Easy DIY Halloween Costumes

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I love the creativity involved in a DIY Halloween costume. I’ll buy elements and accessories, but I rarely buy an entire costume off the rack. Homemade Halloween costumes aren’t as difficult as you may think, and many of them come together with items you already have at home.

If you’re looking for an easy Halloween costume, you’re in the right spot. And if you’re here because you’re scrambling for a last minute Halloween costume, don’t worry. Plenty of these ideas can be pulled together with just a few household items and you’ll still be ready to celebrate in no time.

I bugged my family and friends into sharing costumes they’ve done over the years that are all or in part DIY. Here are more than 35 of our favorites, organized to help you find the right one fast.

Quick Last Minute Costumes

These are the costumes to bookmark when Halloween sneaks up on you. Most come together same day with things already sitting in your closet.

Robber Costume

My husband and I threw this together the day of our own Halloween party. He picked up a robber hat and mask on the way home and paired it with a pillowcase stuffed full of loot and some brown makeup to look rough around the edges.

What you need: a striped shirt, a robber mask or bandana, a pillowcase, and dark makeup for a five o’clock shadow.

Boxing Costume

A great boxing belt would have made this one even better, but even without it this is a quick last minute couples costume. Boxing gloves are easy to find, and a little makeup goes a long way toward looking like a prize winning fighter.

What you need: boxing gloves, a robe or satin shorts, and makeup for a black eye or split lip.

Billy Mays Costume

Any Oxy Clean product and a blue button down shirt are essential to this one. Draw on that signature beard and you’re all set.

What you need: a blue button down shirt, a bottle of any bright colored cleaning product, and an eyebrow pencil for the beard.

Ninja Costume

A karate uniform turns into a ninja costume with nothing more than a head sash and a fierce stance.

What you need: a karate gi or all black clothing, a strip of fabric for the head sash, and optional face covering.

Self Absorbed Costume

You’re supposed to dress up but you really don’t want to. This is the costume for you. A few kitchen sponges pinned to your clothes and a hand lettered sign won’t get in your way all day, but they’ll absolutely pass for a hilarious costume.

What you need: a handful of kitchen sponges, safety pins, and a sign that says “self absorbed.”

Ski Bum and Cereal Killer

This one takes me back. It’s me and my husband not long after we started dating, thirty minutes before a Halloween party. I raided my family’s snow clothes closet for a ski bum costume. My husband hot glued mini cereal boxes, emptied of cereal, to a shirt, then stuck plastic knives in them and added a lot of red lipstick for effect. The wig was his own touch. Don’t ask me why.

What you need: snow gear for the ski bum half, and a plain shirt, empty mini cereal boxes, hot glue, and plastic knives for the cereal killer half.

Etch A Sketch Costume

Red and silver duct tape over an old t-shirt, with something drawn on the “screen,” is simple but so much fun. This is one of my favorite last minute ideas because it looks far more complicated than it is.

What you need: an old t-shirt, red and silver duct tape, and a fabric marker for the drawing.

Movie and TV Character Costumes

Mike Wazowski Costume

My nephew James looked so darling in his homemade Mike Wazowski costume from Monsters, Inc. An extra large lime green t-shirt was stuffed with quilt batting to build out the round shape, then craft felt sheets were cut to create the face.

Charlie Brown Costume

My husband has been Charlie Brown more than once. You can buy a Charlie Brown t-shirt or just buy a yellow shirt and add the zig zag with black duct tape. Finish it with a brown washable marker for the iconic hair swirl on the forehead.

Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein Couples Costume

Cut up some old jeans and a black shirt for a head start on the Frankenstein half, then add a Frankenstein wig and drawn on stitches. For the Bride half, thrift stores are your best friend. My friend Laura took a thrifted dress and added black tulle and plastic spiders for the perfect look. I also have a full tutorial for a DIY Bride of Frankenstein wig if you want to finish the look exactly like hers.

Mad Hatter Costume

My nephew Jeremy looks fantastic as the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. The only store bought piece is the Mad Hatter hat, everything else is pieced together from mismatched, colorful clothes.

Alice in Wonderland Red Queen Costume

Bold makeup and red hair are really what sell this one. Build the rest around a red and black dress you may already own.

Effie Trinket Costume

Little details make this Hunger Games costume work, things like flare added to plain shoes, a bustle sewn onto a thrift store dress, or an outrageous fascinator for the finishing touch.

Sponge Bob, Squidward & Patrick Star Costumes

My sister found a Squidward costume at a thrift store, but it only came with the head piece. Don’t let that stop you. The rest is simple to piece together with gray clothes and a t-shirt layered on top.

Perry the Platypus Costume

This is the kind of costume where kids can wear their own regular clothes and just add a few accessories. The feet, duck bill, and hat are really all you need to add.

Peter Pan Costume

My friend used a pattern to sew the cute Peter Pan hat, but you can just as easily DIY the brown pants and green shirt without any sewing at all.

