The Mother Lode

Crafts and Crochet

by

Almost Stripes Beanie

I’m still here making all the hats! I just love a quick project, because, as a stay at home mom, so much of my “work” is stuff that never feels completed: laundry, dishes, weeding the garden, etc. Crochet is something I can do in the evenings or during play time and get a sense of accomplishment from. I like expressing creativity through it, but the completion of it is something that really fuels me. So I am a big fan of hats and ear warmers that I can finish in a couple of days. One of my new favorites is crochet earrings, which are even faster! Make sure you sign up for my email list, because a pattern for those will be coming in the future, too! It’s so cute, you don’t want to miss it!

Back to today: I’ve got the Almost Stripes Beanie crochet pattern for you! This one is a little more complicated than my first pattern, because there are color changes and a few different stitches. I created it to be another rectangle that is seamed and constructed, though, so if you are not ready for crochet in the round, you can tackle this hat! I graded this hat to include 7 sizes, which was a challenge! I am not a fan of math in any way, but I managed. I know often people tease about the necessity of math in high school. I’m sure I said probably several times: “When am I ever going to need to know this?!” Well, the answer to 15 year old me was, “When you grow up and want to design your own crochet patterns and you have to multiply and divide and do percentages to figure out the stitch counts and yardage.” I didn’t even beg help from my scientist husband for the stitch counts. How about that?! 

 

by

5 Perfect Ear Warmer Crochet Patterns

One of the best beginner crochet items to make is ear warmers! Crochet a small, simple rectangle, and easily seam it together to make a cozy headband that keeps your ears toasty warm in the chilly weather. The first one I ever made was for my mom, who taught me to crochet in the first place. Worsted weight or bulky weight yarn is nice for keeping the cold out. My new favorite yarn for ear warmers and hats is Red Heart Soft: it’s a worsted weight that is true to its name and has a good squish to it.

This Twisted Step-Sister Headband from Yarnspirations is that first one I ever made for my mom. The twist is a little tricky, but once you get it the first time, it’s not hard. The body of it is all double crochet, so it’s fast and easy.

This Ribbed Velvet Twist pattern by Daisy Farm Crafts is so amazing! Truthfully, the velvet yarn is tricky to work with, so it’s not exactly easy, but the stitches are not complicated, it just takes a little extra hand strength. It’s so beautiful and soft, though, it’s totally worth the effort. I think I made at least 3 of these last winter as gifts. They have a BEAUTIFUL velvet hat pattern, too, that you should check out.

I recently tested the Grace Ear Warmer pattern for Amy at Another Mum Fights the Dust and I fell in love. It is so dang easy and quick. The texture is awesome and the twist is so on point. Amy has bunches of other great patterns, too, you should definitely check her site! I made two of these in July and it’s my new go-to pattern when I’m not ready to start a big project but I need something in my hands.

So cute, right?!
No doubt about it, I am a HAM in front of a camera.

Here are a two more beautiful ear warmer patterns that are on my “to make” list!

  • Faux-Bow Headband Pattern by Mama in a Stitch: I love her patterns! I made one of her sweaters in January and it turned out so great. This ear warmer is crocheted by creating a tube, then cinching the ends of the tubes and attaching them together to create the “bow.” It’s so cute! I think the double fabric on it would make it extra warm!
  • Charleigh Twist Headband Pattern by Crochetastic Boutique: The texture on this one is great! This is one that I would love in a few bright colors. This beginner pattern uses simple stitches to create a unique texture. This talented designer has a variety of lovely designs, so far from her collection I’ve made mug rugs and a cute purse!

Now I think I need to design my own headband for the fall! Maybe something in a bulky yarn that is a quick make…… or maybe a stripey one…..

by

DIY Cards with basic supplies

I openly admit that I have more craft supplies than time to create with them. Handmade cards are one of my favorite things to make. I enjoy it, I can buy a whole pack of cardstock to make 50 cards for as much as one greeting card at the store, and they are special! I use a cutting tool that makes it easy to cut the paper, and I even have an envelope making board (though a pack of envelopes at the craft store isn’t very expensive, and I use those more often than not.) I also love a good tape roller for attaching the paper together, it’s not messy and can stick down even tiny doodads. All that being said about fancy supplies, for a nice greeting card, I find that you don’t need more than 6 basic items:

  • paper (cardstock or scrapbook paper is best if you have it)
  • ruler
  • scissors
  • coloring utensil (markers, crayons, paint)
  • glue or tape
  • envelope (or more paper to make one)

If you need to make an envelope, there are tons of tutorials on YouTube. I really like this one, though, by Vectoria Designs: it is so straightforward and simple, but looks pretty! Once your envelope is ready, measure to see what size your card must be to fit inside. Fold and cut your paper to make a card.

