DIY Sisu Dragon Costume
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Learn how to make a DIY costume inspired by Sisu from Raya and the Last Dragon. Sew the details onto a hoodie for an easy Halloween costume.
We watched Raya and The Last Dragon earlier this year, and our whole family loved it. It’s such a fun movie! My youngest daughter requested to be Sisu, the dragon from the movie, for her Halloween costume.
I designed the costume so that all the dragon details could be sewn onto a hoodie. It makes the sewing a lot easier since I don’t have to create the hoodie from scratch, and it’s a warm costume which is perfect for our cold Halloween nights!
Hoodie costumes are my favorite to make because they are warm, easy to sew, and they get so much use at our house throughout the winter. It gets played with for dress ups, but it also gets worn as a hoodie sweatshirt when they aren’t playing.
The color, the fur, and the shiny scales are all fun details, but the spikes are my favorite part of the whole costume. I love how the spikes change color and how they stick up so nicely all down the back.
Why Make DIY Costumes?
I love to make DIY costumes for my kids for lots of different reasons. I love that I can make something unique that they want and that they’ll love. We live in a cold area so I always have to plan costumes to be warm so that they don’t have to wear a jacket or coat over it.
I almost always save money by reusing fabric and clothing from my stash and around our home, and I have found that reusing clothing saves me time.
Homemade DIY costumes use stronger and more durable fabric that will last through months and years of dress up and play time. I love that the costumes will last longer than one night of trick-or-treating.
Do you like making costumes and sewing for Halloween? Check out these ideas!
- free patterns for costumes
- Upcycled costumes for Halloween
- DIY costume ideas
- Halloween sewing projects
- DIY T-Shirt costume ideas
- DIY hoodie costume ideas
- DIY classic Halloween costumes
DIY Sisu Dragon Costume
Supplies
- Free dragon scales and horns pattern – get it at the end of the post behind the locked content box
- Turquoise hoodie
- 1/2 yard turquoise faux fur
- 1/2 yard shiny scale fabric – like pleather or faux leather
- Sewing tools
- Sewing machine
Cut out two pieces of fur in the shape of the hood. Make sure there’s a 1/2 inch seam allowance all the way around.
Sew the center back and top seam with right sides together. Use a zigzag stitch to secure the fur, and then serge the seam allowance.
Turn the fur right side out. Slide it onto the hood and pin all around the raw edges. Zigzag stitch the fur to the hood.
Cut a long thin triangle from the fur and from the scale fabric. Clip the triangles wrong sides together.
Sew the two sides of the tail with a zigzag stitch to combine the layers and secure the fur.
Pin the tail to the back of the hoodie at the bottom. Sew straight across to attach the tail to the hoodie.
Cut out a large horn and a small horn from the scale fabric. Cut out a bunch of spikes in three different sizes.
Clip the straight edges of the horns wrong sides together. Clip two edges of all the spikes together with wrong sides together.
Sew the straight edge of the horns with a 1/8 inch seam allowance.
Hand stitch the horns onto the top front of the hood. The short horn should be in the front, and the long horn should be in the back.
Sew the two sides of the scales together but start and stop 1/2 inch from the bottom.
Open the bottom of each spike and place it along the center back of the hoodie. Sew on one side of the spikes all the way down. Then sew on the other side of the spikes all the way down.
Cut out an oval tummy piece from the scale fabric.
Sew the tummy piece onto the center front of the hoodie. Don’t worry about the pocket and just sew over it.
You finished!
Get the Free Sewing Pattern here!
If you make something using this sewing project, I’d love to see! Please share it on social media with the hashtag #heatherhandmade and tag me!
I believe small sewing moments can create great joy. Find your own “right” way to sew. -Heather
Hi Heather! Fantastic costume idea! I intend on making it for my little girl for Halloween this year. Where can I find the pattern/dimensions for the horn and spikes please? Thank you so much
I just updated the post and added the patterns. It’s at the end of the post behind the locked content box.
Thanks Heather!
Can you please tell me where you got the faux leather for the horns/spike? I order most of my fabric online as there are no fabric stores close to me. Thanks.
I got the faux leather at Joann. I think it’s a scale type. It’s not available online, but this is similar https://www.joann.com/the-witching-hour-fabric-embossed-foil-blue-green/16697179.html
Thank you very much. I like your suggestion very much, and have placed an order. I’ll be making this costume for my g’daughter to use for Halloween.
how exciting!
LOVE IT!
where did you get the triangle pattern pieces from?
Are you talking about the back spines or the horns?
Both/Either
I’d love any help I can get! Especially since I’ve never worked with faux fur or the scaly material – thank you so much!!