Coolest Homemade Pirate Costume Ideas

Ahoy, Matey! Below is the fiercest collection of homemade pirate costume ideas ever to set sail. People of all ages cannot resist these alluring ensembles. So set your sights on the greatest DIY costumes for Halloween.

Perhaps the most recognizable pirate is Jack Sparrow, thanks to Pirates of the Caribbean. Even Johnny Depp would be amazed at the level of talent from the DIY costumes here. As you scroll through these awesome costumes, remember that they are all homemade by people just like you.

In addition, the tutorials here will have your DIY costumes in shipshape for Halloween. Even if you’ve never made a homemade costume before, you will be inspired to get crafting.

So, before you say, “Shiver me timbers!”, take a look at the fantastic pirate costumes and tutorials here. Then, practice your best “arrgh” and get ready to have people walk the plank this Halloween!

Latest Pirate Costumes

Fun Homemade Pirate and Parrot Couple Costume
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Authentic Pirate Crew Costumes
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Homemade Toddler Pirate Costume with Pirate Ship Buggy
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Featured Pirate Costume Ideas

Pirate costume submitted by Ana-Marija B.

Well, my son has forgotten to tell me that he is having a costumed party at school that morning!

What to do?

School is about to start in 15 minutes!

This is all I came up with at such short notice; I decided to dress him up as a pirate. I looked around in a closets for something that I could use.

Mom’s blause, scarf and belt
sister’s vest and necklesses
Dad’s shorts
eye patch (ask some old pirate if he can spare one)
and black eyeliner for beard painting ;)

Pirate Costume with a Peg Leg

Pirate costume submitted by Kenneth P.

Last year, my left leg was amputated. This year, my costume decision was obvious: I had to be a pirate with a wooden leg. I used an old socket and attached a dowell and a crutch tip. This is a costume that my two legged friends can only envy. We got a womans coat from the Goodwill, cut off the colar and added cuffs, jacquard, buttons and rope.

I am an attorney. Normally, its nothing but suits and ties. The most common response from my office staff was laughter. When my partner saw me he fell to the floor with laughter. This was a great Halloween and a fun costume.

Coolest Captain Jack Sparrow Homemade Halloween Costume

Pirate costume submitted by Eddy C.

I think selecting the right costume should have some guidelines to follow. First it has to be something I enjoy and it should have some similarities to your HWP stats to make it more believable. For this year I choose to do Captain Jack Sparrow from the scene where he was on the island and the chief of the native village.

When it comes to finding clothing for costumes you can’t go wrong with Value Village. I found the shirt, vest, belts and pants there. I went to Display and Costume and found the sword, hat, boot covers and bandanna wig and modified it up with beads and other charms. The sash was made out of an old sheet I had. The pistol and bottle of rum I already had. I ordered the compass and rings online. Applied the black finger nail polish and makeup (with wife’s help) and off to work I go. Everyone loved it I was called Jack Sparrow for a couple months after that.

Coolest Wearable Pirate Ship Costume, Matey!

Pirate costume submitted by Jason S.

Here is my two year old’s wearable pirate ship costume. The costume is really light weight because it is made entirely of foam and a small amount of cardboard. The foam was painted with two layers of brown, the first a light brown, and then a dark brown. I used a stiff paint brush to try and make it look like wood grain and then a black marker to make the planks. The ship is harnessed over his shoulders. The steering wheel is also carved out of foam and then placed on a PVC stalk so that it can rotate. Yes, it can actually spin.

The ship’s name, seen on the back, but not in the pictures, is “The Crying Dutchman”, a take on the famous pirate ship, the The Flying Dutchman. We added a little mustache and goatee to complete the pirate ensemble. Happy Halloween.

