Gifts for Kids: Accessories for Furry Friends

I have two boys, and I love having boys more than I ever thought I would. That said, I'm not making any doll clothes over here which would be a pretty fun handmade gift. But just because we don't have dolls, doesn't mean they don't have friends that they would like to dress up sometimes. Take Mr. Owl here (Kohls Cares for Kids right now, by the way --$5). Given Thing Two's love of owls I had to buy him. But he looked kind of sad, really plain. 

My solution? Crochet a quick hat and scarf for him. Doesn't he look friendlier? And warmer? My sister-in-law made the hat which I am thinking she did with normal yarn and fat knitting needles to give it a very airy stretch (perfect for poking ears through). For the scarf I just crocheted two rows of double crochet about 30 inches long and added some fringe to the ends when I was done. Don't knit or crochet? No problem. Just cut a scarf from some fleece fabric and snip the edges to fringe. No need to sew, because fleece doesn't fray. This is an easy way to make matching kid/stuffed animal scarves, since you can just cut them both from the fleece.  Make sure to cut the animal scarf nice and long so you can wrap it all the way around the neck and have it hang down on both sides (like below) this will help to keep it from falling off too easily.

Stuffed friends can also benefit from hats that turned out to be too small. Face it, if you don't like trying to figure out sizing and instructions for crochet or knitting patterns (me) some of your winging-it projects are going to be the wrong size for your kids...but the right size for bear!

Last year I knit matching hats for Thing One and Thing Two. Thing One's hat still fits, but Thing Two has out grown his, so now Señor León can match his partner in crime.

I don't know any moms who enjoy the extra bundling up to go out in the winter, or any kids for that matter. But maybe it's a little more fun when a tag along stuffed animal also dons his hat and scarf to venture out to the car. Of course these we be great for dolls as well, if you happen to have any.

Thanks for reading! See you soon!

- Haley