Who says animal ears are only for little kids on Halloween? Sure, it may seem a bit childish to parade around town with the top half of a tiger’s face on your head, but fashion is built on expression and creativity. As a fan of regularly wearing my mood on my sleeve, I see no problem in properly accessorizing with animal ears (primarily cat or mouse ears) to complete a look. Animal ear hats and headbands can be incorporated into any casual outfit, when matched up correctly. While they may not be ideal headgear for an office meeting, a toned-down, cat ear headband can be dressed up for a trip to the club or sightseeing with friends. Try throwing them on with simple attire to put more focus on the ears, like a black or a cream-colored dress.
How to Make Your Own Pair of Cat/Mouse Ears
Making your own pair of animal ears is a relatively pain-free process. To build your own cat or mouse ears as a headband, you will need a piece of paper, scissors, thin wire, fake fur, elastic/ribbon, glue (preferably hot glue), needle, thread, marking tool (pen will work fine). Always take care when using these supplies.
1. The first step is to draw two shapes on a piece of paper as a template (draw triangles for cat ears or semi circles for mouse ears). This may require a couple tries to ensure a proper size.
2. Using your template as a guide, take the thin wires and bend them into shape. These will be the basics of your ears.
3. Also using your template as a guide, take the fake fur (you can also use a sheet of colored felt for this) and cut four pieces according to the shape of the templates. Cut them a bit bigger than your paper template so you can fit the wire triangles between them later.
4. Put two fake fur pieces together, fur sides in, and sew down each side (for the cat ears, sew any two sides; for the mouse ears, only sew the circle side). Take care to leave the bottom edge unsown so you can stick the two cut wires in to shape your ears.
5. Do the same for the other two fur pieces.
6. Turn both ears out so the fur is now on the outsides.
7. Insert a bent piece of wire inside each ear and sew up the bottom of both ears. Now that you have your two ears, it is time to create the band!
8. Carefully measure an elastic band or ribbon around the top of your head down to your chin. You may either use glue or a need to hold together the ends.
9. Use a mirror to adjust where you want the ears to go. Mark them where you like, but make sure they are aligned.
10. After determining placement, attach your homemade ears to the band. The best way to do this is with a hot glue gun. Proceed with caution! Then allow your creation some time to dry.
11. Now that your adorable animal ears have dried, try them on and see how they look. Enjoy sporting them around as an accessory to parties, to match with a graphic cat t-shirt, and more!
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