Cool Homemade Pirate Costume

Pirate costume submitted by Kevin

We went to a Ren Fair last year so that was like 3 days of being about to dress up in home made outfits and not even be Halloween. We went as a Pirates on Friday. Knight and his Lady on Saturday, and Roman soldier on Sunday. Well first the Pirate, I bought the vest and suit at a thrift store. I used my own pants. And cut up this black leather looking stuff I bought at Walmart very cheap.

I made the Boot covers and the cuffs. Made the eye patch out of cardboard and string and wore a wig. The sword I already had. I cut up red silky things into strips for the head and around my waist. And that’s about it. We joined some friends and went. We had a great time but there were so many people that had really good outfits there so we didn’t really stand out at all. But we had a great time and we will go again this year.

Coolest Homemade Captain Jack Sparrow Halloween Costume Idea

Pirate costume submitted by Jesse

This homemade Captain Jack Sparrow Halloween costume idea came from a pirate hat that I saw at a Halloween store. My girlfriend suggested that I should be Jack Sparrow. At first I wasn’t sure but I was a fan of the movies and he was one of my favorite characters. I was about to buy the official costume but it looked very cheap and was way overpriced. So I decided to make one myself and I got almost everything from a local thrift store (the best place to make your own costume) and found the white shirt, cut up a blue shirt to use a vest, and bought a red and white striped shirt to cut up and used it as a sash.

I got lucky and found some boots that were my size and a decent color. The only thing from the official costume was the bandanna with attached hair strands. Overall my costume cost about a total of $15 and was a big hit.

Coolest Homemade Captain Jack Sparrow Costume

We were headed to Disney in the fall and my son wanted a really great pirate costume. I got the pattern for a captain Jack Sparrow costume from a local fabric store, but had to change a couple of things. All of the fabric that I used was on clearance for $1.00 a yd. at Walmart.

For the hat, I did purchase the hat, but the hair was horrible. I bought yarn that had mohair in it and loosely braided all of his locks. Eyeliner is a must for this costume!

Coolest Homemade Pirate Ship Costume

Our 3 year old decided he wanted to be a pirate for Halloween, so we bought both him and his 1 year old younger brother, Andre, pirate costumes. Since we usually take them trick-or-treating around town and around our neighborhood, we wanted to take them in their wagon… But a red wagon just doesn’t go with a pirate costume?. We also wanted to turn 3 hours of candy picking into maybe one hour or so. So we made a ‘costume’ for their wagon as well!

We dressed up their wagon as a pirate ship, and it made their costume so much better! Not only were they a big hit, but it was like having our own little Halloween parade around town! It was all made by us with materials we had at home, anything from cardboard, to PVC pipes, chain links, and aluminum foil. The skeleton on the flag and sail were painted by hand looking at a picture, without using stencils! It’s our first project of this nature, so we’re very proud of the outcome!

Pirates Costume

We were invited to a pirate party in West Virgina. We dressed before we left and stopped at a rest stop on the way. What a hoot!

The Pirate costumes were made from a stop at the thrift store then the dollar store. Stripped shirts and dark pants were on the list. Cut jagged edges and Wal-Mart pirate scarves, beads and tattoos. My costume was a left over from when the kids were small. Fake teeth and a legging with wood like drawings completed the outfit.

Total Spent: $40

Coolest Homemade Zombie Pirate Costume

Pirate costume submitted by Melissa B.

Here is a costume that my 8 year old specifically asked to be, a homemade Pirate Zombie costume. We decided to look through some scrap clothes we had in this old box that we were going to scrap and found the perfect match for the outfit. With a little bit of shredding and adding webbing and plastic spiders we completed the “risen from the grave” look.

I took an old crochet tube top and pinned it into a beret shape and took some old mix brown yarn and chain stitched a make shift wig. Then I sewed it to the homemade beret and then set it aside. I took some water based acrylic fabric paint and painted details of a partially ripped cheek to expose rotten teeth and other added details to give her the rotted look. I then added store bought Halloween makeup to bring out the details hoping to make it look realistic.

