Store-bought costumes may be decreasing in price and increasing in quality, but many Halloween enthusiasts still insist on crafting their own creations, saying the holiday is a time for the booming do-it-yourself movement to take centre stage.

Angelune DesLauriers of Toronto says it's merely a matter of tradition.

Dilys Tong transformed her dog into a dominatrix with the help of vinyl, fishnet stockings and a little whip.
(Courtesy of Dilys Tong)

"My mom used to make my costumes for me all the time when I was a kid, so I guess it's maybe one of those things that is in my mind," she said.

Last year, DesLauriers sewed an elaborate fox costume out of reams of red fabric, but this year she plans to dress up as the ghostly girl from the horror movie The Grudge.

While DesLauriers says she would consider buying elements of a costume, she would never buy the whole package.

"I feel like it would be a waste of money to buy a costume that was just for a day," she said.

Craft websites offer inspiration, ideas

From little red riding hood to Bjork's infamous swan dress, to a Freudian slip, craft websites are stuffed with inexpensive costume instructions. Most projects involve materials that can be found by combing through closets and local thrift stores.

Halloween and the act of creating are inextricably linked for Montreal knitwear designer Kate Gilbert. This year, she created a pattern for a festive, felted Halloween candy bag.

"I remembered that when I was a kid, I always had this pumpkin-shaped bucket that I could carry around to do my trick or treating in — which was kind of cool. It was all right, but I remember there were a lot of kids who just carried pillowcases or who carried plastic bags.

"I thought it would be neat to have something that was more interesting and more fun and more creative."

Thrift and creative gratification are the motives for Dilys Tong. With scraps of red vinyl, fishnet stockings and a little whip, she plans to transform her cute little pooch into a naughty dominatrix for Halloween.

"It'll be kind of fun for people to see my dog in a little dominatrix outfit because she just looks so sweet and innocent," said Tong, who owns the Toronto sewing studio Sew Be It.

"It's just more fun when you do it yourself," Tong said. "It's more personal and you [have] more creative power … because I have full control."

Tong said Halloween store-bought pet costumes don't always fit properly and can be as expensive as $80.

Retailers report brisk business

But for some people, a spiffy costume is worth the price.

Peter Devita, manager of Sugar's Costumes in Toronto, said business has been brisk this year.

Gauging the success of the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Sugar's  ordered a generous amount of all things buccaneer in January.

"Everybody wants to be a pirate," Devita said. "It's like going on the open seas with no rules, or laws or signs. Take what you want, sail into the sunset."

Predicting what will be a top-seller keeps costumer retailers constantly guessing. But skeletons, superheroes and princesses are always popular with children, he said.

"We get wind of how the trends go then we kind of jump on board and just keep ordering," Devita said. "Things change fast."

Rival costume shop Malabar says Roman soldiers, flappers, wizards, witches, cowboys, pirates, doctors, nurses, cats and bunnies are also proving to be extremely popular.

The Retail Council of Canada says 52 per cent of Canadians plan to buy a costume this year, expecting to spend an average of $33.