How to Grow a Full Beard in Seven Days

First you have to do some prep work by reading The Lord of The Rings.

Secondly, you have to have a mother who knows how to knit.

day 285

  This Halloween, my son and I decided to combine our super powers of science fiction reading and knitting to make him a partial costume since he’s feeling too old for the full thing.  Books and hand crafts  – yes, we have wild and crazy times in our home.

On day two we find my dwarven warrior wearing bobbles on his head.   At this point the needles are the only fierce looking thing about it.

 I think he realizes this.

 Below, you see day 6 and he’s got a whole Nebuchadnezzar look going on.  This will really blow them away in Sunday School.  (Like I said, wild and crazy times.)

 I threaded the braid strands through stitches at the temple.  They were 9 to 12 strands thick, for those of you on the edge of your seat, ready to rush right out and get supplies for your very own dwarf beard.

By day 7, the bobbles have been felted to look almost like rivets.  The only hitch was that felting it in warm water for 5 minutes made Gimli’s braids look a little more like dreads.  But Gimli was a pretty cool dude, so I think it’s okay.

  Yeah, he likes it.

more on my Flickr and my Ravelry