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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!

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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

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

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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Craft book author & pattern designer ❤️💛💙
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How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style . How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style 
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In knitting, there are a few common knitting styles. Most often you’re going to encounter continental style and English (throwing) style on your knitting journey. I recently had an old video teaching continental style get a lot of views. Based on the comments, it was clear the people wanted to also see a throwing tutorial, so here you go! 🧶
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Please note that there is a LOT of variation in knitting styles, and one isn’t necessarily better than another. Most often, I’ve found it comes down to two things: how you were taught and whether or not you’re really into colorwork knitting (which can involve a mix of styles). 
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Longer-term knitters who’ve made it this far: do you prefer one over the other? And why? 
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#handsoccupied #englishknitting #learntoknit #knitting #howtoknit #knittersofinstagram #knitting_inspiration
How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on / a.k.a. crochet provisional cast on, scrap yarn cast on
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I read recently that tiktok and Instagram are being used as search engines more and more. 🤔 I thought since I’m going to all the work of making tutorials on YouTube, I should experiment with making a quick version of them for other platforms. There are obvious teaching limitations to vertical video, short-form content like this, but I think I covered the gist of this cast on in a minute. The YouTube version also covers how to unzip this cast on because there was time for it 👍🏻 L1nk is in my profile. 
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I’m very much looking for feedback as I continue to make instructional knitting & craft videos. Sometimes good tutorials are hard to find, and (ideally polite) feedback helps me improve. 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #knititngtutorial #knittersofinstagram #crochethook #knittingtutorial
For the first time in a long time, there’s a new For the first time in a long time, there’s a new tutorial from Hands Occupied! 🎉 The video is live on YouTube & the blog. 
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The post covers what provisional cast ons are & how they differ, and the video covers how to work a one-step provisional cast on using scrap yarn and a crochet hook. (This is a great one to save for future reference.)
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I learned several names for this method while researching this video & post. Crochet provisional cast on, one-step cast on, scrap yarn cast on - if you know even more names for this technique, please share! 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #scrapyarn #crochethook
Working on a sample for some upcoming videos. It’s an overcast day with intermittent sunshine & I have a scruffy little sidecar. 🐶 Can’t complain! 
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What’s on your needles this week? 
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Yarn: @debbieblissknits Cashmerino Aran 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #knittinglife
Peg boards and craft room organization go together Peg boards and craft room organization go together like peanut butter and jelly. So, as you can see, do latch hook tools and screwdriver organizers! 🪛 
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I think this trick translates to any tool with a thick handle, so leather working tools, punch needles, print making tools, etc. should work! What other tools am I, a needlecrafter, blanking on right now? 
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#craftorganization #handsoccupied #latchhook #latchhooking
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