This adorable -- and comfortable -- lily costume for babies is perfect for families on the go this Halloween.
Tools and Materials
Costume foundation template
Stargazer or tiger-lily template
1/8-inch armature wire
Wire cutter
Masking tape
Tailor's chalk
Fabri-Tac fabric glue
Clothespins
Scissors
Green fleece for foundation
Green button (about 1 inch)
Clock face (for reference)
Needle and thread
Safety pins
Large plastic diaper pins
Baby hat
For stargazer:
Light-pink fleece for petals
Medium-pink felt for petal center
Dark-pink felt for dots
Orange felt for stamens
White extra-long "fat" chenille stems for stamens
For tiger-lily:
Orange fleece for petals
Brown felt for dots and stamens
Orange extra-long "fat" chenille stems for stamens
Lily Costume How-To
1. Print the costume foundation template and the stargazer lily or tiger-lily template at 200 percent.
2. To create lily petals, cut six 36-inch pieces of 1/8-inch armature wire. Form each piece of wire into a petal shape, following the wire frame guide provided in the template. Where the ends of the wire meet, secure with a few pieces of masking tape.
3. Once six petal frames are complete, lay each one down on a piece of orange fleece. At about 1/2-inch out from the frame, trace around the wire with tailor's chalk. Cut out patterns from fleece.
4. Lay a wire frame on top of a cut piece of fleece, center it, and apply fabric glue to a section of the wire. Carefully wrap the edge of the fabric around the wire. Continue working around the wire frame, using a clothespin occasionally to secure until dry. Do this for all six petals.
5. Cut lots of brown felt ovals in different sizes, (three examples are given in the template, but it's OK to approximate). Glue spots to petals, concentrating them more toward one end, which will eventually be what is the center area of the flower. For the Stargazer lily only, cut darker pink long teardrop shapes (shown in the template) from felt and glue along center of each petal.
6. Bend wire to form petals into a more curved shape.
7. Make the foundation piece: Trace the enlarged foundation template onto green fleece, and cut out. Sew a button to the tip of the triangle, as shown in the template. At the bottom corners of the triangle, cut two slices to form buttonholes.
8. Lay the foundation triangle flat with the button corner at the top. Lay four petals down on top of the foundation. (Using a clock face for reference, arrange them pointing in these directions, in this order: 5, 9, 3, and 7 o'clock). Pin in place and flip over. From the back, use safety pins to anchor petals to foundation piece (you can choose to hand-sew this if you prefer).
9. Wrap the lily around the baby carrier and button in place (you will find it is like fastening an upside-down diaper). Use diaper pins to secure the final two petals onto the baby carrier straps.
10. For the hat, create stamens with extra-long "fat" chenille stems. Glue felt "pollen" tips to each end, and bend the stems into a "V" shape. Glue each stamen into the fold of a store-bought baby hat.
Resources
Martha used fleece from milldirecttextiles.com and felt from magiccabin.com. Fabri-Tac is available from beaconadhesives.com. All other tools and materials are available at sewing and crafts stores. Special thanks to BabyBjorn for supplying the baby carriers used in this segment.
