Sheet Ghost - Costume

Halloween season is upon us again!

Last year I had the luxury of time and was able to dedicate over a month to fabricating Cookie Monster. This year I had exponentially less time and the warden didn't want to be the handler of a middle aged, partially incapacitated man, inside of a full body costume.

We decided on simple sheet ghosts, but I couldn't leave well enough alone. Cutting ragged eye holes in a sheet with a cheese knife and then having mostly dead human eyes peeping out just won't do.

White sheets [1 King & 1 Queen][$20.84 & $15.84 respectively via Walmart]

Black 4-way stretch mesh fabric [$13.49+/yd via JoAnn Fabric]

Adhesive backed 1/8" EVA foam [9"x12" sheet][$0.99 via Michaels]

For the shapes/frames of the eyes, I'm using 1/8" adhesive EVA foam. I assumed the adhesive would be weak and I'd have to use hot glue, but I was incorrect.

I made several shape options and ended up going with a large teardrop. The chonky oval for a pixelated ghost feel was my close second choice [Fig.1]

The pattern was traced onto the EVA foam 8 times (2 per eye), cut out, and edges smoothed out using the oscillating belt sander [Fig.2&3].

The shape was redrawn with a 1/4" inset and the centers removed with a razor knife [Fig.4].

One layer of mesh fabric does the trick, so four of the eye shapes are adhered to it and the excess removed with scissors.

Note: A brand new razor might work, but mine had a tendency to catch and tear, so scissors was the way to go.

The quickest and easiest way to determine eye placement was to just throw the sheet over the warden's head and then try not poke out her eyes during the alignment process.

Tip #1: Use the open/non meshed parts, so that you can use them to accurately excise the sheet.

Tip #2: Put the sheet wrong side (hemmed edge showing) out over your helper so that you are working on the inside of the finished costume.

I already buried the lead, but I a razor knife was used to remove the sheet from within the eye shapes [Fig.1].

Once the sheet is turned right side out, the inside EVA shape can easily be used for alignment/placement of the outside eye shapes [Fig.2-4].

Note: Having the mesh on the outside conceals the cut edge of the sheet and also gives a bit of extra room for your eyelashes.

The ghosts were a hit at the annual costume party. Breathable, easy to remove, and easy to quickly put back on.

The EVA and mesh eyes not only clean up the overall look, but they added a creepy factor when just standing in place ... which I love.

The warden wore one for Trick 'r Treat night while I reused Edward Scissorhands and it definitely made some of the younger kids uneasy.

The remaining test will be to see if the EVA and adhesive can withstand a delicate cycle in the wash machine. Perhaps I should err on the side of caution ... hand wash and air dry.