To make a unique looking witch dress costume, work with cotton or cotton polyester craft fabric like a broadcloth or a woven cotton solid in black. This idea can also be used for a cape. This idea enhances the black skirt for a witch dress costume.

Cobwebs are easier to do than other types of “costume dressing’ that might look right. If you get really good at the cobweb, try a little one on the sleeves of whatever top you’re wearing to make a witch dress. The silver glitter works best.

1. Test your web drawing skills on paper first. Then when you’ve got the knack, work with the fabric. Lay out the fabric for the intended skirt project (below). Make sure fabric has no issues with glitter glue by testing a small section on the underside.

2. Map out where hemmed area will hit the floor and work around the area between floor and knees. This fabric will catch the light when walking. Put some of the effect onto the area just above the knees as well. ( Using permanent adhesive glue after extended practice will make a costume effect that will last an entire night of trick or treating).

3. Mix glitter with glue, or use a glitter pen to design ‘cobwebs” on the black fabric. The contrast between sections of black and the silver line should be pronounced.

4. In case of errors, wipe away or wash the fabric if the web drawing goes horribly wrong. With the right semi permanent glue the black fabric can be completely washed and dried and ironed and prepared for the restart.

5. Review your work. This should be lapsed and irregular grid patterns spread across widening or narrowing areas. Work from illustrations on paper until you get the design right. The spider webs should flow in an elegant style.

6. Observe how the (glittery) glue dries and how fast. Try a stringy “web” design and also make circles winding into themselves in spirals. The silver or gold effect on black can look good. Experiment with black pipe cleaner “spiders” to be attached as well.

7. Finished perfect sections go directly to the skirt project.

8. If extra fabric is left over, decorate for a hat trim, cape, or broomstick ribbon.

Want to make a witch dress costume skirt but have little or no cash? You’ll need black material, a few black shoelaces, some elastic, a glue gun and some rubber bands. A safety pin and some adhesive glue can be used in place of formal sewing if need be. A sewing machine is not needed, doing a reinforced overhand stitch using needle and thread will suffice.

Scout the thrift store, dollar store, and craft store sale aisle products to see what you can use to make your witch costume for very little money. This “skirt” can be part of any costume requiring a plain unconstructed full skirt, like a monk’s outfit or a wizard. Since the material is black, the skirt can be re-used for another costume, like Darth Vader or a monk.

1. Scrounge around for some black sheets, discarded black tablecloths, or even certain types of black nylon material recovered from tents or tarps. The material have a synthetic shine because the glossy surface will play up for a costume. (Dying light colors black can be more trouble than it’s worth, if white sheets are the only thing available, skip it).

2. Lay out the material on a cutting board or flat surface. Make sure the material is breathable and fire retardant. Otherwise use it for a cape or to cover a hat. Sheets can save time because their selvage edges are already hemmed. Look for stains, marks, or flaws in the fabric before committing sewing time to the project.

3. Cut a huge square in the material that conforms to your body size and waist circumference by three. The elasticized waist will provide all the gathering needed. Use a rough outline of phone books repeated end to end to get a right angled outline, if the material is not even. The length of the vertical skirt fabric lock should be about a foot more than the distance from your waist to the ground.

4. Lay the material flat, outside side down. Upturn the lateral edge of the bottom end of the fabric. Hem the bottom of the rectangular or square material block using a glue gun, overhand stitch after ironing, or glue adhesive that matches the material makeup. Some synthetic glues will work with some nylon compounds better than others. The seam side will be turned up on the “inside” of the garment.

5. Folding the horizontal top edge of the fabric, the waist seam process begins. If the material is frayed or uneven, finish with the glue gun or overhand stitch by hand. Edge should be clear of threads or bulk.

6. Bring the material together at the top and fold over once again by a few inches. Sew or use a glue gun to close the edges and secure the seam and make the waistline elastic area closed. Reinforcing this seam is recommended for sturdy Halloween trick-or-treat wear. The bottom seam should clear the fold very easily. The waistline elastic seam area can be made small/narrow enough for a belt to cover the finished effect.

7. Lay both shoelaces down on a flat surface laterally on either side, (9:00 and 3:00). Arrange the elastic in the middle, as if the fabric layout were a clock orientation where the clock hands go.

8. Unwrap the shoelace ties and sew them to edges of the elastic tape, or merely knot the elastic ends with the shoelace ends and rubber band the knot ends flat to the “rope”. This is the belt part of the skirt that will go through the channel created by the waist seam. The finished effect should be narrow and smooth with no floppy ends.

9. Fish the belt through the waist seam channel using a safety pin attached to one of the shoelace ends. Push the safety pin all the way from the one side to the other, or place the belt inside the channel before glue gunning or overhand sewing the waistline seam shut. When both ends of the shoelaces emerge from either side of the waistline seam, the vertical closure seam of the skirt can be sewn.

10. Use a glue gun or even duct tape to sew the vertical seam to close the skirt form hem to waistline. Leave a few inches off the waistline seam and leave an opening for the belt ends to tuck through to the inside. Turn the garment inside out from the way you have been working, or seams on the inside.

11. Try on your new skirt. The seam end can be tied in front and readjusted to the side or back. Tighten the belt inside the waistline channel until it’s loosely snug, and tie the belt. Tuck the ends of the belt inside the opening of the vertical skirt seam. Measuring the waist and using shorter shoelaces or elastic can reduce overflow.

12. Skirt is ready to be worn with witch dress costume. Witch dress top can overlay the waist area or be tucked in. If the final result looks sloppy or not as finished as the rest of the desired witch dress costume effect, a black sash belt or any black belt can be used to cover the seams.

Hint: Use extra material to cover a pointy witch hat or make a cape.