If your Halloween decorating style is more friendly ghost than full haunted house, this little door decoration should fit right in. With a floaty white tulle body, a flower-trimmed witch hat and a gentle glow from fairy lights, it is spooky enough for October without frightening the delivery driver.

The clever part is hiding underneath: an ordinary wire coat hanger bent into a circle. The white tulle is tied around the bottom curve, while a store-bought witch hat covers the upper section. The original hanger hook pokes through the hat, giving you a ready-made way to hang your ghost.

I love a project that gives something already in the cupboard another job. It also means you can skip buying a separate wreath form and put your decorating budget towards the flowers instead. Or raid the faux flower stash. We all have one.

This DIY ghost wreath with a witch hat is beginner friendly, mostly no-sew and wonderfully forgiving. Slightly uneven tulle ends only add to its floaty, handmade charm.

Project Details

• Skill level: Beginner friendly
• Making time: Approximately 1 to 2 hours
• Display: Indoors or on a sheltered door
• Main technique: Tying folded tulle strips around a circular wire frame

The finished size depends on your hanger, hat and tulle length. Fit the hat to the frame before cutting all your strips.

Materials

• One flexible wire coat hanger with its original hook
• White tulle, preferably on a roll approximately 15 cm wide
• One store-bought black fabric witch hat
• Black felt for two oval eyes
• Battery-operated LED fairy lights
• Faux orange and cream flowers
• A few faux greenery sprigs and small filler flowers
• Pliers
• Scissors
• Ruler or measuring tape
• Fabric glue suitable for tulle and felt
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks for the floral decoration
• Black thread and a needle, or small cable ties, for securing the hat
• A small scrap of black felt to reinforce the hook opening
• Optional white thread for securing the lights and eyes

For an initial batch, cut around 30 to 40 tulle strips, then add more if the lower curve needs extra fullness. Strips measuring 80 to 100 cm long will give roughly 40 to 50 cm of hanging length before allowing for the knot.

At those lengths, 30 to 40 strips use approximately 24 to 40 metres of tulle. Check the length on the roll before buying, especially if you want a particularly fluffy ghost.

A basic witch hat from a discount shop works well. If shopping online through Amazon or another craft supplier, check the hat measurements and choose soft tulle rather than stiff decorative mesh.

Before You Begin: Check the Hat Fit

Lay the witch hat on your work surface and place the hanger underneath it.

The hat needs to conceal the upper wire circle, with its brim overlapping the line where the tulle will be tied. A wide brim alone may not hide the frame if the crown is narrow, so check the whole silhouette.

Shape the circle to suit your hat. If the hat cannot cover the upper frame, choose a larger hat or make the circle smaller before continuing.

This little check saves you from finishing a beautifully fluffy ghost and discovering that its wire shoulders are showing.

Step 1: Bend the Coat Hanger into a Circle

Using your hands and pliers, gently reshape the triangular hanger body into a circle.

Keep the twisted neck intact and retain the original hanging hook at the top. The former straight bottom bar becomes part of the circular perimeter. There should be no straight crossbar left across the middle.

Work gradually around the wire, easing out corners rather than repeatedly bending one spot.

Lay the frame flat and check that it sits reasonably evenly. It does not need to be a mathematically perfect circle, but it should hold its shape without wobbling or twisting.

For another way to reuse hangers for seasonal decorating, our Halloween coat hanger wreath tutorial creates a larger spiderweb design using several hangers.

Step 2: Cut the White Tulle Strips

Cut a few test strips first. Fold one in half and hold it against the bottom of the circle to check the hanging length.

Once you are happy, cut the remaining strips to approximately the same length. You can trim the ends after assembly, so there is no need to fuss over tiny differences.

If using wide fabric rather than a roll, cut strips approximately 10 to 15 cm wide.

Soft tulle gives the ghost a gentle drape. Our tulle Halloween wreath feature offers another seasonal decorating idea if you have leftovers.

Step 3: Tie the Tulle Along the Bottom Curve

Place the circular hanger with its hook pointing upwards.

Start at the lowest point of the circle, directly opposite the hook.

1. Fold a tulle strip in half.
2. Place the folded loop behind the wire.
3. Bring both loose ends over the wire and through the loop.
4. Pull gently until the loop forms a snug knot.

This is a lark’s head knot. Keep it snug enough to stay in place without pulling so tightly that the tulle tears.

Continue adding strips on either side of the centre, working around approximately the lower third of the circle. Think of the section between roughly four o’clock and eight o’clock.

The tulle belongs on the bottom curve, away from the hook. Leave the upper wire bare for the hat to cover.

Slide the knots together, then lift the frame to check the fullness. The loose ends should fall below the circle, rather than stretching across its opening.

Step 4: Fluff and Shape the Ghost Body

Hang the frame temporarily and separate the tulle layers with your fingers.

