These are my “Mama Bear” ears.
Here’s the story:
I found a costume for my 5 month old in a box that someone had given me. It was a dog costume and I thought it would be so cute to be a cat to match Brady. Well, when I was telling my husband about it, he cracked up laughing telling me it wasn’t a dog costume, it was a BEAR costume. Well, what in the heck would I wear to match a bear costume!?
I thought fish, berries, mountain lion, etc., every thing I thought was dumb. Then my mom gave me the idea of being a Mama Bear! Perfect! That solved that. But I still needed bear ears. You can find cat ears everywhere! Of course, when you can’t find it, you MAKE it!! ๐
The Ribbon Retreat carries an awesome assortment of Minky fabric.
There is even an animal section! Perfect for costumes.
I got some Chocolate and Baby Pink Soft Cuddle fabric for my Mama Bear ears.
This fabric is SO soft. The quality of the Minky fabric at The Ribbon Retreat is great!
You can make ANY animal ears.
They are easy to make with just a little bit of creativity. ๐
– Supplies –
Minky fabric (colors are up to you!)
Needle and Thread in a coordinating color
Headband (Mine is 1″)
3/8″ Solid Grosgrain Ribbon
Hot glue gun
First look up pictures of the animal you want to make.
I should have done this. ๐
If I had done this, I would have known that bear ears are quite tiny
and very much on the side of the head.
Once you’re good and know what you want to do, draw out a pattern on a piece of paper.
When you have the size you want, draw around it to give it some leeway for the seam.
Then cut it out.
Using your pattern, trace onto the back of the Minky fabric.
Trace four ears.
Cut them out.
Do the same with the inside of the ear, the pink part.
Only do two.
I tried sewing the pink part onto the brown part without cutting out the middle, and it was difficult.
This Minky fabric is so hairy, I tried to avoid cutting more than I needed, but it is a lot easier if you cut out the middle so you can sew the edges of both fabrics together.
I cut my inside ear pattern down to the first marking
and used that to know where to cut out the inside of the ear.
Now put right sides together and sew the inner part of the ear (pink) to the outer (brown).
Stitch them together using your coordinating thread.
I am sure you can do this by machine, but mine is in the shop so sewing by hand works great too!
When both ears are ready, put the other two outer ears with the front ears, right sides together.
Stitch them together.
Leave the bottom open.
Now turn the ear right side out.
(This part is really exciting! ๐ )
Now fold the bottom inside the ear.
I put quite a bit of the fabric inside so it wouldn’t shed.
And stitch it together.
Your little ears are all finished!
Now for the headband!
This part is really, really easy.
The Ribbon Retreat carries a HUGE assortment of headbands. They also sell a lot of blank headbands, which are awesome in quality and price! My 1″ headband cost $.40.
I cut my 3/8″ ribbon into four 2″ strips.
Remember to seal your ends.
(Tip: I was unsure of what color ribbon I needed. All I had to do was ask if they could match the best color ribbon to my Minky fabric. It matches perfectly! The Ribbon Retreat makes it so easy!)
Put hot glue all along one of your strips and put it on the end of the headband.
We are putting two strips down so make sure to cover the entire side.
Now do the same thing for the other strip of ribbon next to the first.
Put the last two strips on the other end of the headband.
Next we are going to wrap our 3/8″ ribbon around the headband.
I wasn’t sure how much I needed, so I left it uncut.
Most of The Ribbon Retreat ribbons come in five yards so I knew I would have plenty.
I sealed the end of the ribbon, put a dab of hot glue on the end, and adhered it to the center of the back of the headband. Make sure to line it up with the edge.
Next, I wrapped the ribbon around the headband.
I put glue on the ribbon, then wrapped it on top of the headband.
I wrapped the headband the same way you would a dowel for Korkers; in a slanted manner.
When you come to the end, cut the excess ribbon off, seal your end, then hot glue it down to the center on the back of the headband.
Your headband is now ready for some ears!
Put the headband on and place your ears where you would like them.
Mark where you want to put them.
I skipped this part, (that’s what happens with 1 am crafting!),
and as Brittany says, “Do as I say, not as I do.” ๐
Then put hot glue on the end of your ears.
And place it on your headband.
Do the same for your other ear…
And you’re done!
I’m going to make a cute ribbon flower (tutorial with it!!) to put on the side of one ear.
I think it will make “Mama Bear” complete.
I put it on my older little “cub” to see how it looks.
This is the best picture we got. ๐
He calls it his “Mickey Mouse” ears.
I can’t wait to see how everything looks together!
This is really easy and so fun!
If you’re still wondering what to be, pick an animal and get to work! ๐
9 Comments
So cute! Love them!
Very cute & creative! Thanks for sharing this ๐
Too cute! I might have to make some!
Those are super cute!!
Thank you for sharing and writing..
How much fabric would you say to use for 10 headbands?
Hi Adrian! Thank you for your question! Shirley and I think that 1/2 yard would be plenty. Minky fabric is wider than cotton, but if you are worried about having enough or possibly plan to make more in the future 1 yard would allow that for sure! Good luck and thank you for stopping by! Have a wonderful day! Michelle ๐
Great tutorial. So adorable. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Keen! Thank you so much! I am so glad you like these fun animal ears. Have a wonderful day! Michelle ๐
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