Cheesecloth Ghost Made with Mod Podge Stiffy

Learn how to make a cheesecloth ghost for Halloween the easy way, with Mod Podge Stiffy! You can make these in any size you like with this method.

Skills Required: Beginner. If you’ve never worked with fabric stiffener before, it isn’t hard but it can be a little bit messy. You might want to try a smaller ghost first with a small piece of cheesecloth before making something larger.

I’m REALLY excited about today’s craft. If you’ve never made a cheesecloth ghost (also known as a Stiffy ghost) before, you need to stop whatever you’re doing right now. Do not “pass Go,” do not collect $200 – it’s time to head to the craft store!

You’re going to need only a few supplies to make this awesome Halloween decor.

For those new to fabric stiffener, it’s a pretty simple premise. Whatever you dip in the stiffener becomes “stiff” when dry. That includes cheesecloth, fabric, and other lightweight materials.

That doesn’t mean your finished item is totally rock hard, but it’s pretty solid and can support itself. Just like this Halloween ghost.

The key to any project with fabric stiffener is creating a solid mold (otherwise known as an armature) that you can drape the fabric or cloth over. You’re going to wet the fabric with the stiffener, then hang it over the mold. The mold needs to be able to retain its shape until the stiffener is dry.

In this case once the ghost is dry, you can remove the mold. Then your ghost stands on its own! And that’s the basic premise.

I will walk you through it, but understand that you can use this idea to make cheesecloth ghosts any size you like. Ideally you could make one as large as a person if you could make the mold big enough (please don’t use a real human).

There are four basic steps to this Stiffy ghost project. You’re going to make your mold, cut and wet the cheesecloth, drape it over the form (let dry), and then remove the mold to finish.

You can add glow in the dark paint or eyes and mouth when all is said and done if you like. I find it makes the ghost more kid friendly somehow. However you want to decorate it, I’ll leave that up to you!

DIY Cheesecloth Ghost

Gather These Supplies

• Cheesecloth – I bought a pack from Hobby Lobby that was 6 yards x 36″ wide
• Mod Podge Stiffy
• Aluminum foil
• Wax paper
• Styrofoam ball (or other round object for the head)
• Old coffee creamer bottle (or something similar for the body)
• Scissors
• Bowl
• Glow in the dark paint (optional)
• Black Sharpie or cardstock (optional)
• Dropcloth (optional)

There are two things you should know before you get started. First of all, it’s a good idea to have a plastic drop cloth to cover your work surface so that you don’t get Stiffy everywhere. Note that you can reuse the drop cloth for other projects. Just let everything dry and fold it up.

Secondly, you’re welcome to get creative with the body of your cheesecloth ghost. I used a coffee creamer bottle with the top cut off. Both the arms and head fit nicely and make it easy.

But you can use a variety of items. You could even use a dowel rod with a base. You just need something to support the head and arms – something stable so that the mold holds while the ghost is drying.

Make the Mold

The first step is to make your mold. You will cover portions of the mold with wax paper so that the cheesecloth soaked in stiffener doesn’t stick and is easily removable.

Grab a styrofoam ball or something similar for the head. Then grab the wax paper.

Pull a piece of wax paper off and cover the foam ball, crumpling the paper and making a “handle” of sorts at one end. Set it aside.

Tear off about two feet of aluminum foil and roll it into a tube. This is going to be the arms of your ghost. Keep in mind if you need to make them shorter or longer, you can add aluminum foil or tear it (you can cut it too, which will sharpen your scissors!).

Once your “arms” are rolled, tear off some wax paper and cover the foil with it. This is so the fabric stiffener doesn’t stick to the foil.

Twist each end of the wax paper/foil so that it doesn’t come apart, and then bend it down. You’re about to see how this all comes together.

Bend the arms in half and stick the bent portion down into the coffee container. Then bend each arm to the right or left, with the twisted portion down (as you see in the picture above). Make sure the arms are secure and won’t easily come out.

Place the head down into the coffee container with the “handle” sticking down in there. This will come in handy later. Your mold is ready!

Cut and Wet the Cheesecloth

Cheesecloth is perfectly gauze-y and looks great when turned into ghosts! You’re going to cut three pieces, approximately 18″ long if you used a bottle about the size of a coffee creamer bottle.

Before you cut, drape the cheesecloth over the mold just to make sure your pieces are long enough.

Place the cheesecloth into a bowl on your work surface and then open your Stiffy bottle.

Squeeze Stiffy directly on top of the cloth. You want enough to get it pretty wet without making it “stiffener soup.”

Mash the cheesecloth around until it’s completely covered. You’re ready to move to the next step.

Drape the Cheesecloth Over the Mold

If you find there is a lot of excess Stiffy in the cheesecloth, squeeze some of it out into the bowl. You want it pretty soaked, but it doesn’t need to be dripping. That will just take longer to dry.

Grab one piece of cheesecloth and drape it over the mold. You’ll see that the ends curl naturally quite nicely. It’s pretty lightweight so your mold should hold it easily.

Do the same with the second piece. However – situate it differently on the mold to make layers as shown and provide more coverage in areas that didn’t have as much cloth before.

Then you’re going to drape the third piece of cheesecloth over your form. Does it look ghostly? That’s because you’re going to do the same and organize the cheesecloth a bit differently than you did the other two pieces. This helps make for a more “realistic” ghost.

Leave to dry overnight. Check it about halfway through. If you find it’s not drying in some areas, leave it and then move it as soon as you can to help (because sometimes the base stay especially wet).

Remove the Mold

Make sure the cheesecloth ghost is completely dry before removing the mold. You can help assist with the process using a hair dryer if needed.

Pick the ghost up off the mold and pull the head out using the “handle” you twisted. You’re done!

Unless of course you want to paint with glowing paint or add some eyes and a mouth. That’s optional. You can just paint right over the top of the fabric stiffener if you desire and let dry. I chose to leave mine plain. I don’t know – it seems more spooky that way!

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I hope you enjoyed this Stiffy ghost! Let me know what you think about this Halloween craft for adults in the comments! I hope you’ll also check out the following projects:

• Mummy Halloween Luminaries in Three Steps!
• Dollar Tree Wooden Ghost Decor
• DIY Spooky Pumpkins (Dollar Tree Supplies!)
• Cheesecloth Ghost Made with Mod Podge Stiffy Story