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DIY Lion Costume

Halloween is around the corner. What fun! 
Henry’s costume is done. Here’s how it went down:
  • I ordered a white hoodie and tan dye from Amazon. In retrospect, I should have ordered two bottles to achieve the darker shade I was going for. But oh well! 
  • Henry and I followed the directions on the bottle to dye the sweatshirt. Easy!
  • I dug through my friend’s yarn box of yard-to-be-donated and found three skeins of thick, brownish/tanish yarn. 
  • I followed this tutorial to make little pom-poms. I wrapped the yarn around the width of four of my fingers 20 times. Then I tied a separate piece of yarn around the middle of my loops. Then I cut the loops to make a pom-pom. 
  • I sewed each pom-pom around the edge of the hoodie.
  • To make the tail, I braided a bunch of strands together and then tied a pom-pom on the end. Then I sewed it to the hoodie. 
  • I purchased an eye-liner pencil to make a nose and whiskers. 
The sweet thing is that Henry loves his costume. I ordered a tiger costume from Amazon for Tate, and I get a little sad comparing the homemade costume to the store-bought costume. The store-bought costume is made with such cheap and flimsy fabric. I’m sorry, Tater! Next year I will hopefully have the capacity to hand-make your costume too. I love you, Buddy!
I had so much fun working on this costume. As a planner, I love the weeks of anticipation before the actual event. We have to be honest with ourselves about what brings us joy. I didn’t make this costume for Henry because I felt pressured by the Pinterest Culture to be a crafty, perfect mother; I simply enjoy being crafty (when I have time, which is why I didn’t make Tate’s costume this year!). I also personally love the idea of spending time with my children making their costumes. But that’s just me! We each have to find our own path. 
Happy Almost-Halloween!

2 Comments

  • Rach

    I made my son's costume (a crayon) too. There were store-bought options that would have been cheaper and quicker, especially given the multiple times I had to go back for more fabric, different fabric, additional supplies, etc., and the costume probably took me about 8 hours total to make. But it was such fun and I got to do one of the hobbies (sewing) that I've neglected since becoming a mom. I love how it turned out and he's super excited about it too!

  • Mary

    Your last paragraph about being honest with ourselves about what brings us joy really resonated with me. Since becoming a mother, I've been struggling to distinguish between the things I do because I want to do them and the things I do because I feel obligated. It's hard not to feel overwhelmed. I have been re-discovering recently that I do really enjoy cooking and planning and crafting for my children. I just need to be mindful of what I can actually accomplish in the time I have without stretching myself too thin. Love the blog. Both me and my husband read it.

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