Make Your Own Viral Pottery Barn Ghost Pillow With This Adorable Budget-Friendly Dupe

Pottery Barn has the cutest Halloween decor every year, but those price tags can be discouraging. One of its most popular products is Gus the Ghost, a soft, adorable sherpa pillow in the shape of a ghost that went viral in past years and normally retails for over $80. What's more, once you spot all the variations of the pillow, including one holding a pumpkin, one with a witch hat, and a female version with eyelashes and a cute bat-shaped hair pin, you're going to want to bring them all home. Those costs will add up fast! Luckily, there are ways to make Pottery Barn Halloween decor dupes with just a few easily found supplies and an ever-reliable hot glue gun. 

If you enjoyed DIYing a budget-friendly Pottery Barn ghost light dupe, you'll love this pillow project that can similarly incorporate inexpensive Dollar Tree items. You're going to need a pillow and white sherpa fabric (bought as a blanket or by the yard at Walmart, for example). The amount of fabric you'll need will depend on the size of the pillow. For reference, half a yard of fabric is enough to cover a small, 12-inch by 12-inch pillow. Keep in mind that the fabric should pool at the bottom. For the ghosts' eyeballs, black sherpa or felt will give you a fluffy texture similar to the original's, but heat transfer vinyl and fabric paint work, too. To accessorize and complete the design, grab a mini pumpkin like Dollar Tree's Fall Harvest Themed Sherpa Plush Pumpkin and any desired accessories, such as stretch lace or thin black thread for eyelashes or a cute bat-shaped hair pin like the Clipband Store's Halloween Black Bat Hair Clips available on Amazon. You'll also need some extra thread to help shape your pillow. 

Start by shaping your pillow. Rest it on one of its corners instead of on its side. Tuck in the bottom and top corners to create the base and head of the ghost. Fold the side corners back, and secure them with thread, slightly squeezing the pillow to give the body a rounded shape. With a larger pillow, use the thread to create three sections instead of two for a more defined shape, wrapping a piece of thread just below the top corner to form a head. 

Drape the sherpa fabric over the pillow. Although it should pool generously on the sides, the front and back should only be slightly longer than the length of the pillow. If necessary, cut the fabric to size with scissors. For cleaner edges, hem them with hot glue or thread. Cut a small oval shape out of your black fabric, and use it as the mold for the second eye. Attach them to your ghost with hot glue. Glue the pumpkin onto bits of excess fabric on the front right and front left sides of your ghost, creating the illusion of two arms. 

To add eyelashes, cut small bits of black stretch lace or thread. Apply a drop of hot glue to one end, tucking it behind the eyes. Add another to the opposite end to secure it in place. Twist the lashes slightly upward. To recreate the glimmer in the eyes of the original Ms. Gus, paint a thin line on the top outer corners of each oval with a white fabric pen. Finish by adding the accessories like a hat or bow, and you'll be left with the most adorable DIY ghost decor for fall.