• 0 items$0.00
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

  • BLOG
    • Knitting
    • Crochet
    • Latch Hook
    • Macramé
  • ABOUT
  • Shop
  • Studio
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

How-to: Faux Bois Sweatshirt & Tree Costume

October 21, 2013 5 Comments

How-to: Faux Bois Sweatshirt & Tree Costume - Hands Occupied

I’m a total lover of faux bois, a.k.a. woodgrain, prints. I first learned how to draw a faux bois print in seventh grade art class, and it’s been my favorite thing to doodle ever since. I have been wanting to do a dyed faux bois DIY style project for months, but then I realized how amazing it would be to do a faux bois style project to incorporate in a Halloween costume. I think saving this idea was the right decision!

Supplies

for the sweatshirt
scissors
iron & ironing board
freezer paper
white shirt/sweatshirt
Tacky Glue (lots!)
balloon
brown dye
sink/washing machine (depending on your dye’s directions)

for the costume
fake leaf garland
green, yellow & brown eye shadows
mascara
brown eyeliner
lip gloss

Directions

Wash and dry your sweatshirt before you begin. Turn it inside out and iron freezer paper to the whole inside of the garment, sleeves and all.

How-to: Faux Bois Sweatshirt & Tree Costume - Hands Occupied

Turn your sweatshirt right side out. If you’ve got a pocket on your sweatshirt, iron freezer paper to the inside of that too. Trim any excess freezer paper.

How-to: Faux Bois Sweatshirt & Tree Costume - Hands Occupied

Draw a faux bois (woodgrain) pattern over the entire front of your sweatshirt with Tacky Glue. Let dry 24 hours.

How-to: Faux Bois Sweatshirt & Tree Costume - Hands Occupied

Flip the sweatshirt over and draw a woodgrain pattern over the entire back of the sweatshirt. If you’re working with a hooded garment, put an inflated balloon inside the hood to hold it up. Draw a woodgrain pattern over the whole hood with Tacky Glue. Let it all dry 24 hours once again. The glue dries clear, like this:

How-to: Faux Bois Sweatshirt & Tree Costume - Hands Occupied

Remove the freezer paper from the inside of your sweatshirt, and dye it brown according to your dye package’s instructions. Be careful if your instructions suggest using super hot water, because your glue will begin to dissolve. You might want to use just warm water instead. The glue is how the woodgrain pattern gets printed, so if the glue disappears while the shirt’s still in the dye bath, the pattern won’t turn out.

How-to: Faux Bois Sweatshirt & Tree Costume - Hands Occupied

Most dyes involve washing and drying your garment as the last step. The last of the glue will dissolve in the wash.

Tree Costume

I was inspired by Peter Pan’s lost boys for the look of my tree costume. All you need to make this work, other than the DIY sweatshirt, is a fake leaf garland (check craft stores’ floral departments) as a scarf and the right hair & makeup.

For the makeup, I dabbed a little yellow eyeshadow on my tear ducts and used a dark green shadow for my lids. Then, I added just a little brown eyeliner and mascara on the eyes and a really light pink lip gloss. The real clincher for the makeup is rubbing brown eyeshadow at random on your face, and doing your hair as messily as possible – I recommend a good hair wax for pixie-cut hair. For an extra messy touch, I had my husband “style” my hair during our little photo shoot for this post. 

How-to: Faux Bois Sweatshirt & Tree Costume - Hands Occupied

I’m looking forward to going as a toasty warm tree this Halloween! No revealing costumes for this lady. Why would I bother? I’m going to be SO comfy!

Linking at Skip to my Lou, Creative Jewish Mom & I Heart Nap Time.

Filed Under: DIY Style, Halloween, How-to Tagged With: craft, crafts, diy, diy style, faux bois, faux bois sweatshirt, halloween costume, halloween diy, leaf, modest, tree, warm, woodgrain, woodgrain sweatshirt

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

Previous Post: « Weekly Reader
Next Post: The Mobile Living Room »

Reader Interactions

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?
Visit similar articles...

  • Weekly ReaderWeekly Reader
  • How-to: Duck Tape Tablet Case & Foldover ClutchHow-to: Duck Tape Tablet Case & Foldover Clutch
  • How-to: Washi Tape Statement NecklaceHow-to: Washi Tape Statement Necklace
  • Dimensional Easter Egg EarringsDimensional Easter Egg Earrings

DON’T MISS ANOTHER UPDATE

Comments

  1. Rachel | 52 Weeks Project

    October 21, 2013 at 12:23 pm

    So cool Heidi! That sweatshirt is amazing :)

    Reply
  2. Carol

    October 22, 2013 at 9:13 pm

    What a great idea!

    Reply
  3. creativejewishmom/sara

    October 23, 2013 at 6:04 pm

    Fantastic Heidi, and so happy to “meet” a top notch crafter like you, hope you’ll join the party regularly, everyone will be thrilled!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      October 23, 2013 at 7:17 pm

      Why thank you! So happy to e-meet you too! You’re on my list of linkys to join on the regular – I love your site :).

