Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
This fanciful feline costume will have your child purring with delight.
Materials
- Black craft foam
- Stapler
- Rust, gray and black fleece
- Wide headband
- Hot glue gun
- 2 yards of fusible web
- An iron
- Ivory turtleneck, leggings, and mittens
- 1/2-inch-wide sewing elastic
- Needle and thread (optional)
- Self-adhesive Velcro dots
- Wire hanger and pliers
- Child's belt
- 1 ivory kneesock or fiberfill batting
- 2 white pipe cleaners
Instructions
1. To make the cap: First, cut out 2 wide triangles from the black craft foam. Shape them into ears by folding each one in half and stapling it once along the lower edge of the fold. Next, cut a triangular piece of rust fleece to fit over the top of the headband and extend over your child's forehead.
2. For a calico effect, we glued a black fleece scrap under the rust. Cut rounded notches on each side for the ears, as shown. Hot-glue the underside of the fabric to the headband and the ears onto the fur.
3. To make the body: Cut out a variety of colored spots from the remaining fleece and a matching piece of fusible web for each spot. Fuse the web to the underside of your spots with a warm iron, according to the manufacturer's directions. Arrange the spots on the turtleneck, leggings and gloves or mittens, then remove the paper backing and iron on one spot at a time. Note: Because fleece is plush, it may be easier to iron from the inside of the clothing.
4. To make the hind paws: Cut out a pair of contrasting oval fleece shapes with straight tops (basically, a U shape, big enough to cover your child's shoe). For each one, cut a length of sewing elastic to fit comfortably around your child's ankle. Fold the flat edge of the fur over the elastic and staple or stitch it in place. Staple or stitch the elastic band into a loop.
5. To make the tail: Use pliers to bend the wire hanger into a long loop for the tail. Bend a small circle at the top, then pull the belt halfway through. Lightly stuff the toe of the kneesock with batting, then slip it over the wire tail. Finish stuffing the sock, then pull the open top over the wire circle and sew or hot-glue it in place. Glue or stitch a few fleece spots onto the tail.
6. To make the whiskers: Twist together the centers of 2 white pipe cleaners. Cut sewing elastic (adults only) to fit around your child's face, then tie the center to the pipe-cleaner twist and knot the ends together.
7. To assemble the costume: Once your child has dressed in the calico cap and clothes, buckle the tail belt around her waist and slip the furry feet over her shoes. To help hold the fabric in place, attach one side of a Velcro dot to the underside of the fur and the other side to the toe of the shoe. Then she can put on her whiskers, and she'll be ready to prowl.
Crafts
