How-to: Faux Bois Sweatshirt & Tree Costume

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.

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.

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

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:

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.

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. 

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.