Whose a pretty kitty?

What is the one thing every girl (and boy) needs in their wardrobe? Hanging jauntily around the neck of a quilted hanger? That's right, a pair of homemade cat ears! Don't have said jaunty ears? Wait no longer then my crafty friends, for I have the solution! A quick, easy tutorial which should you follow with the upmost care and diligence will result in an original, wear anywhere accessory. Who said cat ears were just for Halloween?

Cost:

• I bought a headband from Claire's Accessories for £2. It was a plain, shiny black plastic one. I think a plain one would be best to get a smooth finish and you want one that is quite thick to give the ears stability.
• I used fabric scraps I had leftover from a leopard print dress. If you are like me and keep every shred of fabric you come across then I'm sure you will have enough to cover the headband and make the ears. If not you won't need to buy a lot.
• I got a metre of wadding for about £1 and that, believe me, is plenty.
• I bought a pack of sequins, also from eBay for about 99p, they are optional but I feel it adds a certain pizzazz...       

You will need:

• A headband
• Fabric scraps
• A glue gun and one glue stick
• Fabric scissors
• Ordinary scissors
• Greaseproof/ Tracing paper 
• Pins
• Disposable gloves
• Wadding
• Sequins (optional)
• Sewing machine/ Hand sewing needle and thread

How to:

Firstly, turn your glue gun on. It will take a while to heat up and soften the glue. Next decide how big you want your ears. This is entirely subjective but bear in mind that they need to stay vertical when placed on the headband and the heavier they are the more likely to droop.

Draw a triangle onto a piece of greaseproof paper. I use this as it's easier to get hold of and probably cheaper than tracing paper. I used a ruler to draw it but you may prefer to freehand. When you have drawn one you are happy with then cut it out. Pin this onto another piece of greaseproof so you end up with two identical triangles. Pin these triangles onto your fabric scaps and cut out two fabric triangles.

When you have your two fabric triangles attach these to the other scraps. Pin the triangle right side up onto the fabric which is wrong side up. This just ensures you can follow the line of the triangle you have already measured and cut out so you can keep them as even as possible (not very easy for me...). 

You should end up with fours pieces of triangular fabric. Pin these together wrong sides out.

Sew them up using a sewing machine or by hand. It is quicker and more secure with a sewing machine but again this is personal choice. I used a zigzag stitch for security. When you have sewn up two of the sides cut the point off the triangles, this ensures it keeps it's shape when turned the right way out. Make sure you only sew up two sides! Turn the triangles the right way out.

Now it's time to get stuffing. Take my advice, be patient with it and only use small bits of wadding. The smaller the better to avoid bulking and no one likes bulking. When your ears are adequately stuffed sew up the bottom edge. You will be left with two plumptious triangles.

Now it's time to glue! If you only take one piece of advice from me, wear gloves. I am not normally a cautious cat but in this instance I was glad I did because that stuff gets disgustingly hot. It's not worth the blisters.... 

Carefully wrap the leftover material around your headband. I pulled it taught over the exterior part to get a rough idea of how much was needed. Work your way around starting at one end of the headband and glue the join to the other side of the headband so it is pristine on top. Put a line of glue onto the headband to anchor the fabric in place whilst you glue the underside.

A top tip is to make sure you fold the edges of the fabric onto the bottom of the headband to help cushion them behind your ears. Make sure it is glued tight and then leave to dry with your ears nearby for safe keeping.

When the headband is dry once again warm up your glue gun and then position your ears. They can lay however you like on the headband but I wouldn't recommend putting them too close together. Glue them securely to the headband and hold in place for a few seconds. Once again leave them to dry then decorate with sequins, if doing so. I put a line of them between the ears and on the front of the ears.

Et voila! You have a super special pair of kitten ears to take you from day to night. Do them justice and don't limit to ghoulish gatherings.