Cat Ears and Bell Collar (From Suit Scraps)

So, I found this nice second hand suit and decided to make it into a shorts suit (that would have been a good 1-hour challenge, but I forgot to take pictures - it's pretty simple, cut the legs, then if you want, tighten the inseam to make the pants fit a bit more snug around the legs and crotch, and then hem).

Having leftover pant material, I thought I'd make some fun cat ears for a party I was going to in a couple of days. Why not, eh?

• Material
• Headband
• A Big Christmas Bell (which inspired me to make this whole thing)
• Keyring
• Velcro
• Sticker Paper (or Stiff Interfacing)
• Hotglue
• Needle and Thread
• Sewing Machine

I just winged it by looking at my cat's ear and cut a template from some scrap paper. If you like the result, just size up my template and print it out.

I laid the paper template on the fabric, making sure to line up the pattern so that both ears would look the same. I cut out four pieces and then covered it with sticker paper (I had it on hand).

I then traced the pattern onto the sticker paper, making sure I left some seam allowance. I pinned the back and front together and then sewed it.

I trimmed the edges so that there was maybe 3 mm extra and then flipped them inside out, leaving the sticker paper inside. I then ironed them flat.

Note: The sticker paper is probably not the best, but it's also not the worst. I found that it worked just fine, but if you want to wear these often (and why not), you might want to use stiff interfacing.

I positioned the ears on the headband. Because headbands are smaller than your head, you'll need put it on and then position them. It will look funny on the headband, but that's because it isn't spread out by your head.

I used some hotglue to tack them into place and then trimmed the excess. Then I sewed them into place.

NOTE: I redid this part later because the ears looked funny (funnier than normal, I guess). Look at the end of the Instructable to see what I mean.

My pants have a stripe down the leg so I thought I'd use that. I simply cut a long rectangle to match my neck. Then I sewed it into a tube and flipped it inside out and ironed it flat. I then sewed velcro on the ends, making sure it was comfortable on my neck.

To make the bell attachment, I cut a small piece (sorry, I don't have measurements because I honestly wing this kind of stuff), sewed it into a tube. Flip it inside out, iron, and sew. I sewed across the middle so that the bell would be positioned a little higher and not hang too far down.

Place the bell on the keyring and the keyring onto the collar.

And you're done! It only took an hour! I know this because I made plans with a friend in an hour and I literally put the last stitch in before I had to leave the house to meet him.

I thought the ears looked okay, but when I wore them out, they just looked a bit weird and flat. I wanted to make them a bit better, so the next day, I took them apart and tried again.

This time, I rolled the ear like a cone (like how you make a paper cone). I also made the fold less pronounced so that you could see more into the ear. This definitely was an improvement.

Any how, go make some! I want to see more cat suits out there!