Now it’s time to secure the pants to the shirt so they stay on the scarecrow. Arrange the shirt how you like and start by sewing the shirt to the pants at the center front, center back, and both sides with a few quick stitches. This will help keep everything where you want it as you finish sewing. Sew the shirt to the pants all the way around with large whipstitches. I used a light-colored thread, which makes it easier for you to see what I’m doing, but I’d recommend using a dark blue thread that matches the jeans.
How to face paint a ghost for Halloween: step-by-step guide
If your child’s dead set on dressing up as a spooky ghost this Halloween, we’ve got a dead simple way to top off their look with some adorably spooky face-paint. (Doing this also neatly avoids the need for any white sheets over the head – which can only ever be a bit of a accident waiting to happen on your average trick-or-treat outing.)
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We’ve created an easy-to-follow step by step guides to show you how to paint the look: you can either watch our how-to video (above) or follow our photo steps (below).
Huge (spooky) hat tip to ace facepainter Laura Jones from our Top Testers Club: you can see her turning her son Harry’s face all ghostly in our video guide.
If you haven’t got a ghost costume already, we’ve some great suggestions in our Best Halloween costumes for babies, toddlers and children.
- Planning a different Halloween look for your child? We’ve also got step-by-step face-painting guides for a witch, vampire, a scary pirate and – of course – a pumpkin.
Here’s how to face-paint a ghost, step by step
What you’ll need
- Face paints in the following colours: white, green, black
- Face-paint brush or make-up brush
Step 1
Using your brush and white face paint, carefully outline the ghost shape, starting the ghost’s neck between your child’s brows and positioning the ghost’s head mid-temple. Then fill in the outline, including your child’s lips.
Step 2
Clean your brush. Then, using the green face paint, use the tip of your brush to paint 2 eyes in the middle of the ghost’s head.
4 of the best face paints for children
- Snazaroo Ultimate Party Pack Face Paint Kit, £14.95: Contains 12 2ml colour pots, 2 glitter gels, 4 sponges, 2 brushes and a face-painting guide. Age 3+
- Djeco Face Paint Set, £8: Contains 6 x 2ml face paints, a sponge and a brush. Age 3+
- BioKidd Natural Face Body Paint Wash, £26.90: Contains 10 x 10ml pots of paints, made with beeswax/clay/mineral-based ingredients and ready to use without wash. No brush supplied. Age 3+
- Galt Face Painting Set, £13: Contains 12 face paint discs, 2 brushes, 4 sponges, adhesive stencils and a guide. Age 5+
Step 3
Clean your brush again and, using the black paint, outline the ghost’s body and eyes. Add eyebrows, pupils, a nose and an open mouth.
And then you’re done!
Pics: Snazaroo, Video: Laura Jones. Video edit: Emily Longman Wall
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Read more:
- Best children’s Halloween costumes
- Halloween games that are more fun than bobbing for apples
- How to carve a spooky pumpkin jail for Halloween
- Best Halloween recipes
Authors
Emily Longman Wall Digital Content Producer
Emily is the Digital Content Producer at MadeForMums, working across the brand on everything from pushchairs and car seats to baby names and the latest product launches. She researches topics thoroughly to make sure our content is accurate and helpful for parents and loves bringing the details about latest parenting products and innovations to our audience.
Step 1: Measure and cut two-by-twos
To start, fit the shirt on the two-by-two and measure from sleeve-end to sleeve-end. Mark and cut to length with a handsaw. This piece will be for the arms of the scarecrow. Lay out the shirt and the pants for the scarecrow and measure from the top of the collar to the bottom of the pant legs. This piece will be for the body of the scarecrow. Add 2” to the top. If your scarecrow is going to be living in your garden, add 15” to the measurement for the bottom of the stake and cut the bottom end to a point. If your scarecrow is just going to be leaning up against the side of your house, just add the measurement at the top and cut. Since our scarecrow will be living in the garden, we cut the bottom of the post to a point using a miter box.
Step 2: Secure crosspiece to vertical piece
I realized partway through this step that you can’t put on the shirt after the crosspiece and the vertical piece are attached, because that would be like trying to put on your clothes in the morning with your arms fully extended out from your body. (Not easy.)
So, first, slide the shirt sleeves onto the crosspiece. Then, position the crosspiece 10” down from the vertical piece. Secure with 3” nails or screws.
Step 3: Stuff the scarecrow’s pant legs
Tie the bottoms of each pant leg together with some jute, then stuff each leg with straw up to the top of the leg (but not past the crotch). For people who have about as much farm knowledge as I do, here’s a heads up: hay is messy and pretty dirty. This is definitely a project to do in the garage or outside. I recommend wearing work gloves to make the experience more enjoyable and a mask if you’re susceptible to allergies.
