12 Easy Halloween Sewing Projects You Can Finish This Weekend

These twelve easy Halloween sewing projects are grouped by how long they take, not by how they look: four under thirty minutes, four under an hour, four that fill an afternoon. Every one lists the fabric, the exact metreage, what it costs at indicative rates and the single thing that usually goes wrong. Eleven of the twelve use half a metre or less.

Sorting by time rather than by type is the useful way round, because the decision you are actually making is "what can I finish tonight". A trick-or-treat bag and a table runner take about the same effort; a lined tote and a cushion cover do not. Once you know which bracket you are in, the fabric choice is the easy part, and most of the Halloween fabrics range will do for any of it.

Prices below are worked examples at indicative rates. Pound A Metre cotton starts around £1/m and moves up by range and print, so where you see "0.5m = 50p at £1/m, £1.50 at £3/m", the point is that you can redo the sum with whatever the listing says on the day. If you want to know which cloth suits a wearable costume rather than a decoration, that lives in the guide to the best fabric for halloween costumes — this page is the makes.

The whole twelve comes to roughly 10.95m. At £1/m that is under £11 for a decorated house, a costume skirt and three gifts. At £3/m it is a shade over £31.

Under 30 minutes

1. No-sew cape - 1.1m, 15 minutes

A knee-length child's cape, cut as a half-circle and tied at the neck. Nothing goes through the machine.

1. Fold 1.1m of 150cm fabric in half along the length. Tie a marker to a 55cm length of string, pin the string at the folded corner and swing an arc.
2. Cut the arc, then cut a small neck curve at the corner - about 8cm radius.
3. Punch or snip two small holes either side of the neck opening and thread a 60cm ribbon through as ties.
4. Leave every edge raw if you used satin-backed polycotton or fleece; if it frays badly, run a line of fabric glue along the curve.

What goes wrong: the neck hole. Everyone cuts it too big on the first go and the cape slides off one shoulder all night. Start at 6cm radius and enlarge it 1cm at a time until it clears the head.

2. Ghost garland - 0.5m, 20 minutes

Eight to ten little hanging ghosts on a length of cord, for a bannister or a window.

1. Cut 10 circles of white cotton, 20cm across. A side plate is the right template.
2. Ball up a scrap of wadding or a cotton wool pad, sit it in the centre, gather the circle around it and tie off with white thread.
3. Draw two eyes on with a fabric marker.
4. Stitch or knot each head onto a 1.5m cord at 15cm intervals.

What goes wrong: the heads spin round so the faces point at the wall. Take one stitch through the back of each head into the cord - that anchors the face forwards.

3. Jar wraps - 0.3m, 15 minutes for six

Six jam jars turned into table lights or sweet holders. Battery tea lights only, never a real candle near fabric.

1. Measure the jar circumference and add 2cm. Cut cotton strips that length by 8cm deep.
2. Cut a matching strip of black dress net 12cm deep for the ghostly layer.
3. Lay net over cotton, wrap round the jar, and stitch or glue the short ends together into a band.
4. Slide the band on and add a scrap of ribbon at the neck.

What goes wrong: measuring the jar at the wrong point. Tapered jars are narrower at the base, so measure where the band will actually sit, not at the widest ring.

4. Napkin bats - 0.2m, 5 minutes each

The fastest make on this list and the one that gets the most comment at the table.

1. Draw a simple bat silhouette about 12cm across onto black felt and cut it out. One 0.2m piece of felt gives you eight.
2. Cut a felt strip 4cm by 18cm for the band.
3. Sew the strip into a loop with one straight seam, then stitch the bat onto the loop over the seam.
4. Roll a napkin and slide it through.

What goes wrong: the wings are too fiddly. Cut the scallops shallow — deep, narrow points on felt fray at the tips no matter how sharp your scissors are, and shallow wings read as a bat perfectly well from across a table.

Under an hour

5. Halloween bunting - 0.5m, 45 minutes

The most-searched Halloween make in the country, and genuinely one of the quickest once you have a cardboard template.

1. Cut a triangle template 15cm across the top by 20cm deep. Cut 20 triangles from 0.5m of 112cm cotton.
2. Pair them right sides together, sew the two long sides at 1cm, trim the point, turn out and press.
3. Fold 3.5m of 25mm bias binding or cotton tape in half lengthways and press.
4. Tuck each triangle into the fold at 15cm spacing, pin the lot, then sew the whole tape closed in one continuous line.

What goes wrong: people sew each flag onto the tape individually and it takes three times as long. Pin all twenty first and run one seam end to end. Also, leave 30cm of bare tape at each end for tying - bunting with no tails cannot be hung anywhere.

6. Trick-or-treat bag - 0.5m, 40 minutes

A drawstring sack with a flat base, sized to survive a whole street.

1. Cut two rectangles 32cm wide by 38cm deep from cotton or, better, cotton drill.
2. Sew the sides and base right sides together, leaving 6cm unstitched at the top of each side seam for the drawstring channel.
3. Box the corners: fold each bottom corner into a triangle, measure 5cm from the point and sew straight across. That gives the bag a base so it stands up.
4. Fold the top edge down 4cm, press and stitch the channel, then thread two 80cm cords in opposite directions.

What goes wrong: the handles give way under a full load of sweets. Cotton drill and a double row of stitching at the channel is the fix; thin quilting cotton on its own splits at the corners by the fourth house.

7. Halloween scrunchie - 0.15m, 15 minutes

The best use for an offcut you would otherwise bin, and a decent Halloween party favour at a few pence each.

