You Need A Shepherd Costume By When?

After being sick all week, I was reminded by my son on Friday that he needed a shepherd costume by Sunday for a living Christmas card that he was taking part in. My first thought was to just go and buy one. However, when I saw the $25 dollar price tag, I decided it was time to get creative. So I went next door to the local Walmart.  Anyone who knows me, knows I’m not a big fan of Walmart, but I knew it had a craft department and I knew they would have those ugly plastic candy cane lawn decorations that I was going to need if my shepherd was going to have a hook.

Here’s what I bought:

a package of 2 white king size pillowcases. (I only needed one, but couldn’t find them sold individually)

half of a yard of brown felt and a black stretchy headband

and an ugly plastic candy cane lawn ornament for 95cents.

Then it was time to get busy.

I held the pillow case up to my son and measured where I wanted the head and arm holes to be. I used a disappearing ink pen to draw my cutting line, folded the pillowcase in half length wise (to ensure symmetry) and cut my holes. Then I stitched around them for reinforcement. (He won’t be wearing it for very long, but I figured he is ten and he’s a boy… I better reinforce.) I also cut 6inch slits on the sides at the bottom and reinforced to make walking a little more comfortable.

Then it was time to transform that ugly candy cane. I measured the cane (mine was 33inches), cut a piece of felt 33″ long x 2″ wide and sewed a long tube. I didn’t bother turning it inside out, since it is felt and won’t fray I just trimmed it up nice and close to the sewing line. Then I sewed closed one end and slipped it onto the cane.

Even the cat stopped to admire this one!

For the headpiece, I used the rest of the brown felt. I simply cut a square to the size I liked and used a black stretchy headband to hold it in place.

After 45 minutes and $5 dollars worth of supplies, this is what I came up with. I had my son wear a white turtleneck underneath with a pair of sandals and a piece of jute around the waist to finish it all off. What do you think?

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