It was only the week before Halloween when my husband and I came up with the idea to be a dragon and a wizard. Perfect! His wizard costume was easy to make and my dragon costume was SO MUCH FUN to make.
This dragon costume is mostly made up of craft foam and duct tape. The craft foam is lightweight and flexible and the duct tape adds strength where needed.
Dragon Costume Materials
- plain mask form
- metal brads
- 2 paper towel rolls (or 1 wrapping paper roll)
- craft foam (I bought a whole roll and used this for much of the dragon costume. It’s really easy to cut, it’s lightweight and flexible, and it can handle some wear-and-tear.)
- foam glue (or elmer’s glue)
- colored duct tape (I used black and blue DuckTape Brand)
- acrylic paint in coordinating colors (I used Folk Art Cayman Blue, Folk Art Aqua Moire Pearl, and Dazzling Metallics Shimmering Silver.)
- tulle
- 1 wire hanger
- 1/4″ elastic
How to make a dragon mask
Starting with the paper towel rolls, begin cutting into a spiral. Each spiral should be cut in the opposite direction.
Pull the spiral tight and attach with metal brads. Use a pin to poke a hole for the metal brads to easily slip into. The tube should take on a slight curve.
Flatten the bottom ends of the horns and staple onto the mask.
Begin cutting craft foam to fit the shape of the mask. I found it easiest to attach the foam with the metal brads so I didn’t need to wait for glue to dry. Add layers to create “scales.”
Cut an oversized piece of craft foam for the nose and glue on. Clip with clothes pins and allow glue to dry overnight. Trim the nose piece to the desired shape.
Cut 4 pieces for the dragon “ears” leaving extra foam on 2 pieces to attach to the backside of the mask. For a scale effect, hold a piece of tulle over the craft foam and lightly paint with a foam brush.
With the 2 other pieces, cut boning for the ears. Glue onto the base pieces. Allow this to dry. Attach the dragon ears to the backside of the mask with metal brads (I reinforced this with glue).
Poke holes through the craft foam and tie on the elastic. Paint your mask with a foam brush and leave some brush strokes for a cool effect.
How to make dragon wings
To make dragon wings,bend a wire hanger into a diamond shape, cut in the middle, unwind the 2 pieces.
Cut a piece of craft foam to a square slightly larger than 1 half of the wire hanger.
Fold the craft foam over the wire and secure with duct tape.
Cover the front and back with colored duct tape.
Lightly paint over the colored duct tape with a metallic paint (I only painted one side).
Cover the wing with tulle and secure with another strip of duct tape around two edges. Trace your wing shape onto more craft foam. Cut the boning and glue onto the wing. Allow to dry overnight.
Attach the two wings together with duct tape. Wrap with craft foam to cover any sharp points.
Cut two pieces of elastic so the dragon wings are worn like a backpack. Attach one end to the center where the wings are connected and the other partway up the center of the wings. This helps them lay flat on the back.
How to make a dragon tail
Cut a piece of craft foam as long as you want the tail to hang plus about 6 inches. Cover the front side with duct tape. This will help keep the tail from ripping.
Fold over the top of the tail creating a space to slide onto a belt.
Cut dragon tail scales and staple them on starting at the narrow end of the tail while leaving room for the square end piece. Each scale should cover the staples from the previous scale. Cover the last scale (at the top of the dragon tail) with some duct tape to conceal the staples. Cover the entire backside of the tail with more duct tape.
Cut 2 square pieces of craft foam for the end of the tail. Staple these pieces on the front and back of the tail. Cover with colored duct tape. The staples will provide a steadier hold than glue while the duct tape covers the staples and adds weight.
Paint the scales. I started with blue, layered on metallic blue, and finalized with silver tips. Paint the square end of the dragon tail to match the dragon wings, cover in tulle, and glue on a piece of craft foam for boning. Allow glue to dry overnight.
Dragon Costume Accessories
- 2 pairs of fishnet stockings (learn how to make sleeves out of stockings from Tez)
- vest
- mini skirt
- t-shirt or tank top
- boots
Dragon & Wizard Costumes
These Halloween costumes were so much fun to make and wear.
Do you hand-make your Halloween costumes?
I know I’m a little late, but that mask looks amazing! I wish I didn’t have glasses…
Thanks! :) Never too late to be a dragon and you could totally make the mask to work with glasses. My husband wears glasses and we’ve made him several masks that he can wear with them. Use a pair of cheap sunglass frames that can fit over your glasses and build the mask around them. Works great!
Oh, thank you!
Hello. I love the way you made the tail for this costume! I was just wondering if you remembered the proportions of any of it (like the length or width at the top of the tail)? I’m attempting to recreate this for my daughter. Thanks for any input!
Hi Belinda – So excited that you’re making this for your daughter. I’m estimating that the tail went from about 2″ at the top down to about 1″. My best recommendation is to cut out a piece of paper to use as a template to get an idea of the size that works.
Send me a picture!! I’d love to see it. :)
Im not recreating this whole thing, but using the way you made the horns for my Icewing dragon costume… i think they would work well. Did you cut the spiral with scissors or a knife?
Hi Kaelyn – I believe I cut the roll with a scissors. Send me a picture!! I’d love to see how they turn out. :)
Hi Cathi
I’m only making wings and tail. Do you cut the boning out of the craft foam? And also I was wondering did you spray the tulle onto the wing? How does it stay flat on the bottom part that’s cut?thank you, cute outfit!!
Hi Virginia – Yes, the boning on the wings was cut from craft foam. When it’s attached to the wings it held down the tulle well enough so the loose edge didn’t move.
Send me a photo of your costume!!! I can’t wait to see it :)
Hi Cathi,
i want to recreate your mask.
May i know how you color the horns?
Thank you
The horns were painted with black acrylic paint. Send me a picture of your dragon mask, I’d love to see how it turns out. :)
Hey! Sorry i’m three years late but could I possibly hot glue/ staple the horns onto a headband instead of a mask? And the tail, can I make it about floor length? Thanks also this is great!! I love it!
Hi Caitlin – It’s never too late to be a dragon :) Yes, I think you could use a headband for the horns, that’s a great idea!. And absolutely the tail could be floor length. Send pics of your costume, I would love to see it.