Let’s think about a handmade card like a stir-fry. The basic ingredients, like soy sauce and rice are your paper, scissors, and glue. When making stir-fry, you can throw in some leftover peas hanging around your refrigerator, the onion lurking in your cabinet, some chicken you found in your freezer to whip up a delicious dinner. What materials do you have that could add a little “extra” to your card? Here are some items to look for:

  • markers, colored pens, crayons, paint
  • old greeting cards, or old book illustrations
  • the lid from something round (trace to make circles)
  • buttons (don’t you have some in those tiny plastic baggies lying in a drawer waiting for you to lose a button from a shirt you don’t even own anymore?)
  • artificial flowers and leaves
  • real flowers and leaves

Okay, here comes the fun part. Take these items and turn them into something magnificent! Pictured below are some samples:

You can see in the first card, I simply cut the front of a small thank you card, and added my own handwritten thanks on top.

The second is one of my favorite things, cutting long strips of colored paper and attaching it in interesting patterns.

The third card has a heart cut from an old greeting card, a flower made from buttons, and artificial flowers.

What kinds of things do you like to use to make handmade cards? I think it’s so fun and personal!

by

Simple Ripples Baby Hat

I’m so thrilled to offer to you my first crochet pattern! I’ve been crocheting almost 7 years. On and off at first and now I am definitely a yarn hoarder. I just kept coming back to it as my craft of choice!

You know, it’s funny, I’m in my 30’s and really just now starting to dream of what I want to be when I grow up. Meaning, I never had much of a career aspiration. I liked French class in high school, so I decided to major in French in college. In college, I planned on getting married and starting a family, so I studied education as well, because I thought it would be a less difficult career to raise a family while doing (haha, oh young Priscilla, who knew nothing.) I intended to teach high school French. That never happened and I ended up teaching preschool, which I loved, but admittedly, wasn’t interested in doing long-term. I’ve now been a stay at home mom for almost 7 years. My little ones are getting older and I’m looking to the future. What am I going to do when they are all at school!?

Now don’t get me wrong, my buddy, laundry will always be around and the little boy pee around the toilets won’t clean itself, but, in between that stuff, I want some kind of creative outlet and some kind of part-time work. As I have grown my crochet skills in the last few years, I am seeing the potential as a career for myself that allows me to hop over to school for volunteering and throw dinner in the crock-pot while I’m at home testing patterns, creating my own, and sharing them on my blog!

I started testing patterns for other designers in January to get some practice. I needed to start understanding how pattern design works on the paperwork end. It’s been such fun being part of a community of crocheters and I’m loving it!

Okay, hold your horses, I’m getting to the pattern! One thing I’ve always made is hats. My boys all wear mommy-made hats, my nieces and nephews, etc. I like making them because there is SO much you can do from the very simple to the very complicated. They are generally a smaller project, too, so you get that feeling of accomplishment sooner. If you’ve ever crocheted and thought hats were hard, you’ve got to make this one! It’s crocheted as a rectangle, then stitched to form a tube, then cinched at the top to make a hat! No tricky rounds to count here! I hope you love this hat and I plan to make it in adult sizes in the fall if you haven’t little ones in your life to make for. The PDF is available for $2 on Ravelry! If you’ve never made this kind of hat before, it is helpful to be able to print the pattern. It has 12 progress photos and more detailed explanations to help you!

Supplies

  • Lion Brand Feels Like Butta yarn in color of choice (samples: Charcoal, Sage, Ice Blue) 2 oz; 130 yds (1 skein) 
  • crochet hook US size I /9 (5.5mm) or size needed to obtain gauge
  • pom-pom maker (optional)
  • tapestry sewing needle
  • scissors

Stitches

  • Ch= Chain
  • HDC= Half Double Crochet
  • DC= Double Crochet
  • SS= Slipstitch
  • BLO= Back Loop Only

Sizing in the pattern is marked as follows:

Newborn (0-6 month, 6-12 month, 1-3 years) Stitch counts marked as { } at the end of the row. Turning chain does not count towards stitch count.