1. Cut a strip 55cm long by 10cm wide.
2. Fold in half lengthways right sides together and sew the long edge, leaving a 4cm gap in the middle.
3. Turn out through the gap, thread 22cm of 6mm elastic through with a safety pin, and overlap the ends by 1cm and sew.
4. Close the gap by hand or topstitch it shut.

What goes wrong: the elastic gets twisted inside the tube on the way through. Keep one hand on the trailing end and check it lies flat before you join the ends, or the scrunchie sits in a permanent kink.

8. Table runner - 0.8m, 50 minutes

Two prints, one reversible runner, and it comes out at 40cm by 150cm which suits most dining tables.

1. Cut one 45cm by 155cm piece from each of two prints — a novelty Halloween print on one side, a plain orange or black on the other.
2. Lay right sides together, sew all the way round at 1.5cm leaving a 15cm turning gap on one long side.
3. Snip the corners at 45 degrees, turn out, push the corners square with a chopstick and press hard.
4. Topstitch 5mm from the edge all the way round, which closes the gap as you go.

What goes wrong: soft, floppy corners. Trimming the corner seam allowance is not optional — leave the bulk in and the corner turns out rounded, and the whole runner looks homemade in the bad way.

An afternoon

9. Envelope cushion covers, 1.2m for a pair, 2 hours

The fastest way to make a living room look seasonal, and the covers come off again on 1 November.

1. For a 45cm cushion pad, cut one front 47cm square and two backs 47cm by 32cm.
2. Hem one long edge of each back piece with a double 1cm fold.
3. Lay the front right side up, lay both backs face down on top so the hemmed edges overlap in the middle by about 15cm, and pin.
4. Sew all four sides at 1cm, zigzag or overlock the raw edges, turn out and press.

What goes wrong: the cover comes out baggy. Cut the cover 1cm to 2cm smaller than the pad, not larger. A 45cm pad wants a 45cm finished cover, which is why the cut size above is 47cm with 1cm seams.

10. Net tutu skirt, 3m, 2 hours

The one costume piece on this list, because it doubles as a decoration on a hanger and a witch skirt on the night.

1. Cut 3m of dress net into three lengths, each 1m long by the full 150cm width.
2. Sew a long gathering stitch along one edge of each layer at the longest stitch length, then pull the bobbin threads to gather.
3. Cut the layers to three different depths — say 55cm, 45cm and 35cm — so the hems stagger.
4. Stack the gathered edges together and sew them all onto a waistband of 30mm elastic cut to waist measurement minus 3cm.

What goes wrong: the gathering thread snaps halfway along 1.5m of net. Gather in two halves with separate thread runs, so a snapped thread costs you one half rather than the whole layer.

11. Door hanging, 1m, 2.5 hours

A 40cm by 60cm felt-appliqué panel for the front door: a moon, a black cat silhouette, a few bats.

1. Cut a 42cm by 62cm backing from cotton and the same again for the front in a plain dark cotton.
2. Cut your shapes from felt. Felt does not fray, so the cut edge is the finished edge — no turning, no interfacing.
3. Pin the shapes onto the front panel and straight-stitch 2mm inside each edge. Go slowly round curves and stop with the needle down to pivot.
4. Sew front to back right sides together, leave a gap, turn out, press, topstitch, and add a 30cm ribbon loop at the top.

What goes wrong: the panel curls at the edges and hangs like a crisp. Add a layer of medium interfacing or a scrap of wadding between front and back and it hangs flat.

12. Lined tote, 1.2m, 3 hours

The most useful make here, because it outlives October. 0.6m outer, 0.6m lining.

1. Cut two outer and two lining rectangles 40cm by 45cm, and two handle strips 60cm by 10cm.
2. Make the handles: fold each strip in half lengthways, press, open, fold the raw edges to the centre, fold again and topstitch both long sides.
3. Sew the outer bag sides and base, then the lining the same way but leave a 12cm gap in the lining base.
4. Pin the handles to the outer bag top facing inwards, drop the outer inside the lining right sides together, sew round the top opening, then pull the whole bag through the gap in the lining and topstitch the top edge.

What goes wrong: twisted handles. Before you sew the top seam, lay the bag flat and check both handles lie inside without a half-turn. Unpicking a topstitched bag top is a genuinely miserable half hour.

Using scraps and fat quarters instead of full metres

Half of this list never needs a full metre. Bunting, napkin bats, jar wraps, scrunchies and the appliqué shapes on the door hanging are all offcut projects, and a fat quarter is often the better buy.

A UK fat quarter is typically around 50cm by 55cm, though it varies with the bolt width, so check the listing before you plan a cut. From one fat quarter you can get roughly eight bunting triangles, or two scrunchies plus a set of jar wraps, or all the felt shapes for a door hanging. A bundle of six or eight in coordinating prints costs less than the equivalent metreage bought as separate cuts, and it solves the harder problem, which is making six different prints look like a deliberate scheme rather than a pile. There is more on the sizing and the cutting plans in what is a fat quarter uk, and on the economics in why fabric bundles make sense.

Three rules for making scraps look intentional. Keep the palette to three colours — orange, black and one accent such as lime or purple — and mixed prints will read as a set. Vary the print scale: one large print, one medium, one tiny or a plain, because six medium prints together turn to mush at arm's length. And repeat each print at least twice across a project, so the eye reads a pattern rather than a leftover. That last one is why bunting made from six prints looks better at 20 flags than at 10. The scale question is worth a proper look before you buy, and choosing printed fabrics goes through it in detail.

For anything sized to a body rather than a table — a tutu, a cape, a skirt — go and check the metreage properly rather than guessing from a scrap pile. The working for circles, gathers and widths is set out in how much fabric you need, and a full-circle anything eats fabric faster than people expect.