A classic scarecrow costume usually has four parts: a patched shirt and pants (or a patchwork dress), straw at the cuffs and collar, a floppy hat, and a painted face. You can build one from a flannel shirt and a bag of raffia in an evening, or wear a ready-made set: our Womens Scarecrow Patch Dress Costume ships with 5 pieces in sizes S to XXXL. Play the same outfit friendly or scary, and both versions are covered below.
A scarecrow is a great look for a morning parade and for a hayride after dark. To see it next to other ideas, our best Halloween costumes guide covers the range, and the Halloween costumes hub has every look we make.
What do you need for a scarecrow costume?
A classic scarecrow costume usually has four parts: a patched outfit, straw trim, a floppy hat, and a painted face. Here is what goes into each:
- The outfit: a flannel or plaid shirt with overalls or jeans, or a patchwork dress, with fabric patches on the knees, elbows, and chest.
- The straw: raffia or craft straw showing at the wrists, ankles, and collar.
- The hat: a floppy straw hat or a pointed burlap-look hat with a rope band.
- The face: a triangle nose, rosy cheeks, and a stitched mouth in face paint.
About three in four of the searches that bring US readers to this guide are for the plain phrase "scarecrow costume," and the rest are mostly close variants of it, with a smaller group asking how to make one or what a scarecrow wears. In the National Retail Federation's 2025 Halloween survey, 51% of people celebrating planned to wear a costume, with costume spending expected to reach $4.3 billion.
Friendly scarecrow or scary scarecrow?
A friendly scarecrow and a scary scarecrow start from the same patched outfit and split at the finish. Which way you take it comes down to where it is being worn: a school parade and a hayride ask for different faces.
| Part | Friendly scarecrow | Scary scarecrow |
|---|---|---|
| Colors | Bright patches, plaid, a sunflower or two | Browns, moss greens, and rust |
| Fabric finish | Neat patches and clean straw trim | Frayed hems, stains, and ragged collars |
| Face | Rosy cheeks, triangle nose, stitched smile | Dark eye sockets, a wide stitched mouth, or a pumpkin mask |
| Prop | A sunflower bag or a toy crow on the shoulder | A plastic pitchfork or a lantern |
| Great for | School parades, harvest festivals, toddlers | Haunted houses, hayrides, older kids and adults |
| Ready-made set | Womens Scarecrow Patch Dress Costume; Kids Sunflower Scarecrow Toddler Costume | Scary Pumpkin Scarecrow Costume Kids |
The switch is mostly makeup and color, so a friendly daytime scarecrow can turn scary for the evening with darker face paint and a change of prop. For more ideas on the dark end of the scale, see our scary Halloween costumes guide.
How to make a scarecrow costume in 5 steps
Making a scarecrow costume takes five steps: base clothing, patches, straw, a hat, and accessories. None of them needs a sewing machine.
- Gather your base clothing. Start with an old flannel shirt and overalls or jeans. A thrift store is worth checking if your closet does not have them.
- Add patches and distressing. Cut patches from fabric scraps or felt and attach them with safety pins or fabric glue for a no-sew finish. Fray the edges and add a few small tears for a weathered look.
- Secure your straw. Bundle raffia or craft straw and fix it at the wrists, ankles, collar, and waistband with safety pins or clear packing tape. Tie each bundle into a cuff that sits over your sleeve, so the straw shows and stays comfortable all night.
- Create your hat. A wide-brimmed straw hat is the shortcut, though any old hat works once you attach more straw around the brim and the crown.
- Finish with accessories. Add worn gardening gloves, a bandanna around your neck, and work boots or old shoes.
For a traditional farmhand scarecrow, pad the chest, arms, and legs with pillow stuffing or crumpled newspaper, add burlap patches or a burlap vest. For a scary scarecrow, darken the clothing with tea or coffee stains, add dried corn husks, and tuck a few small battery-operated orange LED lights inside the shirt for a glow.
Straw-colored yarn is a softer stand-in for raffia on kids' costumes. For any homemade costume, the FDA's guidance is to use flame-resistant fabrics such as polyester or nylon, and a 2012 Consumer Product Safety Commission release advised avoiding big, baggy sleeves and billowing skirts near candles and other fire sources. We follow the same thinking with a DIY scarecrow: keep straw bundles short and tied down, and light your jack-o'-lanterns with battery candles.
Ready-made scarecrow costumes for adults
A ready-made scarecrow costume gives you the patches, the straw trim, and the hat in one pack. We make one women's set and one men's set, and every costume goes through over 30 measurement checks.