Gauge: 16 HDC in 11 rows= 4″ (10cm) OR 15 DC in 8 rows = 4″ (10cm)

Instructions

Ch 26 (30, 34, 38).

Row 1: HDC in 3rd chain from hook. HDC in each stitch across. Turn. {24 (28, 32, 36) HDC}

Row 2: Ch 2, DC in BLO in each stitch across. Turn.

{24 (28, 32, 36) DC}

Row 3: Ch 2, HDC in each stitch across. Turn. {24 (28, 32, 36) HDC}

Rows 4- 24 (28, 32, 36): Repeat Rows 2 and 3.

(Final row should be a row of double crochet BLO.)

At end of last row, turn and SS to seam the short sides of the rectangle with the wrong side (flat side) facing out. Finish off, leaving a tail of at least 12 inches. Use this long tail to sew with a tapestry needle every few stitches around the top, pulling tightly to cinch the top of the hat closed. Stitch back and forth across the top of the hat a few times to be sure the top is tightly closed. Weave in the remaining tail, or use it to attach a pom. Weave in any remaining ends.

Well that’s all she wrote! It’s been a crazy past few weeks getting this together, but I’m so happy I made the jump to do it! What is something new you are going to challenge yourself with?

by

DIY Crochet Flower Wreath

The very first crochet item I ever made was a wonky scarf for my mom. It was uneven FOR SURE. I ended up crocheting a flower to add to it, and it did help it look a little better. It was still bad, though, haha. With practice comes consistency, and the last several larger projects I’ve made have really shown me how much muscle memory my hands have gained in keeping stitches even in size. So, if you are just starting out, or creating a project here and there, know that with practice and time comes consistency to make a beautiful piece!

In the meantime, there are many crochet flower patterns that are easy to follow and require only a few simple stitches. They are very forgiving since they are attempting to mimic real flowers, which aren’t uniform anyway. You can easily master a few different flower designs and work them up in your favorite colors to adorn anything! They are popular on headbands, pillows, and occasionally garments. I’ve seen a few wreaths out there that are entirely made from crocheted flowers. I wanted to mimic that but with a little less time and a little more simplicity.

Read on for how I created this Crochet Flower wreath!

stick wreath with crocheted flowers

I bought this gorgeous Lion Brand Yarn called Coboo made from cotton and bamboo. The colors are so pretty and it’s very silky soft. I bought three colors from JoAnn Fabrics to create this bold spring wreath and I’m so happy with how it turned out. The stick wreath form I got at Michael’s for like 5 bucks, and since I just attached the flowers with wire, I can use the wreath form again if I want to create something else!

Step One: Choose your yarn. Any yarn will do for making flowers. For these, I wanted smaller, tightly stitched flowers, so I used the Coboo yarn which is a weight 3 yarn. Coordinate your hook with your chosen yarn. Again, I was going for smaller with mine, so I went down a hook size from the recommendation on the yarn package. (I used an E hook.)

Step Two: Crochet flowers in varying sizes, about 6. Here is an easy pattern by Crochet 365. This tutorial from Love Life Yarn I used for the larger carnation flowers. Then crochet two leaves to go with the flowers. You can find a simple leaf pattern from MamaChee. Weave in the ends of everything and cut the excess yarn.

crochet leaf

Step Three: Arrange the flowers and leaves on the wreath so you can plan which shall go on first and which shall overlap on top. Attach the leaf at the top using floral wire. Cut a length of floral wire of about 8 inches. Bend in half and feed part of it through the back of your leaf. Once it feels securely part of the leaf, weave the wire onto the sticks of the wreath as you would a Christmas pick. For the flowers, I bent a bit of the length of wire at the top, then I stuck it through the center of the flower at the back sideways and bent it in the center of the flower, so as to have two lengths of wire coming from the center. These lengths I wound together and then placed into the wreath and wove a bit around the sticks. Continue attaching each element until your desired effect is achieved!

back of crochet flower

I hope you liked this project! I’m already envisioning a sunflower one in the height of summer, wouldn’t that be lovely!?

Front door wreath

by

DIY “Beautiful Stuff” Bird Feeder

DIY bird feeder
My DIY bird feeder made of recycled materials!

