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DIY: Jack Skellington Costume for Halloween

By Ashley · October 27th, 2014

Jack Skellington DIY Halloween Costume

Halloween is here again, which means costume crafting time! Rhys is currently obsessed with Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas, and has decided to dress as Jack Skellington this Halloween. Rather than buy him a costume, I created one with a few easy to find components, and the construction was so simple! Here’s how to make a Jack Skellington costume for your little one.

DIY Jack Skellington Costume

What You’ll Need:

  • Black long sleeved tee
  • Black pants
  • White fabric paint
  • One wide paint brush
  • Black felt, 2 squares
  • One button, optional

Step One:

Spread the shirt and pants out smoothly on a foam board, securing the outer edges with sewing pins. This will keep the garments flat while painting, and allow you to rotate the pieces while working. After applying paint, you can move the entire foam board out of the way, like on an upper shelf, to store during drying time.

Easy Jack Skellington DIY costume for Halloween!

Step Two:

Outline  lapel and bottom seam of  the “tuxedo jacket” with white fabric paint.

Easy Jack Skellington DIY costume for Halloween!

Stick a folded paper towel in the top of the shirt collar to prevent the top collar from sticking to the back of the shirt as you paint. Using a wide paintbrush, use the fabric paint to fill in “shirt.”  You’ll probably need to do more than one coat to make the “shirt” look opaque, let the coats dry completely before reapplying.

Easy Jack Skellington DIY costume for Halloween!

Stop Three:

Paint the white “pinstripes” in long, even strokes down the body and arms of the shirt. The pinstripes on the lapel should be painted in perpendicular lines, going from center of the “shirt” out toward the body of the “jacket.”  Paint another coat of white on the “shirt.”

Easy Jack Skellington DIY costume for Halloween!

Leave a little space where the “lapels” for a jacket button. Sew the button onto the shirt when paint is completely dry. I used a fabric covered button that I painted with fabric paint, but you can always get the same effect by simply paint a round button shape where the “jacket” seams meet.

Easy Jack Skellington DIY costume for Halloween!

Step Four:

To create Jack’s bat bowtie, drawn both a bat wing  and head shape on a piece of paper to use as a template. Lay the templates atop the two squares of black felt and cut out the shape about a half inch wider than your template for seam allowance. Pin one of each to your foam board, (one bat wing and one bad head), to prep for painting. Create horizontal lines across the bat wings, and two white dots for eyes on the face. Let dry completely. Using the same technique as before, paint vertical pinstripes on the pants.

Easy Jack Skellington DIY costume for Halloween!

Step Five:

Lay the top of the bat wings on the bottom layer, and stitch all around the outer edges. (If you’re feeling extra crafty, leave an opening at the bottom to insert wire in each falange. This will allow you to bend and shape each section of the wing as you like. Sew opening closed.) With the two bat head pieces together, stitch outer edges 3/4 of the way around. Before closing the seam, insert cotton balls or fabric scraps to give the head volume. Sew the opening closed. Stitch the head to the center of the bat. Attach to shirt with thread and needle or with a large safety pin.

Easy Jack Skellington DIY costume for Halloween!

Final Touches:

I painted Rhys’s face with white and black face makeup from MAC and used black liquid liner to draw in Jack’s skeleton smile.

Easy Jack Skellington DIY costume for Halloween!

 

Easy Jack Skellington DIY costume for Halloween!

The Final Look: 

 

Easy Jack Skellington DIY costume for Halloween!

 

Easy Jack Skellington DIY costume for Halloween!

 

Happy Halloween, everyone!

 

Image Credit

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  • Katy

    Hi, this is so cute! Would you be willing to sell this costume to me?

    Katy
    Kkaroub@yahoo.com

    • Ashley Fauset

      Hi Katy,
      I’m happy to hear you like it so much! Unfortunately, it’s not for sale. (But it is super easy to make!)
      Best,
      Ashley

      • Emily Walker

        Ashley, I am making this for my 3 year old and Im wondering what sort of paint you used for the fabric?? Please reply, I would love to make it just like this! :)

        • AshleyFauset

          Hi Emily, it’s Tulip puffy paint. Happy Halloween!

  • larina

    Awesome looks great. Im trying to do this but what kind of material are the pants and where did you but them i cant find them anyway just slacks or jeans

    • Ashley

      Hi Larina,

      Thank you so much, I am glad you like it! I used Circo sweatpants from Target, though I took the pant legs in with the sewing machine to make them “skinny”. Happy Halloween!

    • AshleyFauset

      Hi! I used Circo brand black tee shirt and black sweatpants from Target. I altered the pants on my sewing machine to make them a more slim fit. Happy Halloween!

  • rosslassie

    this is fantastic! Can I ask you, what type of pants did you use? Are these sweatpants or what is the material? Are they long johns?
    Thank you for posting!

    • AshleyFauset

      Hi!

      I used Circo brand black tee shirt and black sweatpants from Target. I altered the pants on my sewing machine to make them a more slim fit. Hope that helps! Happy Halloween!

  • Erika Licea

    I am also wondering what type of fabric paint you used? Or what’s the name of it?

    • AshleyFauset

      Hi Erika! I used Tulip puffy paint. You can find it at Michaels or any craft store. Happy Halloween!

      • Emily Walker

        Thanks Ashley! I used the same puffy paint before you posted, glad I did, it works great!! :)

        • Melissa Flowers

          I WAS NOT SO LUCKY…. I BOUGHT NON PUFFY FABRIC PAINT… NO BUENO

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  • Mandy Popma Dobrowolski

    I am so glad I stumbled upon your tutorial! I was going to attempt to sew a Jack costume but it was surprisingly difficult to find the proper black/white striped fabric! When I found this, I decided to try your method and was so incredibly happy with the results! My son LOVES it and it was WAY less time consuming (and more cost effective) than sewing!
    Thanks for the great instructions:)

    Here’s my 4 year old as Jack Skellington at Boo at the Zoo:)

    • Mandy Popma Dobrowolski

      One more, close up, because its just so awesome!

  • kristina

    how long did you let the puffy paint dry for

  • Melissa Flowers

    Uggg… I didn’t see you used the puffy paint until I bought the fabric paint.. Will it be the same effect because so far… no bueno

  • mscandy30

    hello. Did you use the tulip puff paint on the white shirt part or just the stripes?

    • AshleyFauset

      Hi there! Yes, I used the tulip paint with a paintbrush for the white “shirt” part. :)

      • mscandy30

        Thanks so much

  • Maria Valenzuela

    Question, if the paint gets wet will it smear?

    • AshleyFauset

      Hi Maria,
      So long as you allow the puffy paint to dry completely before wearing, it’s will not smear if it gets wet. Happy Halloween!

  • Nathaniel Abbott

    Hi! Did you paint pinstripes on the back of the shirt too?

    • AshleyFauset

      Hi Nathaniel! Yes, I did, however it’s not necessary. Happy Halloween!

  • http://www.Stansberry.co.uk Jon Stansberry

    This is awesome!

    Jon | Stansberry.co.uk

  • mscandy30

    Thanks for this idea! I made the Jack costume plus a paper mache mask and she won a costume contest at the mall. Yay!

  • Katie McAfee

    Did you put stripes on the back, too?

  • Ashley Shorter

    I know this is an older tutorial but I’d love to do this for my two year old son he’s obsessed with jack. I was going to ask a question when you did the stripes with puffy paint did you basically paint it on with the thin bottle top almost like piping it on or did you put it on with a a thin wide paint brush?

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