Boring Balaclava Transformed

I ordered this mini balaclava with the intention of protecting my toddler's face this winter.

Snowshoeing with baby

Last winter we had lots of great snow and I had just been given a new pair of snowshoes. When it wasn't bitter cold, off we went, snowshoeing through the woods. My baby was dressed warmly in a hat, neck muff, and snowsuit. I thought we were fine until one day I noticed a purple mark developing on her cheek. It wasn't getting better and I couldn't track it back to any event. After seeing a dermatologist, cold panniculitis was the diagnosis. As Wiki also told me, it is a skin condition characterized by inflammation of the subcutaneous fat after exposure to cold, most often seen in infants and young children. I was shocked...but wondered what else I could do to protect her face.

Cold Panniculitis

The balaclava came in the mail from Land's End. I knew it would be a little boring, especially compared to this year's surplus of animal hats. I had been eyeing the owl winter hats in the stores, maybe we could transform this boring balaclava into something more exciting: an owl balaclava?

Owl Balaclava Hat

After perusing Google Images, I was ready to start my own project. I looked through the fleece I had and started cutting circles. Then I pinned them on and used my sewing machine's embroidery stitch to sew around each circle. A little nose got stitched on. Finally I removed some stitches in the seam in order to add pom-poms. All the while, my toddler kept visiting me and saying, "owl? owl?" Yes, Kessa, it is an owl, just for you!