One of the things I love about our home is the trees in our yard! We have such a variety and I love how it feels like a forest in parts of the yard. I also really enjoy the birds! We’ve seen woodpeckers on the pine trees in the front yard, blue jays, chickadees, robins, and cardinals in the backyard. We’ve even had wild turkeys in our backyard! In the fall, the kids made pine cone bird feeders at school, and we used almond butter, pine cones, and birdseed to make some more to go with them. They look cute hanging from the magnolia tree in the yard. They are all nearly empty, now! It’s been great to watch the birds from the windows.

What seems like forever ago, I taught in a daycare in Virginia. The school was “Reggio-Emilia” based, which is similar to Montessori. We had a great art teacher there who taught me about “beautiful stuff.” This is a teaching idea from the book Beautiful Stuff: Learning with Found Materials by Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini. The gist of it is that found materials in nature, leftover scraps, recyclables can all be made into beautiful stuff: art, usable items, sculpture. I had students making cars from cardboard with milk top wheels, teachers used drink caps to create mosaics with their classes, etc. I loved it then, and I still love it. I am in the habit of keeping what I think of as beautiful stuff. Basically, if it can be hot-glued, painted, or colored with Sharpie markers, I will keep it for a “project.” (Honestly, I’m lucky my husband doesn’t throw my “beautiful stuff” out when I’m not home.) I love to make things out of old packaging like yogurt cups, soda bottles, clementine boxes, cardboard, etc.

burlap

So my love for the birds and beautiful stuff collided this week to make a cute bird feeder! Last year I made a bird feeder from a soda bottle and a spoon and it turned out decent, but it didn’t work perfectly. This week, I made a better one! The kids and I used old yogurt cups to hold the bird seed, and the top from a plastic candy container (those hard plastic Ferrero Rocher ones.) It turned out so cute and it lets the bird seed out better. I’m hoping it keeps the birds coming and my boys happy as we watch them having a snack.

Materials list

  • empty, clean, yogurt cups (2)
  • bottom from Ferrero Rocher chocolates (anything that you can use as a tray for the birdseed to spill onto)
  • burlap (probably about a 12×12 inch square piece
  • hot glue gun
  • x-acto knife (you could probably use a box cutter razor, too, if its very sharp.)
  • sharpie markers
  • sequins
  • picture hanging kit pieces, yarn
  • birdseed
sharpie marker on yogurt cup
My little one’s Sharpie art. These picture hangers worked great for this project.

First, I let the kids draw on the yogurt cups with Sharpie markers. While they did that, I hot glued the burlap along the bottom and up onto the “tray” where the seed will spill. I didn’t worry about it being neat, as the birdseed will cover it. Once the kids were finished with their drawing, I used an x-acto knife to cut two triangles on each side of the bottom cup. The top cup got one triangle cut and bent instead of cut entirely out. This is where you can refill the feeder. I used picture hangers because that is what I had, but you could also cut small holes in the top and string the yarn through. I hot glued the bottom cup to the tray, then the top cup on top of that! I finished by hot gluing some big sequins that I bought simply because I have no self-control at the craft store. The kids immediately wanted to feed the birds, so we filled it up and went outside to hang it! I strung it between the branches so hopefully more birds will eat it and not just the fluffy tailed rats, I mean, squirrels. Have confidence in your crafting and you can DIY anything!

DIY BIRD FEEDER PIN

by

5 Beginner Crochet Patterns

1.5 Hour Beanie by Make and Do Crew

I love the patterns from Make and Do Crew! They are fun and this one is so quick, you won’t believe it! I did change it a bit to use Caron Simply Soft yarn instead of the bulkier yarn that they used in the original pattern. This did make it take longer for me, but it was still quick to me! I usually make hats in the round which sometimes feels like it takes all of forever.

shows my version of the 1.5 hour beanie by Make and Do Crew
My oldest in the hat I made for his cousin that he desperately wanted for himself!

Waffle Dishcloth by Hooked on Tilly

I love this dishcloth as practice for Front Post Double Crochet. Since it is a dishcloth, I feel like the pressure is off to be perfect with your stitches, so this project is great for learning the Front Post Double Crochet (FPDC.) When you progress to making more complicated projects, particularly hats in the round and sweaters, the FPDC stitch is wonderful for adding ribbing at the edges, and is commonly used. I’m working on the finishing touches on my own hat pattern right now that has ribbing and it is turning out so cute!

Waffle dishcloth by Hooked on Tilly
My curated Instagram post, haha!