Then I added the beret and a toy eye patch to finish the look. I noticed that she still needed more gore. I put some fake theatrical blood into a spray bottle and sprayed her down with it. She had a blast and received many comments at the town Halloween bash.

Cool Pirate Costume for a Boy

Pirate costume submitted by Lily R., Tucson, AZ

My son really loves pirates so I decided to look in this wonderful website and I got a lot of great ideas on a pirate costume. I didn’t want to spend over twenty dollars for the pirate costumes at the department stores so I went to the thrift store and came up with my own. Overall I ended up spending about six dollars. The hat, sword and hook were purchased at the dollar store.

Total Spent: $6

Pirate Costumes and Wagon Ship

Pirate costume submitted by Bob M., Brielle

The pirate costume was built on top of a plastic wagon that we had here in the yard and has served before in costume making. I placed a piece of 3/4 inch plywood on the deck and began wrapping it with cardboard and getting the shape down, then I cut long strips for the sides to make it look like real wooden sides using duct tape over the entire thing spraying it with krylon paint.

The cannons you see on the sides are made of plastic cups and painted the throw away kind and I cut off the bottoms. The mast is made of 3” PVC with 2” PVC for the cross piece. Black material I had on hand and the rope I drilled and did my best to rig the ship. The skull was a prop we had here, the flag we bought somewhere in our ventures. And the battery operated light came from online USA toys.

My three year old son Jacob and my nine month old son sail into history as pirates looking for loot.

Total Spent: $80

Boy’s DIY Pirate Costume

Pirate costume submitted by Erin F., North Branch, MN

This pirate costume was inspired by a toy parrot and the fact that Halloween in Minnesota requires a warm costume! When my three year old son wanted to be a pirate with a parrot I knew the costume would have to include a coat. I prefer not to sew especially not heavy fabrics so I started by looking at resale and thrift stores for my raw materials. I found just the thing: a blue wool girl’s coat for $6.50. You probably won’t find a coat with the lines of a real 18th century men’s coat but the key is that the coat be an A-line or swing-style coat rather than a pea coat. Buy it a size or two large so you can fold up the cuffs and have plenty of fullness when you create the coattails with tucks and pins.

Doctoring the Jacket

First I replaced all the plain blue buttons with shiny gold ones. Then I tailored the too-large coat to my son tucking and pinning the loose fabric at the back of the coat in two darts right above the waist. The pins were fastened on the inside of the coat and any lumpiness was covered up later by a sash. My general idea was that men’s coats of that era fit snugly on the upper body but flared at the waist. (Think George Washington and the Founding Fathers.) You can easily skip this step if you’d rather but I felt it helped the overall look. If you sew you can do the darts properly. If you’re like me safety pins will come to your rescue.

Then I used fabric glue and lots of gold braid trim to decorate the coat’s collar and lapels, the front edges, hem and the folded-back cuffs. My biggest expense for this pirate costume was the braid and buttons which cost about $15. We paired the coat with a white turtleneck and tan pants tucked into dark blue rain boots. All of these items were already in my son’s closet.

No pirate captain feels complete without his hat and a sword (about $7 from a local toy store) which we tucked into a bright silk sash (one of my scarves but also an easy and cheap purchase from a thrift store). I thought about making a lacy jabot to pin to the front of the turtleneck but decided against it. I thought my son might fuss with it. My son also liked the look of an old leather belt slung over one shoulder sort of like a bandolier.

Adding the Finishing Touches

The finishing touch was the small stuffed parrot that I safety-pinned to the shoulder of the coat if you can pick a parrot that contrasts with the coat. Our parrot was from a toy we already owned (the Parents Magazine Animal Hospital) but I’ve seen other small beanie-baby parrots at our local thrift stores for 25 cents. Little kids have narrow shoulders so be sure the parrot is small enough to be comfortable and neither falling off the shoulder nor poking into the kid’s ear. Everyone who handed out candy on Halloween asked the parrot’s name!