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Wood Grain Printing | pinfollow.me feeds says:
    October 31, 2013 at 5:02 pm

    […] Repin Like The sweatshirt for this fun tree costume was printed using tacky glue and dye, which I think is a useful technique to know, and the result is very effective. Go here for the tutorial. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

Professionally I’m most known for: advanced intarsia knitting design & modern latch hook design.

work with heidi

UPDATES BY EMAIL

Get a free pattern + biweekly updates sent to your inbox.

Let’s be friends!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Latch Hook by Heidi Gustad

Footer

INSTAGRAM

handsoccupied

Craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. / #latchhookbook out now!
.
knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
This dang Yarniversal Championship Belt just makes This dang Yarniversal Championship Belt just makes me so happy! Even more now that it’s helped me connect with fellow crafting & wrestling crossover fans. ❤️ 
.
On the blog today - link is in bio, you can take a look at a bunch more process photos that didn’t make the Design Diary video. For maker-designer types in particular, the post has detail shots & a full supply list. I’m so happy with how the @knit_picks Wool of the Andes colors worked out combined with some neutral handspun! ✂️🧶
.
.
Pictured: A close up of a smiling woman with a punch needle version of a wrestling title belt on her shoulder. 
.
#punchneedle #handsoccupied #kpambassadorsapr21 #sponsored #wooloftheandes #knitpicks #rugmaking #heidigustad #universalchampion #titlebelt #wool
Happy Wrestlemania weekend, folks!!! 🎊 It’s c Happy Wrestlemania weekend, folks!!! 🎊 It’s coincidentally International Punch Needle Rug Hooking Day today, so I’d be remiss not to share a first look at this project finished JUST in time to wear while I watch some rasslin’ on a pirate ship in a football stadium in Tampa! 💪🏻 I’m excited to watch tonight’s women’s matches the most. Eee!
.
.
Pictured: A blond woman in a denim dress and glasses wearing a giant belt made with punch needle. The belt is made with wool in primary colors and was inspired by the WWE Universal Championship title belt. 
.
This is just a preview - after jab 2.0 tomorrow (feeling grateful 🙏🏼), I’ll be editing together a vlog about the design process for this wooly waist cover. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to make some of your wilder craft ideas come to life. Stuff you’ll never find a pattern for, you know? I’ll finish editing that ASAP, but I might take a few days to edit if I feel like trash from 💉 and only want to watch wrestling and wrestling YouTube for a day or two. 😂
.
.
#ipnrhd #punchneedle #wwe #wrestling #championshipbelt #wool #yarn #handmade #universalchampionship #universalchampion #rugmaking #wrestlingfan #wrestlemania37 #wrestlemania
A look at the halo on the back of my wrestling-ins A look at the halo on the back of my wrestling-inspired punch needle project! It’s interesting to see how fuzzy the handspun beige yarn is compared with the primary color sections of @knit_picks Wool of the Andes Bulky. ❤️💛💙🤎 
.
Pictured: The back of an in-progress punch needle project. A wooden punch needle tool sits on the work.
.
#punchneedle #woolrug #rugmaking  #kpambassadorsapr21 #sponsored #griefproject #handsoccupied #wrestlingfan #universalchampion #yarn #yarncraft #wool #needlepunch
Happy Easter / One week til Wrestlemania! Finishin Happy Easter / One week til Wrestlemania! Finishing up the punch needling part of this crazy @wwe inspired project by tonight. 💪🏻🧶 Anybody else have crafty plans for this fine spring day? 
.
Pictured: A blond woman sits, smiling and holding an in-progress punch needle project inspired by the Universal Championship belt. Houseplants are in the background and there’s lots of sun. 
.
#punchneedle #griefproject #handsoccupied #heidigustad #wrestlingcrafts #wwe #universalchampion #universalchampionship #wool #wooloftheandes #primarycolors #oxfordpunchneedle
I'm finally starting to get some of my energy back I'm finally starting to get some of my energy back from the past few weeks, and as I dip my toe back into production mode, the long-promised seamed sweater knitting YouTube series is at the top of my list. I've got FOUR versions of a simple sweater I've been playing with since last JULY to feature as a free pattern for folks who want to knit along during the series. Pictured is the first prototype for the series, knit in 2 colors of @knit_picks Mighty Stitch yarn. I imagine this soon-to-be short sleeved number will come in handy as an emergency Waldo costume or Christmas sweater. 🌲 
.
I've got my own list of topics I think folks would like to see in a series like this: things like tips for construction, working with vintage patterns, how to seam as invisibly as possible, and more, but as always, I'd love to hear from you: What scares you about knitting seamed sweaters? What would be helpful to cover, especially since we'll be doing more long form video content. I get so much positive feedback on my series of 20 minute+ intarsia tutorials, so I'm using those as a starting point as I produce this series. Seamed sweaters using vintage or self-improvised patterns are one of my favorite things on the planet, so I'm eager to share some seamed sweater skills with y'all super sweet folks. 😉 
.
.
Pictured: A red and white striped, short sleeved sweater knit in pieces that have yet to be seamed. They are laid out on a yellow and orange colorblock background and one sleeve is yet to be bound off. 
.
#handsoccupied #seamedsweater #kpambassadorsmar21 #sponsored #knitpicks #waldo #waldosweater #wip #yarncraft #yarn #knitting #knittersofinstagram #heidigustad #vintageknitting #sweaterknitting
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 / Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework / Branding by Ink + Mortar
All Site & Shop Policies / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy