Friday 3 October 2008

Enter the Dragon: Part II

So, as promised, here is the top bit of dragon suit. Or Doot as it's known in the Kinkatink household.


Find an appropriate garment to draw around (like a hoody). I only drew it onto newspaper because I thought I didn't have enough fleece left and so spent ages working out the optimum arrangement. As it happened, I didn't have enough fleece left, so I had to go back to Ikea and get another bit, so I could have just drawn straight round the fleece. Doh.





If you're sewing spikes in, you have to remember to sew it up in a funny order, and to cut the back piece in half (allowing a little bit for seams as well).



The order I did was:

  • Shoulder seams
    Arms on
  • Hood pieces on
  • Spikes in and under arm seam together
  • Spikes running up the back


  • Then I thought it was missing something, so I sewed a 'tummy' on. This has brought great critical acclaim from Child B, who rubs it convincingly, going 'Yummy dragon tummy' like he's just eaten something particularly delicious.

  • It also looked a bit raw at the front, so I sewed a bias type tape of the orange fleece around the hood. If you wanted to be a bit less full on, using the main colour would work well too - although with fancy dress, I would err on the side of 'more is more'. It does have a bit of an 'Oh my god they killed Kenny' look about it now, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.


  • Here is the dragon in action. Being a creature of mythical power, he's rather hard to catch on camera. At least that's my excuse for the poor picture. Below he has been subdued by his fearful adversary Brave Sir Dander. Or Siddhartha as a friend of a friend thought he was called.












All in all, these two costumes were probably three evenings work - less if I hadn't had to keep remeasuring and had just gone and got a second bit of material. Child B loves his so much he sleeps in it, and Child A, although less effusive, seems fairly chuffed with his too. Time well spent.