Yarn Lion Costume

My twelve year old daughter wanted to be a lion this year. She decided to go with more of a cute lion rather than a lion with realistic fur and features. The material is a tie died brown fleece. I used yarn in many different fall colors. I wrapped the yarn around a paper strip and sewed a seam down the middle. I took off the paper and sewed these strips of yarn by hand onto the head, body and bag. For the head, I used a vintage mask pattern and enlarged it 2X. She wanted a big head! I made a pillow in the shape of the inside of the mask to stabilize it and sewed two additional small pillows to brace the sides of her head. I changed some of the design of the face. I used a simple pattern for the body and changed it so there would be no zipper in the front. The nose and round piece in the middle of the body are made from faux leather. The paws were made with fleece and the feet are just brown slippers. The cost was about $65.00.