Bat Wing Cape From Trash Bags - Last Minute Halloween Costume

it’s frickin bats…i love halloween

need a truly last minute costume idea? be a trash bag bat in under 10 minutes! put this cape together with a black hoodie and pants and you’ll be a festive winged creature of the night.

Trash bag

Stapler and staples

Scissors

Unroll your trash bag on a table and trim off the bottom (and any drawstrings) so that you have a tube of plastic bag. If folded, unfold one fold to make a big long rectangle. Mine was about 46” by 21” and effectively had four thin layers.

Staple along the top edge to secure the bag layers together. At minimum, staple the ends and midpoint of the top edge.

Fold your long rectangle in half and trace a scalloped edge for your wing shape, as seen in the picture. Deeper scallops look better in the final product. Cut out your wing shape carefully through all the layers of your trash bag.

To help the cape stay up, we need straps to hold on to! You can cut a long strip of material from the scrap. Set the strips aside.

Unfold your wings, then create a loop from the strips you just cut out to make your straps. Staple the loop along the top edge according to your wingspan (roughly equivalent to your height).

If you are taller, staple on to the very end. You may need to extend your straps with extra material if you have a very wide wingspan. If you are shorter like me, an inch or two from the end fits well. Nobody wants droopy wings!

Loop the straps on to your arms or hands and become a bat! I recommend wearing an all-black outfit with this, especially a black hoodie, pants, and mask. (Stay warm!)

For extra security and to keep your wings from falling down, you can safety pin the midpoint of the cape to the middle of the back of your shirt or sweater.

Otherwise, have fun flapping with your easy to make new bat wing cape!