Last Minute Halloween Costumes Using Heat Transfer Vinyl

Tote bags and t-shirts decorated with heat transfer vinyl for Halloween

Looking for last-minute Halloween costume ideas that are quick, affordable, and don't require a fancy cutting machine like a Cricut? You’re in the right place! With Madam Sew’s Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) sheets, you can whip up DIY costumes and trick-or-treat bags in no time—no special equipment needed. Whether you're crafting for yourself, your kids, or your significant other, this simple, no-fuss method will have you Halloween-ready in under an hour. Plus, these costumes are customizable, budget-friendly, and perfect for anyone who prefers unique DIY over store-bought! Keep reading to discover how to make this Halloween both creative and stress-free.

Supplies

Madam Sew Heat Transfer Vinyl Sheets
Iron
Non-Stick Sheet (recommended, but you can also use a piece of fabric or dish towel)
Wool Pressing Mat or Ironing Board
T-Shirt Positioner (recommended)
Scissors and/or Craft Knife
Plain T-Shirt in color of your choice (depending on costume) and/or Plain canvas or cotton tote bags (for the trick-or-treat bags)

T-Shirt Costumes

Last minute costumes don’t have to be a pain in the neck! These are three simple examples - a blue m&m, a jack-o-lantern, and a ghost - for quick and easy costumes for you, your significant other, or your child! The instructions are the same for all of these projects, the only difference is what you choose to free-hand or stencil on the HTV as your design.

For more detailed instructions on how to use our Heat Transfer Vinyl Sheets, please visit our online HTV instruction manual, or a previous HTV blog where An has created lovely gifts using the Heat Transfer Vinyl. In the manual and previous post, you will also find a step-by-step video tutorial.

Step 1: Preheat your iron

The maximum temperature for Madam Sew’s Heat Transfer Vinyl should be between 300-330 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have an iron that uses a materials setting rather than temperature, you will need to set the dial to wool and see if you need to increase it from there. For irons that use setting numbers, you should be safe between settings 3 and 4. It is always better to start at the lower temperature and work your way up to avoid burning your fabric!

NOTE: make sure your iron’s steam setting is OFF. If the steam is automatic, make sure to remove all the water from your iron and run it over a scrap piece of fabric a few times to ensure all of the water has evaporated. Steam will make adhering the HTV to your fabric more difficult.

Step 2: Create Your Design

You can either free-hand your design (I did this for both the ghost and the pumpkin designs) or you can find a stencil online (there are many that are available for free) that will help you create the design on your HTV sheet. For the m&m costume, I found the appropriate “m” stencil online, printed it out, and then traced it onto my white HTV sheet. A great feature of our HTV sheets is that they have a clear plastic protective sheet, so you can draw right on top of it with a permanent marker or pen without it affecting the final design. For the pumpkin and ghost costumes, I drew directly onto the HTV sheets with a permanent marker and without a stencil.

“m” stencil drawn onto white heat transfer vinyl

Step 3: Cut Out Design

Using scissors or a craft knife, cut out the HTV design.

Step 4: Center Your Design

Our T-Shirt Positioner makes this step very easy. Line up the positioner underneath the collar of your shirt and find the center using the garment tag as your center mark. You can also eye-ball the center of your shirt, or use a table ruler to do this step as well.

Blue t-shirt with white “m” with t-shirt positioner at collar

Orange t-shirt with jack o’lantern t-shirt positioner at collar

White t-shirt with ghost eyes and mouth t-shirt positioner at collar

Step 5: Iron Your Design

Once the design is centered and in place, protect the vinyl sheet and your iron with either the Madam Sew Non-Stick Sheet, or a thin cotton dishcloth/spare piece of fabric. This will make sure that the iron is protected from the HTV sheet and you’re not using direct heat on your HTV. Press down onto your design with the preheated iron for approximately 15-20 seconds. Make sure you repeatedly press across the entire surface of your design with slight force to ensure the HTV is pressed evenly.

An iron pressing “m” shaped heat transfer vinyl onto blue t-shirt using a non-stick sheet

Step 6: Remove Transparent Protective Sheet From the HTV

Remove the Non-Stick Sheet or cotton fabric and let the design cool slightly (but not all the way) when the design is still slightly warm, lift the protective plastic sheet from your design, if you see that your HTV is still not fully adhered to your shirt just go back to step 5 once more for good measure! Once the protective sheet has been removed you can flip your shirt over and give it one more iron on the back to ensure a complete transfer!

That’s it! You have created a Halloween costume that will be easy, cute, and comfortable!

Trick or Treat Bags

black totes with Halloween heat transfer vinyl designs in shape of ghosts, pumpkin, and black cat.

Using the same instructions as above, you can also create your own unique trick or treat bags for the little ones in your life. Here are some examples of what I created! For all of these bags, I free-handed my designs and used a craft knife to cut them out, but there are plenty of fun stencils out there to help you create whatever design you’re interested in!

Jack-O-Lantern Trick-Or-Treat Bag

For this bag I created the design in layers. I first cut out my pumpkin shape and ironed that onto my bag, and then I cut out the pumpkin’s eyes, nose, mouth, and stem to iron on top of the pumpkin shape. The best part about HTV is that it can adhere to itself just as well as to fabric. Just make sure you use a protective layer in between your iron and your project and to remove the plastic protective film on your base layer before adding more HTV! Lastly, I cut out the letters and ironed them on too.

craft knife cutting out letter “R” from orange heat transfer vinyl

iron pressing heat transfer vinyl jack o’lantern onto black tote

Spooky Ghost Trick-Or-Treat Bags

For these I cut out my free hand drawn shapes and letters and ironed them all on the bag.

iron pressing white ghosts and “boo!” shaped heat transfer vinyl onto black tote

two white ghosts and “boo!” on black background

Black Cat Trick-Or-Treat Bag

This bag was a fun and easy free hand design I made, cut and ironed on. It’s that simple.

With just a few supplies and your own creativity, you can easily make personalized Halloween costumes and trick-or-treat bags that stand out from the crowd. Whether you're crafting a spooky ghost, a playful m&m, or a festive jack-o-lantern, Madam Sew’s Heat Transfer Vinyl makes DIYing simple, even without a cutting machine. Don't let last-minute costume panic haunt you this Halloween—grab your HTV, scissors, and an iron, and create something special! If you’ve come up with other fun costume ideas using our HTV, we’d love to hear them! Share your projects in the comments, and have a spook-tacular Halloween!