How to Make a Child's Cowboy Vest With Felt
Children frequently request cowboy costumes for Halloween or dress-up pretend play. Instead of buying an expensive outfit, you can put together a charming cowboy costume from common items you have at home. With felt you can make a Western vest that will act as the cornerstone of your child's costume. Add the vest to jeans, and your young cowpokes will have hours of Wild West enjoyment.
Things You'll Need
- Child's shirt or vest pattern
- 54 by 52 inch piece of felt
- Chalk or marker
- Scissors
- Thread
- Needle or sewing machine
- Smaller pieces of felt in contrasting colors
- Hot glue gun
- Hot glue sticks
Instructions
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1
Lay the large piece of felt on a flat surface such as a table. Place the child's shirt on top of the felt. Alternately, you can use a vest pattern. Trace the edges of the shirt with a piece of chalk or marker two times so you will have a back and front. Cut out the pattern, eliminating the sleeves. Cut a larger neck area in the piece that you will use for the front piece.
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Sew the sides and the top of the shoulders together from the front and back pieces with a needle and thread or a sewing machine. Felt is a forgiving fabric and will not fray, so you do not have to sew hems on the vest. Cut the front piece in the middle from the bottom to the top so the vest opens.
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3
Cut out decorations from the smaller pieces of fabric. Your child may want a felt sheriff's star, cactus or cowboy boot decoration. Glue the shapes on with the hot glue gun and glue sticks. Leave a 2 1/2- inch border on the bottom of the vest free of any decorative shapes.
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4
Cut 2-inch vertical lines at the bottom of the vest all the way around at 1-inch intervals. These slits form the fringe that every cowboy vest needs.
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Tips & Warnings
If you do not want to sew, you can use the hot glue gun to piece the vest together.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
