizard	Dark clothes, bathrobe or long cardigan	Stick or chopstick wand, scarf	20–30 min
Skeleton	All black	White tape, face paint	30–45 min
Zombie	Old clothes you can damage	Scissors, face paint, fake blood	20–30 min
Scarecrow	Flannel shirt, jeans	Straw hat, raffia or paper strips	20 min
Vampire	Dark clothes, white shirt	Cape or sheet, face paint	20 min
Bat	All black	Black fabric or umbrella panels, headband	30 min
Pumpkin	Orange top, green or black bottoms	Marker or felt face, green hat	15 min

Step 3: Make a Black Cat Costume in 15 Minutes

A black cat needs only black clothes, a pair of cardboard ears on a headband and drawn-on whiskers.

1. Cut two cardboard triangles about 3 inches (7.5 cm) tall, with a tab at the bottom of each, and color them black.
2. Fold the tabs around a headband and tape them firmly, one ear above each eyebrow.
3. Draw a small nose and three whiskers on each cheek with eyeliner.
4. For a tail, roll a black sock or a strip of black fabric and safety-pin it to the back of your pants.

Step 4: Make a Witch or Wizard Costume

A witch or wizard is mostly about the silhouette: a dark outfit, something long and flowing, and a hat or wand.

1. Wear dark clothes, then add a long cardigan, a dark bathrobe or a sheet tied at the neck as a robe or cape.
2. For a quick witch hat, roll a large sheet of black paper or thin cardboard into a cone that fits your head, tape the seam and trim the bottom straight. Cut a ring of cardboard for the brim and tape it on from the inside.
3. For a wizard, wrap a long striped scarf around your neck and carry a wand made from a chopstick or a straight twig.
4. Finish the witch with a broom from the cupboard. With an hour to spare, our witch hat tutorial and hot glue wizard wand give a sturdier result.

Step 5: Make a Skeleton or Zombie Costume

A skeleton is white tape bones on black clothes, and a zombie is old clothes torn up with some gray face paint.

1. Skeleton: lay a black top and leggings flat. Use white tape to mark a spine down the center, ribs curving out from it, and long bones down the arms and legs.
2. Paint the face white with black around the eyes and a line of small vertical stitches across the mouth for teeth.
3. Zombie: choose clothes you're happy to ruin. Cut small rips in the hems and sleeves, scuff them with a little dirt or used coffee grounds, and leave them untucked.
4. Smudge pale gray or green face paint over the skin, darken under the eyes, and add a few drips of homemade fake blood.

Step 6: Make a Scarecrow, Vampire, Bat or Pumpkin

These four use one strong prop or a single piece of fabric to do most of the work.

1. Scarecrow: wear a flannel shirt and jeans, tuck strips of raffia or yellow paper into the cuffs and collar, add a straw hat, and draw rosy cheeks and stitch lines at the corners of the mouth.
2. Vampire: wear a white shirt with dark trousers, tie a dark sheet or a no-sew cloak at the neck, pop the collar and paint the face pale with darker eyes.
3. Bat: cut a large scalloped wing shape from black fabric, safety-pin the top edge along the back of your sleeves and the center to the back of your shirt, then add small black cardboard ears to a headband.
4. Pumpkin: wear an orange top and draw or tape on a jack-o'-lantern face with black felt or marker on paper pinned to the front. Add a green beanie as the stem.

Troubleshooting and Quick Fixes

Most quick-costume problems are things slipping, peeling or not being recognizable.

• Ears flop over: glue a second layer of cardboard behind them.
• Tape peels off fabric: press it firmly and round the corners, or pin on felt instead, which lasts longer on stretchy knits.
• Nobody can tell what you are: add one prop that names the costume, like a broom, a wand, a carved-pumpkin bucket or a tail.
• The cape keeps choking you: tie it lower on the shoulders or use one of the methods in our guide to fastening a cloak or cape.

Safety Notes

Add strips of reflective tape or carry a flashlight or glow stick, especially with an all-black outfit. Choose face paint over a mask that blocks vision, and test any paint or makeup on a small patch of skin first. Hem or pin up anything long enough to trip over, keep sheets and capes away from candles and jack-o'-lanterns, and use soft, bendable props rather than anything sharp.

Once your costume is together, round it off with a homemade prop: a witch broom, a paper plate mask for little ones who want to hold rather than wear one, or a hood added with our hood for a cloak or cape tutorial. Next year, try the hooded cloak sewing guide for a piece you can reuse. Browse more ideas in our costume accessories section.