A popular homemade Halloween decoration is the hollow ghost made out of cheesecloth. By moulding cheesecloth saturated in diluted glue over an inflated balloon (or a polystyrene foam ball on a skewer), you can create a cute and spooky ghost that looks like it's floating. What adds to its Halloween charm is when guests pick it up to inspect it, they soon realise there's nothing supporting its weight from the inside!

Cheesecloth is a boring choice of fabric, especially when quilting fabric is much more fun with its range of colours and patterns to choose from. That's why we made our own floating fabric ghost using a fat quarter of quilting fabric!

Making your own floating fabric ghost requires no sewing, so it's a super fun and easy project you can make with anyone. Here is everything you need to know to make your own fabric ghosts this Halloween.

Supplies Needed

• Fat quarter of quilting fabric

• PVA glue

• Large bowl

• Pint glass

• Balloon

• Needle/pin

• Felt or something similar (for the eyes)

• Thread (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix some PVA glue with a bit of water.

2. Dip the fabric in the bowl and fully coat it in the diluted PVA glue.

3. Inflate a balloon to the size you would like the ghost head to be and place it on top of a pint glass.

4. Drape the fabric over the balloon, making sure that all 4 corners are touching the surface - this is what will make your ghost appear to float!

5. Leave for 24 hours to dry.

6. Using a needle or pin, pop the balloon and remove it from inside your ghost.

7. Cut out some eyes from a piece of felt or similar material and use a bit of PVA glue to stick them to your ghost.

8. If you want to hang up your ghost, tie a knot in a piece of thread and feed it through your ghost's head from underneath - try and get it through the centre of the head so that it doesn't lean to one side.

Helpful Tips

Before you get started, consider these helpful suggestions...

Use a Bin Bag

If you are using a surface you don't want to get sticky or messy, lay down a bin bag and place your ghost on top of it. That way, you can position the corners to your liking without worrying about getting PVA glue all over your worktop. Once your ghost has dried, it will be quick and easy to lift off the bin bag too!

Make the Balloon Big Enough

Once you have decided how big you would like your ghost's head to be, it's important that it's bigger than the diameter of the pint glass - otherwise, when you place the balloon on top it will fall into the pint glass instead of resting on top of it.

If you want to make smaller ghosts, consider cutting your fat quarter into smaller pieces and using small glasses instead!

Use Non-Branded PVA Glue

There are brands of PVA glue, such as Mod Podge and Elmer's, that have additional ingredients that make them ideal for decoupage and other fabric crafts. However, you won't need these added benefits to make your own fabric ghosts, so don't be put off if you only have store-bought PVA glue in your drawers at home!

Use Exciting Fabrics

We have nothing against using Moda Bella Solids to make fabric ghosts - a house haunted by a rainbow of ghosts actually sounds pretty wholesome - but we think your fabric ghosts would look much more fun if you used patterned fabric instead!

Use White Thread or Fishing Wire

If you are going to hang your fabric ghost, use white thread so that the thread is as invisible as possible. Or, better yet, use a strong nylon fishing wire!

Video Tutorial

Over on our socials we have a video tutorial that quickly shows you how to make your own fabric ghosts. Use Halloween fabric for an authentic, spooky effect but you can use any quilting fabric you want - we used a lovely floral fabric from the Grow and Harvest collection by Art Gallery Fabrics, and we think our flowery ghost looks amazing!

The Fabric Fox is an online fabric shop based in Halstead, Essex, UK

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