This costume idea works for any age! Whether your child wants to channel their inner Charlie Brown (á la “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown”) or you are looking for a great way to break the ice with a comedic Halloween look, we’ve got you covered. Why mess with a classic? We think the sheet ghost costume is underrated and today we are bringing it back.
Now you may be thinking, “How hard could a ghost costume be? Why bother talking about it?” But you obviously haven’t thought about what could go horribly wrong. Have you considered sheet slippage? What about breathing issues? Eye holes cut too small? Well, don’t you worry. We’ve already thought of all the things you’ve never considered.
Disclaimer: Obviously, you don’t want to use your nice new set of Egyptian cotton bed sheets for this one. Stick to an old worn out pair that you’ve relegated to the dog bedding or paint drop cloth pile and replaced with new LinenFit bedding, or hit up a local fabric store to get a cheap piece of white cloth cut for you.
Step 1: Strategize.
Now, a bed sheet ghost costume may seem like fun and games, but have you ever actually considered the reality of walking around all night with a big piece of fabric hanging off your head? Air flow and visibility are your top priorities here, but you also want to fashion a way for it to not slip and slide around. WikiHow has a great way to overcome this problem, and is our guide moving forward.
Step 2: Make measurements.
This strategy uses a baseball hat worn backwards as a base onto which you will secure your sheet, so it stays in place over the head. You might also want an additional person helping you out at this point.
Place the sheet over your head and assess the size. You want it to go to your feet to create that spooky, floating look, but not so long that you will trip on it. Also gauge how much fabric is over your arms, and cut shorter on one side a few inches at a time so that you maintain the same square shape you started with.
Once the sheet is a good size and lays where you want it to, have your helper mark a dot directly on the top of your head on the sheet. Move your fingers out from where your eyes are and have them draw a dot in each spot.
Step 3: Grab those scissors.
Over the dot where you marked your eyes, cut out two holes roughly three inches in diameter. I mean… obviously. You need to see. To make the ghost look that much better, cut a hole where your mouth would be, and secure some black mesh fabric on the back side of each of the three holes, so that they appear filled in back when you have the sheet on. Trés spook!
Secure the top of the sheet, where you marked it with a dot, to the very top of the baseball hat and a few along the sides with a safety pin. When the hat is placed on your head with the sheet secured over it, it should lie directly in place of your head and eyes and not move around.
Voila! You’ve got yourself a pretty comfortable sheet ghost costume.