DIY lion headdress with yarn scraps and ribbon- easy Halloween costume

Last-minute Halloween costumes are inevitable. But sometimes they are remarkable. If you’ve found yourself in the position of needing a Halloween costume and don’t have the time to order one, or make anything elaborate, let me help. This yarn scrap lion headdress will take an afternoon at most, it pairs well with yellow and brown street clothing and bonus, it will help you thin out that monster yarn stash you are hoarding. Don’t look away, I know you.
Here’s what you need to make one:

Yarn scraps in yellow, brown, orange, white, tan, red, rust (any warm, lion-y colors)
One side of a cardboard box
Sharp scissors
Ribbon in a couple of colors (at least 1/4 inch wide)
Safety pins
Needle and thread
Wool Roving in yellow and brown, needle felting needle, and foam pan (optional)

Wrap the yarn around the cardboard. Wrap SO much yarn around the cardboard. Wrap and wrap and wrap and wrap. Make your cardboard vanish under like, 3 inches of yarn wrappings. When you are done, keep wrapping more yarn. When your cardboard looks like an ottoman made of yarn, use the sharp scissors and shear the yarn from the cardboard in as straight a line as you can muster.

Lay the yarn out on a flat work surface (like an overcrowded, project-scattered, messy kitchen table as pictured) and comb the yarn pieces with your fingers so that they are mostly lined up straight. Slip a long length of ribbon under the yarn.

Sandwich the yarn bits between a second piece of ribbon, and use safety pins to keep everything in place.
Begin hand sewing the ribbon sandwich and yarn together. Try to make sure the ribbon falls near the middle of each piece of yarn as you sew them together. You can try to sew the yarn/ribbon sandwich together with a sewing machine, but there may be a LOT of fuzz depending on the type of yarn you used, and your machine may protest. (Ask me how I know.)
Once the yarn is stitched to the ribbon pieces, fold the yarn ends forward, tie the excess ribbon under your chin and give a quick trim to any loose or unruly yarn bits.
I needle felted two round yellow and brown ears and stitched them to the ribbon after trying on my headdress to see where the ears needed to be. I used SO MUCH yarn though, that the ears were barely visible (and you could easily cut and sew felt ears if needle felting sounds too complicated or painful). Round out your lion look with a little liquid eyeliner applied to the inner eyelids, tip of your nose, and a few freckles where your whiskers should be.

Add brown pants and a yellow shirt and you are Halloween-ready. Or, as in my case, ready for a Jungle Cruise themed costume party!

Happy yarn-scrap lion headdress making, friends!