How to Make Halloween Cheesecloth Ghosts

October 26, 2023

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How to make cute DIY cheesecloth ghosts for the Halloween season.


This is SUCH an easy Halloween project for kids (and adults!) of all ages. I love this cheesecloth ghosts craft! 

I've made these so many times over the years and they always turn out so cute. No two are exactly alike!

I warn you -- this cheesecloth project is messy, but it's a really fun and easy Halloween craft to do with the kids! :)  

This fall craft is perfect to do with kids outside. 

The basic ingredients for these fabric ghosts are glue and warm water. You'll want balloons or some other form for the ghosts and felt or a black marker for the faces:
black and white cheesecloth

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Any liquid glue will work -- Elmer's glue and Mod Podge both work well: 
elmers glue mod podge

How to make cute cheesecloth ghosts:


  • Blow up a few balloons in various sizes (for big to smaller ghosts). You can also use items around your home to create your ghosts. (More on that in a bit.)
  • Mix equal parts warm water and glue in a bowl.
  • Soak the pieces of cheesecloth (cut up to the sizes you want) in the glue mixture, then drape them over the balloons. 
  • Leave about a day until they are very hard. Then you can pop the balloons and peel them off, or just remove the cloth from whatever you used for your form. 
  • I used black and white felt to make the faces. (But paper would work just fine!)

I wanted to make bigger ghosts this year, so I grabbed all kinds of bottles and bowls from the kitchen to use. I stacked up a set of mixing bowls for this one: 

DIY white cheesecloth ghost

I used two layers of cheesecloth and placed it on top first to make sure it would drape down to the bottom.

You can also use mason jars or styrofoam balls in different sizes. (The glue will wash off of plastic or metal with warm, soapy water afterwards.)

If you're making smaller ghosts, you'll want to dunk your whole cheesecloth into the mixture and then squeeze out any excess (this is the messy part, but gloves would help!): 
cheesecloth with glue

For the larger ones, I opted to keep the bottom flowy, so I didn't saturate the whole cheesecloth: 
dunking cheesecloth in glue

I put out some old towels and drop cloths and set them on top, draped over their "forms" to dry overnight:
DIY cheesecloth ghosts

The thinner your fabric, the quicker they will dry. Don't worry if they stick a bit, you'll be able to manipulate them easily. 

These cute flowing ghosts are so inexpensive to make, and a fun project for the kids! I love the result when the bottom of the ghost is left loose -- it looks even spoooookier: 
tall cheesecloth ghost

These aren't meant to all look alike, the differences are what make them look more realistic. ;) 
black and white cheesecloth ghosts

And of course they become even more haunting with an LED candle underneath: 
cheesecloth ghost with candle

Too cute! These are so fun. 

There are many different recipes out there but this is the easiest and it worked great. I also thought it would be fun to mix them with glow-in-the-dark glue!

Here's how these ghosts look when you make them with something smaller like a balloon: 

cheesecloth ghosts craft

One item I can't do without during the holidays are my little flickering LED tea lights or votives. I love those in particular because you turn them on once and they stay on for six hours. 

No need to turn them on and off because the timer does it for you!

Have you tried this cute Halloween craft? 

Hover over this image to pin this project for later:

Halloween ghost craft



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October 26, 2023

Comments

  1. janetOctober 1, 2008 at 11:09 PM

    hi thrify....i think your ghost are absolutely adorable, may have to try this myself. I check your blog daily as i wonder what amazing project you are up to doing. Keep up the fantastic creativity. Most things i do in our house must be on a tight budget, so your blog is just what i need.
    have a good night
    janet

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lacey in the SkyOctober 1, 2008 at 11:32 PM

    I love it all!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. BetsyOctober 2, 2008 at 11:15 PM

    Love the pumpkin project...where did you get the wooder pumpkin? Also, do you have to stretch the cheese cloth or does it just come out like that? Could you hang those ghosts? So many questions...I love your blog...got to it through Cherry's Jubilee.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LorieOctober 3, 2008 at 10:04 AM

    Those ghosts are very cute!! They would make fun luminaries outside!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. LorieOctober 3, 2008 at 10:19 AM

    I hope you don't mind if I put these on my blog and link back to you. THey are just too cute to resist.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownOctober 3, 2008 at 9:43 PM

    still lovin' those ghosts!
    Great choice of paper for the pumpkin.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ChrisOctober 5, 2008 at 11:04 AM

    Oooh, I love the ghosts! You just gave me another excuse to spend money! My husband thanks you! ;) I have wanted to copy Cherry's jack-o-lantern, too, and yours turned out perfectly!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. HeatherOctober 5, 2008 at 2:57 PM

    Hi! I hopped over from Today's Creative Blog & I love all your ideas! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousOctober 5, 2008 at 9:40 PM

    Love the cheesecloth ghosts!
    I also used to sell southern living At HOME and now I sell
    Taste of Home Entertaining...30% less than SLAH! check out my website if you get time
    www.nataliemeester.tohe.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. sweetfunkyvintageOctober 5, 2008 at 10:29 PM

    I love the pumpkin... where did you get the pumpkin you used?
    missy

    ReplyDelete
  11. MichaOctober 6, 2008 at 1:30 AM

    My mom and I used to make cheesecloth ghosts like these when I was a kid! They were my absolute favorite. Never did add the candles though, nice touch!

    ReplyDelete
  12. edeenutOctober 6, 2008 at 1:57 AM

    What a cute idea, I love the pumpkins!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Darlene - Our Creative LifeOctober 6, 2008 at 9:35 AM

    I tried to make those ghosts years ago but mine didn't turn out as cute as yours!

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousOctober 6, 2008 at 5:41 PM

    Your ideas are AMAZING... I am going to have to linger awhile, and visit again...
    Thanks for sharing~ Jen

    ReplyDelete
  15. WendyLouOctober 6, 2008 at 6:06 PM

    Duh!! I was just wondering how you were going to keep those ghosties from burning your house down. ::snort:: Electric candles ... genius!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. NataliaOctober 11, 2008 at 9:31 AM

    Came back for another shot of inspiration. Not sure how I forgot to comment the last time. I love all these great ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  17. laniOctober 20, 2008 at 3:30 PM

    You are my hero!!! I just love all your ideas!! I definitely want to try the cheesecloth ghosts!! you are amazing!! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Crafty NicheSeptember 15, 2009 at 1:58 PM

    Where did you find the pumpkin? I want one BAD!! :) I hope you don't mind if I copy some of your crafts and give you full credit of course! :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. UnknownOctober 8, 2012 at 9:58 PM

    That is a great project! I remember making a full sized person one! It involved carefully covering the person with plastic (making sure they could breath) and then covering them with cheese cloth. It came out great! I wish I still had it.

    ReplyDelete

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