DIY Halloween Costume Supplies 2026: Prices and Deals

Make or buy: what DIY really costs

A homemade costume is cheapest when you already own the basics, such as a black top, a headband, glue and scissors, and only buy the material that makes the look. It is not always cheaper than a ready-made piece. HalloweenCostumes.com sells a Cat Ears and Tail Costume Kit for $9.99, and that is the number to beat. If two 12 x 18 inch felt sheets are enough for your ears and tail, they cost $5.40 at Felt Paper Scissors before shipping, but that shop ships free only from $100, so a tiny order can end up costing more than the kit (our arithmetic from both shops' own prices). DIY wins when you make several costumes from one bulk pack, or when you want a look no kit sells.

We read four US shops' own pages on 16 October 2026. Joann's website now sends visitors to a Michaels welcome page, and Michaels, Blick and Oriental Trading showed our tools a security page, so they are not covered here.

Supply prices at a glance

Felt: sheets, bulk packs or by the yard

Felt is the usual DIY costume material because it does not fray when cut, as Online Fabric Store describes it. Which format to buy depends on the size of the pieces:

• Small pieces for many costumes (ears, spots, faces, patches): Discount School Supply's classroom packs, $24.99 for 50 sheets of 9 x 12 inch felt, or $9.99 for 500 ready-cut felt shapes.
• Fewer, larger, better sheets: Felt Paper Scissors sells 12 x 18 inch wool blend felt sheets at $2.70 each, 1.5 mm thick, in more than 100 colours, including Pumpkin, Orange, Plum, Purple Potion and Night. Until Sunday 18 October at midnight Pacific time it runs a flash sale with felt up to 35% off, and some colours are $1.82 a sheet. New email subscribers get 10% off a first order.
• Big pieces, such as a cape, tunic or dinosaur tail: Online Fabric Store sells felt by the yard at $8.85 in black, white and red and $9.85 in other colours, with lower prices from 20, 60 and 100 yards.

Fleece, tulle and fabric by the yard

Online Fabric Store sells polar fleece, an anti-pill polyester, at $5.95 a yard in plain colours such as black, red, purple and white, and $5.85 for some prints. Glitter tulle costs $4.50 a yard in white silver, sand, dark gold and ivory gold. There are no minimums on most fabrics, and the site also lists netting and mesh, such as black point d'esprit netting at $2.50 a yard.

Foam, feathers, sequins and fabric paint

Discount School Supply is a classroom supplier, and several costume-friendly supplies were marked down on its site on 16 October: fabric paint, 4 oz set of 6, at $12.74 (was $16.99); Halloween foam shapes, 300 pieces, at $13.29 (was $18.99); and rainbow feathers, 3 oz, at $8.50 (was $16.99). It also sells a 100-sheet foam super pack for $29.99 and a sequins and spangles mix for $9.99. Its pages do not give the foam's thickness, so if you need thick foam for armour or props, see our cosplay guide instead. Face paint and makeup are sold by the costume stores and covered in our separate makeup guide.

Ready-made pieces that finish a homemade costume

Sometimes one bought piece saves hours. HalloweenCostumes.com had a Cat Ears and Tail Costume Kit at $9.99, skunk and corgi ears and tail sets at $12.99, a kid's black velveteen cape at $12.99 and an adult black vampire cloak at $24.99. New email subscribers get 15% off a first order there. For masks and props, see our masks and props guide; for children's ideas, our kids costume deals.

Will it arrive in time?

Remember to leave time to make the costume after the parcel arrives. From each shop's own delivery times:

• Online Fabric Store: standard ground shipping takes 3 to 5 business days and is capped at $14.95 per order to the 48 contiguous states; faster options are sold at checkout.
• Discount School Supply: standard orders are packed within 3 business days and most arrive within 7, but it asks you to allow up to 10 business days, so a standard order placed on Monday 19 October may not arrive until Friday 30 October (our arithmetic). Priority delivery takes 3 business days if you order by noon Central time. Standard shipping is free over $99 with code SHIP99, otherwise 15% of the order with a $6.95 minimum.
• HalloweenCostumes.com: to arrive by Friday 30 October in the US, order by 22 October for Standard, 23 October for Priority, 27 October for Express Saver, 28 October for Express or 29 October for Premium.
• Felt Paper Scissors: its site does not publish processing or delivery times, so order early or ask first.

If time is short, our last-minute costume guide lists the latest order dates at the big costume stores.

Returns on supplies

• Online Fabric Store: returns within 30 days of the ship date, only if unused and not cut or altered by you, with a return number; you pay return shipping. Clearance, samples and some designer fabrics are final.
• Discount School Supply: full refund within 30 days of receipt in the original packaging and resalable condition, with a return authorisation; a 30% restocking fee can apply after 30 days, and 15% if you cancel after shipping.
• HalloweenCostumes.com: postmarked within 30 days of the order, with an 18% restocking fee for a refund or no fee for store credit; shipping is not refunded.
• Felt Paper Scissors: no return policy is published on its site, and orders cannot be changed or cancelled once submitted.

In short: cut fabric usually cannot go back, so measure before you cut. All our Halloween guides are in the Halloween deals hub, and current codes are on our Halloween sale page.

How we checked

We read each shop's own product, shipping and returns pages on 16 October 2026; Felt Paper Scissors was read from its site directly because our server was rate limited. Unit prices and arrival dates are our own arithmetic from those pages. Prices change, so check them in your cart. We did not buy or test these supplies. This guide is written by the SavingArena Editorial Team.