This one that I made has two extra rows of single crochet to make it a little bigger. I made it for my mother-in-law and she likes larger dishcloths.

Velvet Scrunchie by RthingsCreations on Sierra’s Crafty Creations Blog

Love these scrunchies! Velvet is definitely having a moment again and these scrunchies are a great way to wear it. I’ve made several and they are a quick, satisfying project. I will say that they are pretty tight on your hair when you make them with a regular hair-tie in the middle. You can make them a bit more loose by tying or sewing a length of elastic instead for the middle. That’s what I did. I actually intended to give them to my niece, but they are so comfortable, I may have to make more for her because I keep wearing them!

velvet scrunchie
My scrunchie selfie!

Chi-Town Crochet Cowl by Kathy Kelly (crochetbird)

I adore this pattern. It is so easy, particularly because gauge is not important, so if you are just starting out and learning the right tension, it is a great pattern. You only need two stitches: double crochet and single crochet. Another reason I like this pattern is that you can really use any yarn to make it! Seriously, I’ve used Lion Brand Homespun which is a bulky yarn as well as the Caron Simply Soft with lovely results.

my version of cowl by Crochet bird
Love the bright colors on this cowl. This yarn is from a Caron Cake.

Crochet Triangle Wrap by Mama in a Stitch

This wrap is a great starter pattern. The gauge isn’t super-important and the stitches are easy. It is one of those projects which after a few rows you don’t need to look at the pattern anymore. (These are my favorite kind of patterns!) This wrap looks wonderful in a variegated color yarn. I also made one as a stash buster, using several leftover colors I had in the same type of yarn. I made two wraps this past fall and loved the way they turned out. One of them I made fairly small, then seamed the back to create a cowl and it turned out so pretty.

Granny triangle wrap
LOVE the way this one turned out. I particularly like the tassels, I have one more skein of this yarn somewhere and I want to make a matching hat!
granny triangle cowl
This is one of my favorite yarns (Lion Brand Homespun) and I had several small balls of it leftover from various projects which turned into this soft and beautiful cowl!

by

The Tooth Fairy

Well, it happened. My oldest started losing his baby teeth and my husband and I started losing our minds that the kids are growing up.

A couple of months ago, the first one started wiggling. As the weeks went on and it became more loose, my 6 year old became more anxious. He often experiences nerves for unknown firsts like this. He was nervous that it would hurt, wondering when it was going to come out, etc. In order to turn his fears to excitement, my husband decided that the tooth fairy would bring our son a special “ticket” for a sleepover at my in-laws. I remember explicitly saying, “Oh is she?! Wow, that’s a pretty cool tooth fairy.” As I was inwardly thinking, “Well there has been neither consultation with the tooth fairy nor my in-laws on this ticket thing!” I will say that this did seem to calm my son’s fears and he thought it would be so awesome to get this “ticket,” which he mentioned repeatedly in the following weeks.

The tooth loosened even more, and one day my son came home from school with a little tooth locket necklace from his teacher. I knew my evening would now be spent on the computer to make sure the tooth fairy could bring him this “ticket.”

A week later, he lost his 2nd tooth and was rewarded with another “ticket,” this time for a trip to the park with his dad to play Pokemon Go. (You see what that tooth fairy did there, turning it back to the dad.)

I’ve decided to allow the tooth fairy to continue bringing “tickets” for teeth. (She also leaves a dollar.) I think it’s something that can grow with my children and can be easily done at the last minute which is in my wheelhouse! If you think the tooth fairy might want to bring your child a “ticket,” too, you can get the PDF, just click the image below!

by

The Unfinished Business of Motherhood

I love being a mother. It’s come so naturally to me, and I take a lot of joy and pride in it. I was a decent student, I enjoyed studying French in college and was a better student there than in high school (because it was so costly and I didn’t want to waste money!) and I had wonderful experiences as a preschool teacher, but it was never my life’s passion. I’ve come to know that this was always my path, to mother these three little boys, and this endeavor of mine will never be finished. Which is kind of a hard thing: my task, my goal will never be finished! We rush around in our culture always finishing things, and moving on to something better. In motherhood, though, so many things go unfinished all the time and it can be maddening. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to “do it all.” We need a mindshift change, not just in the overall picture of our lives, but also in the daily grind.  

