Vacuum Cleaner

Materials:

• One purple kids outfit
• Empty paper towel roll
• Black elastic band
• Lilac felt (2 sheets 9x12 inches each)
• Teal craft foam sheet (1 sheet 12x18 inches)
• Yellow felt (⅓ yard)
• White felt (2 sheets 9x12 inches each)
• Dark purple felt (¼ yard)
• Ribbon
• Miscellaneous felt, yarn, & pom poms for vacuum “dirt”
• Black marker

Instructions: 

For the handle:

1. Use an empty paper towel roll and cover it with lilac felt.
2. Cut a strip of teal craft foam for the handle and glue in a handle loop onto the top of the paper towel tube.
3. At the bottom edge of the tube, cut two slits on either side for an elastic band to fit through.
4. Thread elastic band through and make a knot to secure it to fit around the head. 

For the body:

1. Make a sandwich board style vacuum costume by cutting a long rectangle from yellow felt that fits over the front and back of the body.
2. Cut a circle in the center for the neck opening, and cut a vertical slit at the back neck to make it wider to fit into.
3. Use safety pins to secure closed when wearing. Glue ribbon ties to the sides to tie the costume together.
4. Glue a white panel over the center belly area for the “dust” bin.
5. Glue small pieces of colorful felt and scraps for “dust” particles on the center dust collector section.
6. Have fun with the pieces, making a lego brick, a scrabble piece, a cracker, anything else that might end up inside a vacuum!
7. Use a black marker to dot in specks of dust in the bin. 

For the vacuum base:

1. Use a teal craft foam sheet to make the bottom front of the vacuum.
2. Hot glue to the front bottom edge of the felt body piece.
3. Cut, stuff and glue dark purple felt wheels on either side of the vacuum. 

For the cord:

1. Cut a long strip of dark purple felt for the cord with a plug at the end.
2. Coil it together and wrap around one arm or pin it to the back of the costume.