Seasonal Activities

Appreciate a Dragon Day: Sew a Felt Dragon Mask and Tail

Appreciate a Dragon Day falls on 16 January, and in our house that means dress-up. Here is the felt dragon mask and tail we made, and how to sew your own.

Updated 15 September 2026

Child wearing a homemade felt dragon mask and tail

Quick answer

A grown-up make: cut the mask and tail pieces from three colours of felt using a dress-up template, sandwich elastic between the mask layers, sew the edges and horns, then stuff the tail and sew it to a waist elastic. An evening's work for years of roaring.

Did you know there was an Appreciate a Dragon Day? Neither did we. It started in 2004 as part of a book launch, but in our house we love dressing up as dragons, reading dragon books and watching Zog, so it is the perfect excuse to talk about dragons and, of course, to roar like one.

Alex's dragon set came from the book DIY Kids Dress Up, which has a printable template. It was simple to sew, and the longest part was cutting out the pieces. This one is a project for the grown-up; the child's job is the wearing.

Felt dragon mask pieces pinned and sewn, with horns, snout and side frills

1. Sew a felt dragon mask and tail

A grown-up make for dragon-mad little ones: a felt mask with horns and frills, and a stuffed tail on an elastic waistband.

Best forDressing-up play and roaring
AgeMade by a grown-up, worn from 2
TimeAn evening, mostly cutting out
Mess levelLow
DifficultyMedium
CostUnder £10 in felt and elastic

You will need

A sewing machine
Good fabric scissors
Felt in three colours
Elastic for the head and the waist
Toy stuffing
A dragon mask and tail template: ours came from the book DIY Kids Dress Up

How to set it up

Mask: cut two main face pieces, a set of horns, two nostrils, a snout and two side frills.
Layer and pin them, with the head elastic sandwiched between the two main face pieces.
Cut the eye holes, then sew around the eyes, the snout and the edge of the mask. Sew on the horns last.
Tail: cut two main tail pieces in one colour, two frills in another, and a few arrow shapes.
Pin and sew the arrows onto one tail piece for the top side. Pin the frills in place and sew all around the edge except the top.
Stuff the tail as full as you like, pin the waist elastic in place and sew the top shut.

Why it helps

Dressing up is imaginative play at its best: a mask and a tail are enough for a whole afternoon of roaring, storytelling and taking on a character, which builds language, confidence and the ability to see the world from another point of view. Skip the gloves if the template has them; getting them on and off becomes a chore.

Safety notes

Check the eye holes are large enough to see through comfortably, keep elastic loose enough to slip off easily, and never leave a small child wearing elastic unsupervised.

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