“UPCYCLE.” – to reuse discarded objects or material in such a way as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the original.
What, you may ask, does the word UPCYCLE have to do with a blog post about Red Riding Hood and her brother, Little Wolf? Well, would you believe that the adorable pair of story book characters pictured here, had their outfits fashioned out of an OLD MATERNITY SHIRT and A TABLE CLOTH? Every time something unflattering exits my closet I have to decide whether I have room to store it for future possibilities. In this case a frumpy and drab maternity shirt was transformed into a 3 year old Little Wolf ensemble. A tacky red table cloth became a flowing cape for a 5 year old Red Riding Hood.
Creating Little Wolfs Costume
I used one of my sons shirts as a template to sew a simple sleeveless shirt out of the grey maternity fabric. Because the fabric was stretchy it allowed for easy dressing for my three year old and no hemming for me, {bonus!!}. I used some left over felt to create a chest patch on the front of the wolf shirt. I sewed a simple tail out of the grey fabric and stuffed it with batting. The mask called for a little more creativity. I designed a wolf face mask on paper and then traced it onto my fabric. I created a FREE Printable Wolf Mask Template for download. Click the Link below to print the PDF. Little Wolf Mask Template Prairies & Pine
After cutting out all the pieces to my wolf mask I hot glued it together. The finishing touch was to embroider some sprigs of grey hair all over the mask to accent the wolf features. This step created depth and visual interest in the mask. I sewed a piece of soft felt onto the back of the mask to cover up all the stitches and keep it cozy for my little guy. The last order of business was to sew a piece of black elastic onto the mask so that it would fit around my sons head.
Creating Little Red Riding Hoods Costume
I used a free online pattern to create a cape out of the red table cloth. I converted one of my old linen tank tops into an apron and accented it with a scrap fabric bow. The fabric from one of my old skirts was used to sew a simple straight skirt that fit my daughters waist. This fabric was also used to add pockets to the apron front. The basket was a remnant of a tea set that had seen better days. I glued a red bow onto the basket front, and Red Riding hood was ready to take her treats to Granny’s house.
Red Riding Hood and Little Wolf Costumes Budget Breakdown
The cost of this project was negligible. I used old clothing and household items to complete the entire project, with the exception of some black felt which was under $1.
Next time you are about to throw out or donate something pretty or ugly, consider the future UPCYCLE-ing possibilities!
(definition of the Word Upcycle thanks to Google)