Learn how to make sustainable Halloween decorations with garbage! Kids ages 3 and up can easily make this adorable and eco-friendly ghost out of everyday items.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of being a vendor at the Georgetown Steam Plant, a historic (and creepy) building in Seattle. The theme was circularity and using waste materials creatively through Science Technology and Art. It seemed like the perfect venue to try out a new craft I'd been thinking of that uses 100% waste. It turned out so much bettter than I expected! The attendees made about 50 ghosts, used 3 queen bedsheets, and a big box of scraps and trash in just a few hours. It was an even split between adults and kids who participated. The youngest was only 2 years old.
No green-washing allowed here - this is a truly eco-friendly project. The fabric is old bedsheets, the yarn came from Seattle Recreative thrift store, and the trash is well... trash! Every yard of fabric releases 2.1 lbs of carbon when it is made- which is like driving 12 miles. Re-using rather than buying new fabric adds up to climate savings. I tried to only use trash for fill that can't easily be recycled - like small fabric scraps and plastic packaging.
I love halloween, but the waste is SCARY. I want all the great costumes, jump scares, and sound effects without the styrofoam, single use plastic, and junk that ends up in the ocean. These are designed to be the opposite and last year after year. Your family will be excited to pull them out to decorate and remember making them together.
Supplies
- 14"x14" of white fabric - Rebundance quarter yard, old bedsheet, white t-shirt or other waste fabric
- clean garbage - plastic wrappers, bubble wrap, paper, fabric scraps, yarn scraps - anything that is clean, dry, scrunchable and lightweight that can't be recycled. About one handfull
- yarn, string, or twine - 24" total
- black permanent marker
- scissors
Instructions
- Cut yarn into one 6" piece and one 18" piece
- Cut fabric into 14" x14" square.
- Cut two small slits into the middle of the fabric, about 1" apart
- Take the longer yarn and thread it through the slits and pull to even lengths. Tie a knot at the end.
- Scrunch a ball of garbage to the size of the head you want - about 2-3" in diameter
- Place the ball of garbage in the middle of the fabric and wrap the fabric around the garbage, leaving the ends dangling down.
- Tie the shorter string around the fabric at the bottom of the ball of garbage. Tie it tightly with a square knot. Trim the ends.
- Draw eyes and a mouth with the black marker on the middle of the head
- snip the bottom edges if you want a more straggly looking ghost
- Hang somewhere spooky!
Ways to customize your ghost.
- adjust the size - one person made a mini ghost to hang by his computer monitor. this was about a 6" x 6" piece of fabric to start.
- make a unique face - kids made cats, emojis, angry, silly, sweet and many other styles of faces! you can make your ghost look any way you want.
- colors - ghosts don't have to be white. Pick another autumn color, or just your favorite.
- garbage - you can use lots of types of scrunchy garbage. We used up fabric scraps, bubble wrap, plastic bags, and plastic packaging.
- teach kids to rip on the weave/warp of the fabric. Have them make the first little snip, then show them it can rip. Watch their eyes get big and then use their muscles. It's a great lesson in different types of fabric. Its so satisfying to hear that ripping sounds.
- help tie knots. Even if they can't tie, or are learning - they can put their finger on the first overhand knot while you make the second one. Doing it together helps them practice.