Homemade Halloween Costumes: No-Sew Dragon Mask and Cape
Homemade Halloween Costumes: No-Sew Dragon Mask and Cape
This week we are introducing a series of DIY Halloween costumes that are great for last minute! I will start the series with this adorable little dragon costume. Even though I sew, it seemed like a fun project to create these cute costumes using the gorgeous wool blend felt we have. I also found a coordinating fabric for the cape, iron-on fuze, and elastic ribbon at my local fabric store. The color palette for this no-sew dragon mask and cape started with the fabric I found for the dragon wings. You might not find the exact same fabric, but if you shop in the quilting section, you’ll find many fun options to choose from!
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For your cape, you will need 1/2–1 yard of fabric depending on your child's age and size. For reference, I used less than half a yard for this 3-year-old's costume. You will want to pick up 2 yards of matching elastic ribbon to use for the mask and tie around the neck of the cape and wristbands. You will also need a half-yard of iron-on fuse, which you will use to assemble all of the pieces of your mask. I like using fuse better than hot glue on felt as it keeps things flat and crisp. For the red fire flames, I simply glued two pieces onto a wooden dowel so that my little dragon could have some interactive play.
For tools you will need sharp fabric scissors, pinking shears for the cape, an iron, and a hot glue gun. I love to use pinking shears for no-sew projects to keep any edges from fraying with the zig-zag cut. I also used white chalk to draw the outline of my wings onto the fabric. You can use a white pencil or even a soft crayon. For my felt, I chose two shades of green, a teal, and black and red for the fire.
Follow the Steps to Make This at Home
Once you have gathered all of your materials and tools, you can download the dragon mask pattern and guide for the cape wings at the end of this post. I have prepared a step-by-step tutorial to show you how I assembled the no-sew dragon mask and the cape. I know there is one happy little dragon here in these photos and you could have one too! Hop over here for adorable (and easy peasy) superhero costumes! ~ Lia
Tools
- Fabric Scissors or Kai 8″ Scissors
- Pinking Shears — Zig Zag
- High-Temp Hot Glue Gun
- Iron
- Colored Pencils – White (for cape)
Materials
- Lia Griffith Wool Blend Felt - Shamrock, Magical Forest, Mint, Black, and Cherry
- Heat N' Bond - Fusible Interfacing
- Wood Dowel
- Fabric
- Elastic Ribbon (2 yards for mask and cape)
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Discussion
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39 Comments
are there more detailed written instructions provided or only the photographs?
For this post we only have the photo tutorial rather than written instructions. This was one of my original posts, created 9 years ago. 😉
Hi! I saw you gave the amount of felt needed for the cape, but how much for the mask? Thanks! Making this for my nieces for Halloween this year!
Hi Anna,
You will need one 8.5×11 sheet of each color of felt needed for the mask!
Hi, I’m so happy I came across this post while looking for an easy, no sew, dragon costume. I don’t see, but I do usually make my kids costumes, so this looks perfect for my skills 😉 I want to add a dragon tail, so I’m wondering what you would suggest for constructing one? Thanks!
How fun! You could make a tail with felt, hand stitch and stuff with poly-fil!
Do you have a bat pattern or can the dragon pattern be modified? My great-granddaughter wants to be a bat and who can refuse a 4 yr. old?
Ahh no, we don’t have a bat pattern! You could certainly use this pattern for the wings. Maybe a cute headband instead of a mask? 🙂 https://liagriffith.com/diy-felt-cat-ears/, https://liagriffith.com/diy-bat-wings-headband/
Hi,
Thank you so much for this wonderful pattern. I’m sorry if this question has been asked or if it’s kinda silly, but how can I print this to where it’s large enough to trace it in the size I need for my toddlers? Thanks so much!
Hello! For this project, we just supplied the dragon wing pattern as a guide, not an actual template to print & cut from so you can freehand. We drew the pattern with chalk first before cutting. I hope that helps!
Hi Lia, thank you for the idea and layout. My son will be a dragon in his upcoming school theatre. I was looking all over the internet for a simple yet cute costume for him. I came across to your website through Pinterest. Your design is simply awesome and easy to make. Keep up the good work!