Move the knots closer together where needed and add strips if there are obvious gaps. Keep the centre tails slightly longer than those at the sides for a softly tapered ghost shape.

Trim sparingly. Uneven ends look lovely here, and tulle has a habit of shifting once you start fluffing it.

Avoid making the body so dense that the fairy lights disappear completely. A few translucent layers will give a softer glow.

Step 5: Fit the Witch Hat Over the Upper Frame

Place the witch hat over the bare upper section of the circle. Its brim should sit just above the hanging tulle and overlap the knots.

Depending on the hat’s construction, you may need to carefully open part of its rear seam or make a concealed slit at the back so it can fit over the wire frame.

Position everything before cutting. Mark the point where the hanger hook needs to emerge through the crown.

Remove the hat and make a small opening at that mark. Reinforce the fabric with a small black felt patch, then make a matching opening through the patch.

Feed the hook through and settle the hat back over the upper frame. The curved hook should remain exposed above the hat for hanging.

Secure the hat to the wire at two or three concealed points using stitches or small cable ties. Check that it does not slide sideways when lifted.

Step 6: Add the Battery Fairy Lights

Test the lights before attaching them.

Starting near the hat, loosely weave the LED strand among the tulle layers, distributing the little lights down both sides and through the centre.

Use small loops of white thread to hold the strand where needed. Leave some slack so the tulle can move naturally without pulling on the light wire.

Secure the battery pack behind the hat or to the rear of the frame. Keep the switch and battery compartment accessible, and avoid letting the pack hang from its own wire.

Use lights rated for your chosen display location. Indoor lights need to stay indoors and dry.

Step 7: Make the Ghost’s Eyes

Cut two vertical oval shapes from black felt. For a medium decoration, approximately 4 to 6 cm tall is a useful starting point.

Hold them against the tulle below the hat brim and adjust their position before attaching.

Glue each eye to several overlapping tulle layers using suitable fabric glue, following its drying instructions. Place scrap paper underneath while gluing so adhesive cannot reach your table.

For a firmer attachment, add a couple of small black stitches through the felt and gathered tulle.

Keep the face simple with just the two eyes. Their spacing will do most of the work in giving your ghost its friendly expression.

Step 8: Decorate the Hat with Flowers

Arrange an orange flower and a cream flower across the front of the hat brim.

Tuck greenery behind them, then add a few small white filler flowers. Keep the arrangement slightly off-centre for a relaxed handmade look.

Trim bulky stems with suitable cutters and attach the flowers with hot glue. For larger flowers, add a discreet stitch or wire attachment to help support their weight.

Keep the decoration light enough that it does not drag the brim down over the eyes.

There are no bats on this version. The flowers, ghost face and glowing tulle give it plenty of character.

Step 9: Hang and Adjust

Hang your finished ghost using the original coat-hanger hook on a suitable door hook or wreath holder.

Check that:

• The hat conceals the upper wire frame.
• The brim overlaps the tulle knots.
• The eyes remain visible.
• The battery pack is secure and accessible.
• The decoration clears the door handle and moves freely when the door opens.

Fluff the tulle once more, switch on the lights and enjoy your friendly little Halloween visitor.

Troubleshooting Your Ghost Wreath

The wire shows above the tulle

Reposition the hat so its brim overlaps the knots. If it still cannot cover the frame, use a larger hat or reduce the circle size.

The ghost looks too thin

Add more strips along the bottom curve and gently separate the layers. Check the effect while hanging rather than judging it flat on the table.

The hat keeps slipping

Add another concealed attachment point at the back. Glue alone may struggle to hold smooth wire against flexible fabric.

The eyes sag or disappear

Attach them to several tulle layers and add small stitches if needed. Make sure the hat brim is not pressing down on them.

The wreath tilts sideways

Move the battery pack nearer the centre at the back and lighten the floral arrangement on the heavier side.

Easy Ways to Personalise It

Use purple flowers for a more traditional witchy palette, or keep everything black, cream and green for a softer Halloween look.

A scrap of lace around the hat crown adds a little vintage character. You could also tuck a small ribbon bow among the flowers without crowding the face.

If you prefer a wreath with several little characters, our alternative DIY ghost wreath tutorial uses individual ghosts arranged around a wreath form.

Storing Your Handmade Ghost

Remove the batteries after Halloween and store the decoration somewhere dry.

Lay it in a roomy box, supporting the hat with tissue so the crown and flowers do not get crushed. Loosely gather the tulle instead of compressing it beneath heavier decorations.

Next year, check the attachments and lights, then give the tulle a gentle fluff.

That is the charm of this little ghost: a familiar household hanger, a few simple supplies and an afternoon of making become something cheerful for your door. The flowers make it pretty, the lights make it cosy, and the slightly wonky tulle ends remind everyone that somebody made it by hand.