Half the fun of dressing your child up for Halloween is coming up with a fun outfit - but only if it's a breeze to put together. Try these easy-to-make traditional costumes

Little witch

You will need

A square of black fabric roughly the same length as your child's height from the neck down
A piece of cardboard (from a cereal packet or similar)
Silver/gold spray-on fabric paint
Needle and black thread (or fabric thread or adhesive webbing)
Shirring elastic
Black button and length of black ribbon or a press stud fastener/Velcro
Two sheets of black cardboard (each about half a metre square)
PVA glue
Glitter glue and/or spooky stickers
Black and green face paints, sponge and fine paintbrush
Black nail varnish
Stick-on warts and a broomstick (available cheaply from party shops and joke shops)

What to do

Cut the fabric into an 'A' shape, keeping the top of the 'A' flat and measuring about 30cm across.
Cut a star-shaped template out of cardboard and spray paint stars all over the fabric.
When the paint is dry, hem the fabric on the three longest sides (use fabric glue or adhesive webbing if it's easier), then stitch the short edge with shirring elastic and pull it up into gathers.
Sew a black button to one side and a loop of black ribbon or fabric to the other side of the neck of the cape. Alternatively, use a press stud fastener/Velcro.
To make a hat, roll one sheet of black cardboard into a cone shape to fit your child's head, glue or staple together and trim the open edge to make it even. Make small cuts, about 2cm apart into the open end of the cone and bend the tabs backwards.
Cut a large, circular brim out of the other piece of cardboard, then cut a hole in the middle the same size as the widest part of the cone. Glue the tabs and stick the cone on to the brim to make a hat. You can decorate this with glitter glue or stickers.
Paint your child's face, neck and hands with green face paint, make black smudges around her eyes and in the hollows of her cheeks, and paint her lips black. Finish with black nail varnish and add some stick-on warts to her nose and chin.

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Four easy Halloween costumes