The Dragon Party
I’ll share ALL the details about my son’s dragon party in a future post, but for now just let me say this: It was one of my favorite parties of all time. Seriously. The kids (mostly age 3) had such a great time, and I was so happy with how everything turned out.
One thing I loved most was seeing all the kiddos flying {running} around in these adorable dragon wings I made as party favors for each invited guest. And guess what? YOU could make them, too! Let’s get to it.
Making the Wings
I found this great, detailed tutorial from Louise of I’m Feelin’ Crafty, and I was SO excited to have found such great instructions! It’s always so nice when someone has already paved the way for you by executing, documenting, and sharing an idea you have in your head – it makes it so much easier!
I had found these super cute felt masks online and decided to buy them rather than try to make them (someday I will give it a go… just not yet). After ordering the masks, I went to my local fabric store, coupons ready, and bought fleece in colors that matched the masks.
Materials (per set of wings), per Feelin’ Crafty’s tutorial:
- Fleece
- 2 metal hangers
- Fusible Adhesive, like Steam to Seam or Heat’n Bond Ultra
- Elastic, 18inches*
- Thread
- Scissors
- Wire Cutters
My Time:
About 45-60 minutes each
My Notes/Tips:
- Timing – I didn’t know it would take so long to make these, I’ll be honest! After the first pair or two, I started getting into a groove (which is what brought it down to about 45 minutes per set)
- Ironing – The most time-consuming part is probably ironing the top layer on top of the bottom layer. Louise mentions in her tutorial, “This ironing step takes a little while”… she’s not kidding! It’s ironing around the metal hanger pieces – especially the vertical bones – that make it quite a bit more time-intensive than I thought. I tried shortcuts, but nope, this is just how it needs to be done.
- Cutting hangers – This took a bit more grip/strength than I expected, who knew those little metal hangers were such tough cookies?
- Sewing – The tutorial calls for sewing, which I personally am comfortable with, but for those of you who aren’t, you could try using hot glue around the outside edges (it tends to work relatively well on fleece in general), or stitching by hand.
- You might be able to get away with making relatively long stitches (= shorter amount of time than tight stitches).
- Unfortunately, you can’t skip having to stitch around the vertical bones of the wings; i thought the fusible adhesive would hold them in place and I could skip this step, but no such luck. I don’t think hot glue alongside those bones would hold up very well either (but if you give it a try, let us know how it works out!).
- *Elastic – This measurement is for toddler-size kiddos; check your measurement before cutting and sewing the elastic.
- Durability – My kids have had theirs for almost two years now, and they probably play with them at least once a month, running around the house, sitting on the couch, eating lunch with them on, and so on. They are holding up pretty well!
Please let me know if you try this! I would love to hear how it goes. You can do it!
Happy crafting!
Dreaming Up Parties 