DIY Monkey Ears Headband

My daughter’s second grade class recently put on a rainforest musical. It was simply adorable. Of course, when the call went out to help make costumes for the production, I was happy to volunteer. I ended up designing a DIY monkey ears headband based off the Minnie Mouse Ears I made for my daughter’s second birthday. 

Along with another second grade mom we made 25 girl and boy monkey ears headbands. They were a hit with all of the little monkeys and they helped put those little monkeys in the right mind-set. 

DIY Monkey Ears Headband

Although these were a performance costume, they would also work for a monkey or jungle themed birthday party or even as a Halloween costume. The no-sew monkey ears are easy to make and are very sturdy. The Minnie Mouse Ears these are based off of still get regular play 6 years after I made them, so I expect these monkey ears to be around for a long while too!

Materials

• Brown Felt 
• Tan Felt
• Sticky Foam Sheets (color does not matter)
• Headbands
• 1/2 inch Pink Grosgrain Ribbon (girls)
• 1/8 inch Pink Ribbon (girls)
• Hot Glue
• Sharpie (I used brown)
• Sharp Scissors

Tan felt not shown in picture because I decided to add the inner ears later. They looked too much like bear ears without the inner ear.

Directions

Download the monkey ears template here. (When you click on the link the image will open in a new tab. Right click the image to save it to your computer then print the template directly from your computer.) 

Cut out the pieces of the template. Use a Sharpie to trace the Front of Monkey Ear and Back of Monkey Ear onto brown felt. (We used 8×10 felt sheets from Hobby Lobby.) You can get three ears per 8×10 felt sheet. Remember, you need two ears per headband. Cut out the ears – be sure to cut a slit up the middle of the ear as indicated on the template.

Use a Sharpie to trace the Inner Monkey Ear onto sticky foam sheets. Cut out foam inner ears. (You can get 15 inner ears from one 8×10 foam.)

Use a Sharpie to trace the same Inner Monkey Ear onto tan felt. Cut out felt inner ears. (You can get 15 inner ears from one 8×10 felt.) 

Peel and stick the foam Inner Monkey Ear to the Front of Monkey Ear just above the slit. (Tip stick foam to the side that has Sharpie lines to hide them.) 

Run hot glue along bottom edge of foam and place headband so that it sits under the curve of the inner ear. Pull the flaps created by the slit in the ear up over the headband and secure with hot glue.

Run hot glue along the outer edge of ear and in the middle and place Back of Monkey Ear on top. (Tip glue the side that has Sharpie lines on it to the ear to hide them.) 

Turn ears over and hot glue the tan felt inner ear to the front of monkey ear. (Tip glue the side that has Sharpie lines on it to the ear to hide them.) Trim any edges that don’t line up.

For Girl Monkey Ears

Form two loops with a 10 inch piece of 1/2 inch ribbon. Pinch in the middle, and use a 6 inch piece of 1/8 inch ribbon to tie a knot around the middle leaving three-inch tails on either end. 

Place a dab of hot glue where the bow will be secured and use the tails to tie faux bow to the monkey ear with knots. Secure with another dab of hot glue and trim ends.

We hear so many stories about the arts being dead in school, but I am so excited to see them alive and well in my daughter’s school. While the program was primarily done through music class, art class got involved by making rainforest themed decorations and all of the second grade teachers worked with the kids to help them learn their lines and songs. It was a huge undertaking, and it was my favorite thing my daughter has done in elementary school to date. It was 100% worth the time and effort.