I’m so happy to hear this! We would love to see photos if you’d like to share when you’re done– send to hello@liagriffith.com 🙂
Love this pattern! I made 4 for my 9 year old daughter and her friends. They love the Wings of Fire book series so they are each a different dragon! I ordered the felt from the Etsy shop you suggested, they have awesome colors and are excellent quality!
I am so glad to hear that this worked out for you!! This sounds absolutely adorable! Having nice quality felt definitely makes a difference 🙂 If you have any suggestions for Halloween costumes that I should attempt next year please let me know! 😉
Thank you for a wonderful template! I couldn’t resist making this dragon mask for my 3.5-year old son without any special occassion! 🙂
http://domusfeltinis.blogspot.com/2015/05/drakono-kauke-dragon-mask.html
Adorable! Thank you for sharing!!! Can I share it on my FB?
Sure you can share it on your FB! Sorry for not having replied earlier – I just now noticed the comment…
Thanks for this truly nice tutorial. My kid was one happy dragon last week!
http://enattendantlehamster.blogspot.fr/2015/03/costume-de-dragon-rapide-et-facile.html
Love it!!! Can I share the images on my Facebook page?
Thank you for the great templates. I made a modified version of the mask for a friend’s daughter. I used felt glue instead of the webbing and it worked great.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=907342409297950&l=091b7a25a8
Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
This is fantastic!! thank-you so much. Just what I was looking for 🙂
Great! That little dragon has gotten so many compliments for his costume, he is just so adorable wearing it:)
Hi Lia,
Thanks for the beautiful tutorial and pattern. Where did you get the cape fabric? Thanks!
Hi Valerie, I got the fabric for the cape at my local fabric store.
Hi Lia..you are awsome.My son is having a dragon week in his school.This is awsome for him.Could you please tell me where I can find the Guide to cut the pieces for face.Than you in advance.
Great to hear! You can download them by using the button at the end of the post.
My almost 10 year old daughter wants to be a dragon for Halloween and I found your pattern and love it. I have a question about the cape. It looks like 1 piece in the picture of him wearing it but in the picture where you were cutting it out, it looks like you cut it in the middle, just not all the way. Can you clarify that for me? Also, did you do anything to make the mast more rigid? Most felt I have seen is not stiff so wondering if you treated it with anything. It is a super cute costume.
Thanks,
Robin
Hi Robin, so happy you and your daughter love the dragon costume. The cape is cut in the middle, just not all the way. It doesn’t show that well in the picture when he is wearing it:) I do not treat the felt, however the felt I use is a good wool blend so that it is a bit more comfortable to wear against their skin. I love the felt I get from Benzie designs on Etsy, link in the post. Have fun! Hope you have a happy dragon;-)
Pretty sure this is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen! Love your creativity.
Thank you! I had a lot of fun making these costumes and even more fun photographing the cute little munchkin:)
Okay… this couldn’t have been cuter! OMG… makes one want little ones in the house again… 🙂
I know right, me too:) Although I was pretty exhausted after having 4 little kids at my house. But boy did we have fun! They were all so cute and it was really fun to see how excited they were!
Awesome post liked it…. going with it this year.
Thank you! Have to say it is one of my favorite posts;-)
Lia, THANKS YOU SO MUCH…..I’m planning my son 6th birthday, it will be in November and it’s all about dragons… we already made lovely kites for the kids to fly and run around the park and now this awesome-perfect outfit will make him feel really special… You have made my day. God bless you darling.
Yay, you just put a huge smile on my face! Your son’s birthday party sounds fabulous and so happy that the dragon costume will make him feel really special. Sounds like he has a really special mom;-) Would love to see pictures if you are willing to share at hello@liagriffith.com
This is amazing, Lia! You are so creative, and come up with projects that are so accessible. I love this way of making masks. I think I might use the same technique and create some designs for my niece. They would also be such great party favors. Too bad my son has outgrown that stage!
Hi Suzanne, stay tuned for girl’s mask this week:)
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