So you want to make a halloween costume

By Alex Miller | November 3, 2025

Every year, when the leaves change color and pumpkins line the porches of families’ homes, many find themselves scrambling to stitch together the perfect ensemble for collecting candy. Places like Amazon, Spirit Halloween, and even your local Walmart can supply costumes for anyone. But these stores may not have the exact character or creature that you want. While commissioning artists to create an outfit for you is a thing, not many people have the money to do so. So what about making your own? 

Creating a costume on a budget is easier than you might think. You can make anything as long as you have a needle and thread, and upgrades can be added on later. The first thing to do is decide what you want your costume to be and plan it out. I chose to make the outfit of the character Remilia Scarlet from Touhou Project, and made a beta design of what I would sew.

An important tool to use is a “pattern,” which tells you what pieces of fabric to cut out and sew together. Think of it like a template or cheat sheet that shows you how to create your outfit. These can be found online for free or purchased on sites like Etsy, like I did. Even though I was making a dress, I decided to split it up into a shirt and a skirt to make it easier to sew. I’d never sewn clothing before, so I wanted to make it as easy as possible.

I created my costume out of a king-size bed sheet I found at a store for $30. The original fabric cost would’ve been 70, so by using a less conventional item, I saved myself over half of the money. For accessories, I bought red fabric, red and white ribbon, elastic, and interfacing, which in total was around $30. I used some materials I had at home as well, which included dark brown fabric, different color threads, a sewing machine, and clay. Added together, the total cost of all the materials for the costume was $60, give or take a few dollars for tax.

Now that I’d collected all of the materials, it was time to actually sew. I began by cutting out all the pieces of fabric needed and then sewed them together according to the pattern's instructions. I did run into a lot of bumps, like sewing things the wrong way, forgetting to change the type of stitch I was using, and even the pattern not giving me clear directions. I had a lot of help from other people, like my grandma. I couldn’t have made the costume without her. Always ask for help if you don’t know how to do something, especially if it is your first time doing so.

After making the top, bottom, and hat, I had to add on the accessories. One thing about my costume is that it has a huge bow in the back, but when I tried making bows, they would flop over and not stand up. This is because I wasn’t using interfacing. Interfacing is what is inside things like collars and sleeve cuffs, and gives fabric more sturdiness. It is a key ingredient in making costumes pop.

Another issue was attaching the wings to my body. I didn’t want to cut a hole in the shirt, but I didn’t want arm straps to show, either. But when I simply sewed them to the back, they would flop over, more than interfacing could fix. So I used wire to support them. I got this idea from a pair of dragon wings I’d gotten for Halloween many years ago.

Some other accessories I added included an amulet made out of clay, a wristband, and tons of ribbon.

After all my hard work and problem-solving, and going back to make changes to create something perfect, I finally finished my costume. The deadline was a little bit before Halloween since I wanted to submit this creation in the cosplay contest at Baltimore Comic Con. In fact, I finished it only one day before I was set to present. I ended up winning first place in the teen contest, which was a great prize for my hard work.

This was my first time sewing any type of clothing from scratch, and I was able to do it on a budget of under $70 while also using materials I already owned. It was a great learning experience and taught me how to problem-solve to create things that I want. Since no store had the exact costume I wanted, and buying it online would cost twice as much, creating my own was the only solution. I’m very happy about the results and have a newfound appreciation for seamstresses— sewing is hard work! Next Halloween, I want to create something new using the same process I used for this one.