DIY: A Hoot of a Sweater (and Other Terrible Owlish Puns)

Owl-fit, I mean, OUTfit details: sweater: thrifted, Target label, DIY by moi; dress: BCBG; belt and tights: Target; boots: Buffalo Exchange; vintage glasses: ebay; crinoline: costume shop

Ya'll know I'm just like Britney Spears, right? Not so much the whole mini-school-uniform/crazy-shaved-head Britney Spears. Naw, ya'll. I'm more of the "Oops, I Did It Again" variety. And by "it", I mean I felted a sweater...again. Cuz that's totes what Brit was talkin' about...right?

HOLY MOLY! I interrupt this blog post and these ridiculous references to Britney Spears to inform you of what just went down while I was typing the above mess. I heard this ever-so-quiet lapping sound coming from the kitchen. I assumed it was this girl getting a drink of water...but the lapping went on far too long and my cat is not a heavy drinker (unlike her owner. Kidding! Ish). I decided to check in the kitchen and that's when I found my cat, Asha, planted face first in the large pan of lasagna I'd cooked for supper. That fat cat just ate about $4 of buffalo mozzarella off the top! She's currently happily licking her chops and cleaning her paws while hubs is putting the lasagna back in the oven to cook off her "kitten germs". Because that's how much that man loves lasagna. Me on the other hand? I'm just glad to know that if hair is found in the food, it won't be mine for a change. 

So! Now you know why this isn't a food blog. On with the DIY!

As ya know, this isn't my first trip down the Anthro-Copycat Road. There's my very first felted copy here; this felted floral number that was a rip off a $200 sweater; and this look where I copied both the sweater and the skirt. So I'm kinda an idea-steal-aholic when it comes to Anthro-land. Which I'd apologize for if it didn't save me One...Million...Dollars (said Dr. Evil style, pinky to corner of lip).

Just like so many other of my felting adventures, this one began with a trip to Anthropologie where I spied this kinda lame owl sweater. I mean, come on, Anthro. Is this really the best you got? And for $98? Do you even know how much buffalo mozzarella that'd buy my cat?! She'd be set for at least a week or two.

Since I loved this felted idea but not the execution, I decided to diverge from the Anthro design and come up with my own. Now I know there are these smart people called scientists out there who might inform you that there are many different species of owls. But you don't need no Bill Nye to tell you what they are because you have me! I did all the intense research and discovered that there are three types of owls out there. I present to you The Voluptuous Hooters Owl, That A-Hole Tootsie Roll Owl and, finally, The Ever-Informative Trip Advisor Owl. You can thank me later.

The Voluptuous Hooters Owl. Oh my how she tempts you with her...wings! Yeah, right. Guys, no wife believes you when you say you go there for the wings. But it's cool. We're just glad you're outta the house while we go on an internet shopping bender, amirite ladies? 

Okay, seriously, I knew when I drew my owl, I couldn't have it resemble the icon of my former employer (...did you believe me...!? Didn't buy it for a second, did you? Humph). I mean, it's actually not the whole boobs-in-your-face thing that bothers me, it's that terrible outfit complete with those uber tan tights and bright white scrunchie socks. What is this, 1984?! Although, I'm willing to put money on it that if ole George Orwell had witnessed this version of 1984, he might not have been so down on the future. And that, my friends, is the only literary reference you are ever likely to read on this blog: a connection between Orwell and Hooters. Again, you're welcome.

That A-Hole Tootsie Pop Owl. Look, all that naked kid with the ear that looks like a smooching pair of lips wanted to know was, say it with me, HOW MANY LICKS DOES IT TAKE?! I mean, it's a darn good question! So who does he turn to for the answer? An owl wearing glasses and a graduation cap (which is how you know he's smart, duh), that's whoooo. And that jerk face eats his Tootsie Pop! Which was pretty much the last Tootsie Pop ever consumed after the invention of Blow Pops. I knew I just couldn't have that mean-a## owl on my sweater.

The Ever-Informative Trip Advisor Owl. So I began to draw my own owlish version knowing what I didn't want my owl to resemble. Unfortunately, without my even thinking about it, I ended up creating pretty much the Trip Advisor Owl. For which I'm totally expecting royalties. Yo, T.A.O., why you no text me back for my addy? I need to pay off these interweb-shopping-bender bills!

Once I had my drawing created, I cut out just the eye shape and pinned it to my sweater. Then I went with a similar method that I used when creating this cat sweater: I needle felt outlined my drawing in 100% wool yarn and proceeded to fill it in coloring book style. For an intro into the wild world of felting, go here.

So after the first go-round of felting, my sweater looked like this: The Hooters Owl chocking on a yellow-haired troll doll. Not the look I was going for.

The next day, I got up and altered the eyes a bit, added the "horns" and beak and was feeling a little better. Until I suddenly noticed the strong resemblance to the Trip Advisor Owl.

To add the bow-tie, cuz this wise owl was gonna have a tie, not some stupid graduation cap and glasses like ole Tootsie Pop, I decided to go with a stencil method. I laid the paper where I wanted the tie to go...

Laid the felt on top and commenced punching with my felting needle...

Which looked a little like this when I was finished.

The wings were created with the same outline-and-fill-in method.

And, to give a little shout-out to the Hooters Owl, I added feathers to the chest which I like to refer to as the owl's many boobies. Because that's what they are. Bill Nye told me.

And there you have it! An owl-tastic DIY that will leave your friends asking "Whooooo made that sweater?!" and "Wow, you're so talented, I just wanna hooot and h-OWL!" That is if you're friends are the really annoying pun-tastic kind. Which, if that's the case, I think it's time to look for new friends. Until next time (which will be soon as I have a million Halloweenie DIY's to share! And by a million, I mean three so brace yo'self), keep your Tootsie Pops away from a-hole owls!