Luna Lovegood Costume

Luna is one of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter books. A pair of Luna Lovegood glasses is the one piece worth buying. The rest, a button down shirt, tie, and cardigan, you probably already have in your closet. Get your friends to dress up as Harry, Ron, and Hermione for a fun group costume.

Tinkerbell Costume

Fairy wings can be found at the dollar store, and a simple tulle skirt is easy to make with just a length of tulle and elastic. It will get your little fairy fluttering with excitement in no time.

Wonder Woman Costume

There are far too many “sexy” costumes for sale. If you happen to have one but want it to work for helping in your kid’s classroom Halloween party, add a layering t-shirt and some leggings underneath.

Shopkins Costume

I made these Shopkins sunglasses to match Apple Blossom. Add a green shirt and a bouquet of white daisies, then get your friends to dress up as the other Shopkins characters for a fun group idea.

Storybook and Classic Costumes

Little Red Riding Hood Costume

There are two easy ways to build this one. My friend Rochelle is an amazing seamstress and sewed her own version from scratch, but you really don’t need those kinds of skills. The idea is simple: a dress, a cape, and a picnic basket. That’s it.

Marching Band Majorette Costume

This is one of my all time favorite costumes. My sister found a sequined top at a thrift store and paired it with red pants and a pair of red knee high boots. She added a baton and she was ready to lead the parade.

Annie Costume

Add a white belt to a red dress with a white collared shirt underneath. Add bobby socks to a pair of mary janes and curl your hair for a quick Annie costume. A stuffed dog is a fun bonus if you have one.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds Costume

When you name your daughter Lucy, you kind of have to dress her in the sky with diamonds at least once. I layered white tulle into a simple elastic waist bubble skirt, stuffed the “bubble” with quilt batting, then glued on cotton balls and rhinestone “diamonds” onto a plain shirt.

Minnie Mouse Costume

Go the extra mile on a Minnie Mouse costume with black tights, a black shirt, and a pair of white gloves and get trick or treating.

Peacock Costume

Tulle is one of my best friends at Halloween. My talented sister in law made this peacock costume with teal, black, and lime tulle, then created the feathers out of craft felt sheets and a generous amount of glitter.

Mr Potato Head Costume

People who know how to sew make me so jelly, but even I can manage a lumpy potato shape out of felt and a glue gun. Cut felt shapes for the face and eyebrows and you have a costume without ever touching a sewing machine.

Witch Costume

The classic witch costume is one I remember pulling together a few times growing up from pieces in our dress up box. The only truly required element is an iconic witch’s hat. Everything else is up to your creativity.

My niece took this one a step further and actually sewed her own witch costume as a fall sewing class project. The fabric choices and colors she picked turned a really common costume into something completely unique.

Vampire Costume

A matching cummerbund and cape pull this vampire costume together. Sewing has always skipped right over me, but my friend Rochelle made this one look effortless. Add black pants, a white button down shirt, and some vampire makeup and you’re done.

Strawberry Shortcake Costume

A little hat, apron, and bloomer combo turns into the cutest Strawberry Shortcake costume when paired with strawberry colored hair. Many of you probably have an apron just like this one tucked away from your own childhood.

Ms Gogan From Pete’s Dragon Costume

This was my own Halloween costume when I was 20, dressed as Lena Gogan from Pete’s Dragon. We’d had that hillbilly hat for years, so I raided my mom’s closet for a house dress and cardigan and topped it with an old apron. My hair has natural curl, so I ratted it out and crunched up dried leaves into it, then used waterproof mascara to black out a tooth and dirtied my face with eyeshadow.

Washed Up Beauty Queen Costume

When my mother in law showed up in this one, we were all in tears laughing. She wore a vintage gown loaded with dollar store accessories, but the big blonde wig really made the costume.

Zombie Costume

Every boy seems to need a zombie costume at some point, it’s practically a rite of passage. It’s the perfect way for them to still dress up without feeling stuck in a cute costume. Tousle the hair, draw on some wounds, rip up an old shirt, and send them on their way.

80’s Rocker Costume

If you knew the guy behind this one, you’d be laughing as hard as we did the day he showed up at an office Halloween party dressed as an 80’s rocker. Zebra print leggings, a rocker wig, and his wife’s borrowed pink jacket pulled the whole look together. Beg to borrow an electric guitar prop and you can recreate the whole thing.

Lunch Lady Costume

This one is as simple as a hair net, a kitchen apron, a spatula, and a few well placed moles drawn on the face.

Easy Monster Couples Costume

It didn’t take much money or time to make these monster shirts for my husband and me. You can see the full tutorial in my post on family Halloween costumes.

Ready to plan the rest of your Halloween? Check out our trunk or treat ideas for more inspiration, or browse the full Halloween category for décor, treats, and party planning tips.