Woody's Faux Cowhide Vest Craft

Total Time 1 to 2 hours Ages preschooler

Not until he meets Jessie and Stinky Pete the Prospector does Woody realize he's a valuable collectible. Dressed in boots and jeans and his distinctive white-and-black cowhide vest, the amiable pull-string cowboy was the star of a popular children's TV show called "Woody's Roundup." Using a simple pattern and felt, you can whip up a spotted vest just like Woody's - no sewing machine required.

Download Woody's Faux Cowhide Vest Template

by Cindy Littlefield

What you'll need

Faux Cowhide Cowboy Vest Template
Scissors
Straight pins (for pinning the pattern pieces to the felt)
White felt (about 1 yard)
Felt Scraps (black, tan, and yellow)
Hot glue gun or fabric glue
Thin black yarn or embroidery floss (optional)
Large-eye sewing needle or embroidery needle (optional)
Safety pin

Notes:

The vest shown here measures about 16 inches wide and 14 inches from the shoulder to the lower hem. For a different size, cut the pattern pieces larger or smaller as needed.

How to make it

1. Print the template and cut out the pieces. Create patterns by taping the vest front pieces together and the vest back pieces together, as shown.

2. Next, cut two vest fronts from white felt. To create the vest back, fold a large piece of white felt in half and pin the pattern to it with the straight edge along the fold, as shown. Cut around the other edges of the paper but not along the fold. Next, cut a larger sheriff's star from tan felt, and a smaller sheriff's star from yellow felt.

3. Glue the front and back vest pieces together at the shoulders, overlapping the edges by 1/2 inch. Then hot glue the side seams, overlapping them by an inch.

4. Cut out a bunch of large irregular-shaped cowhide spots from the black felt and glue them to the vest.

5. Now you can embellish the edges of the vest with stitching, if you like. Simply thread the needle with black yarn or embroidery floss and use a quick whipstitch, as shown.