DIY Dino Hoodies

The much awaited Dino Hoodie DIY has arrived. I'll admit I didn't take some pics in the beginning as I should have, but I'll talk you through it.

 

First, you'll need felt. The thicker the felt, the better, but some machines don't sew materials once they get really thick, so use what you know your machine can handle. If you don't know, then look up your machine online and find the manual to see what works best for you. Second, you'll need the hoodie. It can be a zip-up jacket (that's what I used because my kids like them) or a pull-over hoodie. You'll need some sharp sewing shears (I'm picky about sharp shears when I sew), a pencil, and a few sheet of paper to make some triangles with.

 

The first thing I did was to make triangles that looked like the spikes I wanted to put from the head down to the tail of the Dino...boy... I decided to start small get gradually bigger and then taper off to smaller spikes again. I'm complicated that way. So, I used a pencil and paper to draw about three equilateral triangles as patterns. You don't have to do that. Make one triangle. Make curved spikes. Be creative!!

 

Then, I folded the felt in half and pinned the triangles with the bottom side on the crease and cut out what you see below as diamond shapes. When I cut out all my triangles--diamonds really--I pinned them to the hoodies. I estimated the center line of the hood down to the back. That's as accurate as you need to be.

 

 

I pinned the diamonds point to point from the front of the hood to the "tail" making sure that the points touched. Then, I simply ran a single seam from the hood down to the tail without stopping as seen below. I have boys, so rather than trust the page I was using, I made two passes and backed up my starting and finishing ends.

 





 



Then, the only thing left to do is to fold the points up to meet each other and sew a quarter-inch seam to keep them in place. As with the big seam, I backed up my starting and finishing seams for extra durability. Then all you have to do is give it to a kid (or adult) and they will love it so much they won't take it off. Ever.

 

 

Squib at the Children's Museum.

 

 Beanstalk being himself.

 

Both kids are Dino Hoodie fanatics now, so I lucked out! I consulted two DIY hoodie folks here and here if you need further reference. Once you get the idea in mind, you won't need any of us to help you.

 

Happy Dino Hoodie Day! (It's always dino hoodie day.)

Scat