Womens Scarecrow Patch Dress Costume
The Womens Scarecrow Patch Dress Costume is a 5-piece set: a long-sleeved patchwork tunic with straw trims, a ragged-edged capelet, a rope belt, straw ankle cuffs, and a printed patchwork hat. The tunic is 100% polyester stretch fabric with an elastic waist, and it comes in six sizes, from S (US 4-6) to XXXL (US 24-26), at $50.95. Tights, boots, and the wig in the photo are your own, so add whatever suits the weather.
For men, our Friendly Scarecrow Men set packs a rustic scarecrow top, matching pants, a rope belt, and a floppy hat, in adult sizes from M. If you need larger sizes across other looks too, our plus size Halloween costumes guide lists what runs to XXXL.
Scarecrow costumes for kids and toddlers
Kids' scarecrow costumes run from age 1 to 14 in our range, with a sunflower set at the friendly end and a pumpkin-headed set at the scary end. All of our kids' products are safety tested by accredited labs.
Kids Sunflower Scarecrow Toddler Costume
The Kids Sunflower Scarecrow Toddler Costume comes in three sizes: 1-2 years, 3-4 years, and S (4-6 years), at $30.95. The pack holds a long-sleeved dungaree dress with sunflower button trims and straw-look edging, a scarecrow hat with a sunflower, and a fabric straw bag with rope handles. The straw on this one is straw-look edging instead of loose raffia. The dress is cut loose enough to go over indoor clothes for a cold parade, and between two sizes, take the larger.
Scary Pumpkin Scarecrow Costume Kids
The Scary Pumpkin Scarecrow Costume Kids swaps the straw hat for a foam pumpkin mask with mesh eye holes, and it fits ages 4 to 14 across four sizes (S to XL) at $35.95. The pack holds a distressed tunic with an attached rope belt, a large printed collar, and the mask. Pants are not included, so plan on plain dark pants underneath; the gloves and the pitchfork in the photo are styling extras too.
All three sets are 100% polyester and take a cold hand wash and an air dry.
Scarecrow face: makeup or a mask?
Scarecrow makeup takes three shapes: an orange or brown triangle on the nose, pink circles on the cheeks, and a stitched line running out from the corners of the mouth. Eyeliner handles the stitches. For the scary version, shade dark gray around the eye sockets and stretch the stitched mouth wider.
A mask skips the paint entirely, and a burlap sack or a pumpkin mask makes a striking scary scarecrow. Whichever route you take, the FDA suggests testing makeup on the wearer's arm 24 to 48 hours in advance, and a quick check that the wearer can see clearly is worth doing before a night of trick-or-treating. The foam mask on our pumpkin scarecrow has mesh eye holes.
Who goes with a scarecrow?
A scarecrow pairs well with a farmer, a crow, a pumpkin, or a sunflower. A parent in the women's patch dress next to a toddler in the sunflower set is a matched pair with no extra work. For a storybook group, browse our fairy tale costumes, and our matching family Halloween costumes guide has more sets that size from toddler to adult.
Frequently asked questions
What do scarecrows wear?
Scarecrows wear a patched flannel or plaid shirt, overalls or worn pants, a floppy straw hat, and straw poking out at the wrists, ankles, and collar. A rope belt, a bandanna, and old boots finish the outfit.
How do you make a DIY scarecrow costume?
Start with a flannel shirt and overalls or jeans, then pin or glue on fabric patches. Tie raffia or craft straw into cuffs at the wrists, ankles, and collar, add a straw hat, and finish with gloves, a bandanna, and boots. It needs no sewing.
What kind of pants does a scarecrow wear?
A scarecrow wears denim overalls, old jeans, or brown work pants with patches on the knees and straw at the ankles. Our Friendly Scarecrow Men set includes matching pants. Our Scary Pumpkin Scarecrow Costume Kids does not include pants, so pair it with plain dark pants.
Is raffia itchy to wear?
Loose raffia can feel scratchy on bare skin, so tie it into cuffs that sit over your sleeves and pant legs instead of stuffing it inside them. Straw-colored yarn is a softer swap for kids.
What sizes do ready-made scarecrow costumes come in?
Our Womens Scarecrow Patch Dress Costume comes in six sizes, from S (US 4-6) to XXXL (US 24-26). The Kids Sunflower Scarecrow Toddler Costume covers ages 1 to 6 in three sizes, and the Scary Pumpkin Scarecrow Costume Kids covers ages 4 to 14 in four sizes. Size up if you are between two sizes.
How do you wash a scarecrow costume?
Hand wash it in cold water and let it air dry flat. Wash a foam mask separately from the fabric pieces, and store the set flat or loosely folded so the straw trims and the hat keep their shape.