So we thought the pirate costume was complete, it was warm, it was colorful and it already won a prize in a local contest. But then Halloween came and it was going to be a drizzly night. Yikes! Our pirate was going to get soggy! Naturally we have umbrellas and some of them were big and black, so as evening approached I used some white fabric paint to add large skull and crossbones to a black umbrella. When trick-or-treating began our little pirate sailed forth dry and snug under the Jolly Roger umbrella. This looked so cool it might be worth the trouble even if it’s not raining on Halloween night! My son got lots of compliments and I still love this pirate costume.

Total Spent: $30

Cool Toddler Pirate Costume

Pirate costume submitted by Nicki D., Norman, OK

This little pirate costume was created in all of about 45 minutes to an hour! I purchased some material remnants at Wall-mart. This included some stretchy red material, lace and trim ribbons and several other things I didn’t need.

I purchased an oversized white boys dress shirt for $1 at the thrift store. I also bought 4 pieces of brown felt (8″x10″ sheets) at hobby lobby for 50 cents each.

My son already had the sword and black pajama bottoms and I had the black eyeliner and the leather lace for the boots.

*Note: If you are craftier with hot glue than needle use hot glue instead of sewing.

Making the Pirate Costume

For the pirate costume shirt, gather the lace trim in the shape of a paper fan. Hand sew one end to hold the “fan” shape. Sew the fan shaped lace onto the side of the shirt that ends up on top after it is buttoned at the collar front and center. Do it so that there is no need to attach the lace on the other side once the shirt is buttoned. Cut two equal strips of the lace trim so that they fit on the cuffs of the shirt. Tack the lace to the sleeves. You can do as many rows of the lace as you see fit. Pirate costume shirt is done!

I just used a normal pair of scissors, pulled the red stretchy material and allowed the cut to be jagged. I cut enough to allow it to hang from and cover my sons head and waist as a pirate head cover and sash. Throw on a pair of black pajama bottoms. (A skirt or black capri’s works well for girls – my goddaughter had to be transformed into a pirate when she saw my son.)

For the boots, put four sheets of felt on top of each other cut out the shape of a boot starting at the toe curving over the foot and away from the shin to create a folded over boot top (be sure to make it big enough to fit over the shoes of whom ever is wearing it – if the sheets aren’t big enough the material isn’t much more expensive). Use an ice pick or any other sharp object to poke holes on the front of the boot and the back. Use the leather lace or any type of thick yarn/ twine to sew the back in the same fashion you would lace a tennis shoe. Do the same to the front. Make the laces long enough to wrap around the shin then fold the edges over on top.

The Eye Patch

The eye patch for our pirate costume isn’t really a patch. Use real black eye make-up and it doesn’t itch so the kids will leave it alone. I used brown and black eyeliner to create a goatee on my son as well.

Put the pirate costume shirt on. Tuck it in. Put the pants on. Slip the boot covers on. Put on your child’s shoes. Pull the covers down over the shoes. Wrap the red head band over his/her whole head and tie it in a knot on the side of your head. Put the sash on leaving a long tail on the side. Grab your sword and hit the neighborhood!

If it is going to be extra cold, spend another $2 for extra Black Felt. Poke holes across the top, cut off the corners, run a long piece of leather string or twine through the holes, tie it around their necks and they have a warm pirate cape to wrap up in!

Total Spent: $7- $10 depending on what you already have.

Pirate Costume for a Couple

Pirate costume submitted by Johanna B., Fairfield, CA

We love to dress up as pirates. These costumes are 100% handmade. Each Pirate costume took me about one week to complete. We have worn them several times and always get rave reviews. Long live pirates!

Total Spent: $100

Cool Pirate Costume Idea

Pirate costume submitted by Diane S., Chandler, AZ

I love sewing costumes. My children always had homemade costumes so you can imagine my joy when my grandchildren asked me to make them costumes.

