Recently, my almost three-year-old declared that for Halloween he wants to dress up as his latest obsession: Bob the Builder. My first thought: check if Bob the Builder costumes are sold online, and for how much.
I quickly found a costume, but – to my dismay – the price tag rang $23. Now for a crafty (and thrifty) mom like myself, that’s an immediate signal to dig out the craft supplies and start brainstorming.
To save money, I purchased denim overalls from a thrift store for fifty cents. I already had a construction hat and orange t-shirt at home. The last costume detail was Bob’s yellow tool belt. With just a little felt and under an hour at the sewing machine, the belt was made and fit my son perfectly (only now, he won’t take it off – even for bedtime).
Here’s how to make a kid’s tool belt from felt:
Required craft materials:
– 2 sheets of bright yellow craft felt
– 1 sheet of light brown felt
– sewing machine
– yellow thread
– Velcro (with adhesive)
– scissors
Kid’s tool belt instructions:
1. Determine the belt width needed to fit your child’s waist. I found that the length of two felt pieces plus a buckle would fit my two-year-old’s waist. Adjust the following craft instructions to your child’s measurements.
2. Fold one sheet of bright yellow felt lengthwise, then cut up the center to end up with two long rectangles.
3. Fold each rectangle in half again, lengthwise. Sew both the folded and unfolded edges of each rectangle with a straight stitch.
4. Place the two rectangles on top of each other, and sew together only on the short side to attach end-to-end. This creates the biggest length of the tool belt.
5. Cut two identical squares from the light brown felt, slightly larger than the height of the tool belt. Place together and sew around the edges to attach.
6. Cut a small square from yellow felt, and sew around the edges to attach in the middle of the brown square. This completes the belt buckle.
7. Sew the belt buckle onto one of the unfinished ends of the yellow belt. For the other end of the belt, simply stitch a line across to finish.
8. If your kids have tools, grab some for sizing in this next step. Cut small rectangular strips from yellow felt and add seams on both sides for support. Position the loops on the sides of the tool belt and stitch in place, leaving enough room to slide the tools in and out.
9. Consider making a small pocket from the yellow felt to sew onto the tool belt – to hold play nails or screws, or – in my son’s case – his plastic level.
10. The final step is to attach Velcro to hold the belt in place. I placed the ‘soft’ side of the Velcro on the end of the yellow belt, facing upward. I placed the ‘hard’ side of the Velcro under the tool belt’s buckle, facing downward. With this arrangement, the Velcro remains unseen. Though my Velcro had a sticky back and stuck well to the felt, I also stitched briefly through the soft half to secure it in place.
That’s it! Your felt kid’s tool belt is complete. Whether your child is also dressing up like Bob the Builder, or you just have kids that love to play ‘construction,’ this easy craft is so simple and affordable (and can probably be made with materials you already have on hand!). Happy crafting!
More from this contributor:
– 5 Easy Apple Crafts for Toddlers
– 5 Art-Themed Kids Halloween Costume Ideas
– How to Make a Kid’s Felt Wallet