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.