My four-year-old grandson wanted a pirate costume. So the first thing I did was look at as many pirate pictures I could to get ideas. I bought a pattern for a gentleman of the court for the shirt and pants. I used the waistcoat pattern but added length to it; also a black lining and gold braid.

I made pirate boots to go over his shoes with the cuffs on the top with brown vinyl. I also used the vinyl to make a belt and a purse for his gold doubloons (he carried twelve gold plastic doubloons in it so they made a noise when he walked). Then I used 1/2-yard cotton material (black with skull and crossbones on it) for his bandanna under his hat.

The pirate hat, eye patch, sword and gun I purchased at the party store. Of course no self-respecting pirate would be seen without his beard and one gold hoop earring. But I think the crowning touch was of course his companion in arms, Polly Pirate the parrot on his shoulder.

Pirate Costume for a 1-Year Old

Pirate costume submitted by Jennifer F., Austin, TX

I wasn’t planning on taking my one year old out on Halloween, but changed my mind at the last minute. I actually put this pirate costume together 30 minutes before trick-or-treating.

Here’s how:

I used an old white onesie that I drew on with a permanent marker (a skull and cross bone design), black sweatpants, polka-dot scarf from my drawer, Mardi-Gras beads and a pirate hat from the dress-up box, and a plush parrot from the toy box (not pictured).

Thrift-Shop Pirate Costume

Pirate costume submitted by Josephine W., Cedar Hill, TX

I created this costume by starting at a thrift store. I found a little girls “puffy” shirt, a black vest and a women’s scarf. Then I went to a Halloween party store and bought a pirate hat, hook, dagger and eye patch.

I already had a red bandana from a previous costume so we used that also. We used some old black knit pants and cut them off raggedy. I used eyeliner to make a moustache and beard.

The finishing touch was a gold loop clip on earring. I don’t think that I spent over $10 for the entire pirate costume.

He had the best time pretending to be a pirate in his costume!

Homemade Pirate Costume

Pirate costume submitted by Jennifer B., Cherry Hill , NJ

My 6 yr. old son wanted to be a Pirate for Halloween. We went to the fabric store and found a pirate pattern with a jacket that was close to what we wanted. I used that as the base and then sewed a layer of what was supposed to be interlacing onto the front instead of inside for the black trim. I used that same material to make the pants and a sash.

He wore black sneakers. The white ruffle shirt came from a Colonial Costume my Mother-in-Law had made my Husband almost 30 yrs. ago and it just happen to fit my son the year he wanted to be a pirate!

I then used a piece of faux leather to make a holster for his sword and the hat he already had. My husband ended up dressing in a pirate costume also and I made a parrot costume for our 5-month-old daughter. It was a great Halloween and I can’t wait till he decides what he wants to be this year.

Total Spent: $15

Cool Pirate Costume

Pirate costume submitted by Ashley W., Donalsonville, GA

My 5-year-old wanted to be a Pirate for Halloween. I looked at several patterns in books but nothing jumped out at me. So I used an old pattern from last year’s indian costume.

I got the fabric for the pirate costume from Walmart, all out of the $1 yd bin. Then I used red and white stripes for the pants, white for his shirt, black for the vest and blue for his tie on belt.

I added gold coin trim to the belt and I also used the extra coins for his buttons. I cut his sleeves in Zig-Zags as well as his pants leg.

And of course no pirate costume is complete without a side kick parrot. I couldn’t find a parrot anywhere, so I made one out of scraps from my last years costumes (Peter Pan and the indian). Then I went on the internet and printed out pictures of the side view of parrots and used them for the pattern. I used the green material from last years Peter Pan for the body and the feathers that were left over from the Indian costume.

He went bare foot in his pirate costume because it was about 80 degrees here in GA on Halloween. The day before he had seen the movie Goonies on TV and on Halloween he told everyone he was the pirate One-Eyed Willie.

Total Spent: $12

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