The wide openings and malleable structure of chicken wire (also known as hex mesh) make it an ideal material for creating spooky figures. If you've got the DIY spirit and appreciate a good Halloween scare, this crafting project is for you. Find clever ideas and guidance on making chicken wire ghosts below.
How to Make Chicken Wire Ghosts
Bear in mind that fastening ghosts from wire mesh materials is a relatively involved project—but the payoff is fabulously frightening.
To make ghosts from hex mesh, you'll need:
- A roll of chicken wire with openings between 1 and 2 inches
- A mannequin head
- Cheesecloth or semi-transparent fabric
- Fishing wire
- Glow-in-the-dark spray paint
- S hooks
- Thin wire
- Wire cutters or heavy-duty scissors
- Work gloves
There are many routes you can take with the design of your ghoulish ghosts, but the process of creating each wire mesh sculpture is similar.
Here's how to make a ghost sculpture from metal hex mesh:
- Place a large sheet of chicken wire over the mannequin head. While wearing gloves, carefully press down and pinch the material into the crevices of the face and neck to form the head.
- Attach additional pieces of wire mesh to the front, back, and sides to form the shoulders, back, and torso. Connect these pieces at the seams using thin wire.
- Create narrow mesh cones to form the arms. (You can keep them straight or bend one or both for a more realistic effect.)
- Create two wider wire mesh cylinders for the thighs and connect them to the torso with wire.
- Create two more slightly thinner cones for the shins and ankles, connecting them to the thighs at a slight angle to depict the knees.
- Form the hands and feet, and connect them to the limbs with wire.
If you're particularly crafty, you can take your time creating individual fingers and other details. However, the torso, limbs, and head are the most important components.
The Best Chicken Wire Ghost Ideas to Try This Season
Now that you're up to speed on the basic steps, you can get to work creating a petrifying presence from chicken wire. Read on for five eerie ideas.
Full-Size Free-Standing Spirit
There's something undeniably unsettling about a seemingly free-standing ghost sculpture, especially a lifesize figure. To help your creation stand upright, you can attach the feet to soft ground using S hooks or use fishing wire to attach it to a nearby tree or structure.
Glowing Ghost Sculpture
Want to spook unsuspecting guests with a cloaked, hooded ghost? After creating the head, arms, and torso, skip the lower extremities and drape your sculpture with cheesecloth. Then coat the cloth with glow-in-the-dark spray paint.
Scary Silhouette
Instead of making distinct legs, you can create a narrow skirt-like bottom for your sculpture. To nail an eerily uncanny effect, hunch the shoulders and rotate the neck and torso slightly—as if the ghost is turning to look at something. Then place the silhouette away from the rest of your Halloween decor to make it appear even more mysterious and ethereal.
Phantom Dancers
On the other hand, you might consider skipping both the head and body and creating ghostly dancing dresses out of wire mesh. For this beautifully bone-chilling idea, you can spray the mesh with glow-in-the-dark paint or wrap cheesecloth over the skirts. Another option is to use glow-in-the-dark tullé, the fabric of choice for undead dancers.
Where to Buy Chicken Wire for Crafting
Whether you create lifesize figures, floating heads, flying souls, the Grim Reaper, or a barely-there apparition, TWP Inc. has the materials you need to get started. Founded in Berkeley, California, in 1969, our woman-owned business has served residential customers for over 50 years.
We're proud to carry a substantial selection of hex mesh, including stainless steel chicken wire in varying weaves, gauges, wire diameters, and opening sizes. You can buy rolls, sheets, or panels, and if you don't see the size you're looking for, TWP Inc. can accommodate custom orders. Get your mesh today or contact us with questions.
Want to have your DIY Halloween crafts featured in our online gallery? Upload your creations to Instagram using the hashtag #TWPWireMesh.