The other day I had a funny text conversation with a friend about never finishing things. I told her about a baby blanket that I made three years ago for my cousin’s baby and never sent. THREE YEARS. That’s how long I let this unfinished task fester and give me anxiety. We laughed about it, but I know deep down that leaving these things unfinished does give me anxiety. Is it crippling? No, but it does surface at times of stress when I am trying to accomplish other things. It sneaks in and says, “You are never going to finish all this stuff. Why don’t you just give up like all these other things you never did?” Why do I let these little tasks or projects I meant to do stay in my mind?

Turns out, I’m not alone. Psychology Today has a great article about how our minds can’t stand unfinished business. There is a real thing, you guys, called the “Zeigarnik Effect.” We are more likely to recall the tasks we never finished than the ones we did.

So I’m showing up over here to say I am FINISHED. No more worrying about these little things that never got accomplished (I’m looking at you, quilt fabric I bought for my now 2 year old nephews. I’ve never even made a quilt.)

My plan is this: first, write tasks down more often. Making lists and schedules helps and I always accomplish more if it’s written down. Secondly, I definitely need to set some tasks aside and be realistic about what I can actually accomplish. I’ve started to get better at this. For example, when I first started this blog, I thought I would share some things about motherhood and many recipes and crafts. While I do love to cook and we do art projects often, the time it takes to write up tutorials and take all the photos while you are doing it is just not something I have the ability to do right now. It is more realistic to engage with my children during the day and write about it at night when they are asleep and I don’t want to watch playoff hockey with my husband. The last part of my plan is to really examine whatever unfinished task I am anxious about and decide “Is this worth doing at this point in time? If not, then I can let it go and revoke my commitment to it. If I still want to do it, I need to re-evaluate and make a specific plan for accomplishing it, instead of the same old, same old “when I have some free time” routine.

Good luck in your own endeavors towards accomplishing tasks! I fully realize that I will likely overload myself with tasks and goals again at some point, but my intention is to keep it as realistic as I can and forgive myself when I don’t make the cute party favors I saw online that are going to be thrown away anyways.

Playing outside on Easter

by

Guide to Quick Kid Costume DIY

Halloween is coming! I love dressing the kids up in fun costumes. (I may also enjoy dressing us all up as a family.) This year I admittedly wasn’t into it. We recently moved and My sewing supplies are completely disorganized. SO we are going with a re-wear for my youngest with an alligator we had and a hand-me-down lion costume for my oldest from my in-laws.

My 3 year old son on the other hand is determined to be a ghost. Everything I could purchase is too scary, so I knew I was going to break down and use the sewing machine. I thought I had a white fleece blanket somewhere in my giant pile of fabrics to be recycled and it was NOWHERE to be found. I moved to Plan B and found the bride of Frankenstein I had made on the fly for myself two years ago. It was an old long sleeve white t shirt with a long strip of fabric attached at the shoulders and two long pieces attached at the back. I basically trimmed it to fit my son, hand stitched a felt face on, and made a VERY fast white hat. DONE. It was seriously a total of 45 minutes to accomplish this and he loves it. Here are my tips for easy ways to throw your own costume together!

  1. Re-use old costumes in a different way (Like I did, cutting up an old costume and adding different elements.)
  2. Think about what everyday items you have on hand that could be used. I’m thinking cotton balls (steam, animal fluff), aluminum foil (candy, robot), plastic bags/newspaper (to stuff and reshape clothing)
  3. Search the house for old clothing that no one is wearing. What can you do with that old pair of pink corduroy pants? (I turned mine into a piglet costume a few years ago for my then 6 month old.)  
  4. What fun costume only requires regular clothing and a headpiece that you could make with hot glue, some felt, and a cheap headband or hat from the dollar store? I’m thinking animals and TV characters.
  5. Hot glue and felt are your friends. I made Tigger and a honey pot one year solely by hot gluing felt onto old clothing. (We had a Winnie the Pooh theme, clearly.)
  6. Hats are unbelievably simple to sew. Cut two pieces from the pattern and run through the sewing machine four times. That’s it! Here is the link for an easy, free, downloadable pattern from Fleece Fun. I made fleece ones last year for my kids Pokémon costumes and yesterday whipped up a white one with scrap pieces of knit and that worked, also! 

Comment with some of your ideas for easy costume DIY! 

Our family as Winnie the Pooh (re-used from my hubby’s childhood), Piglet (made out of old pink corduroy pants), Tigger and the “Hunny” pot made from old shirts, felt, and hot glue. 

Follow Me