Following on from my Dinosaur Dig party post…
No dinosaur party is complete without bright and happy dino costumes to inspire ample roaring and prehistoric grunting from little people. Here’s the second part of the costume (the dinosaur tail). Choose any colour you like of course – the colours here match the pattern to make things easier.
What you’ll need (to make 12 tails):
105cm x 80cm of green thin fleece for main tail
120cm x 40cm of orange felt for spines (or just use stiff material or thicker fleece – felt can be pricey)
80cm x 60cm orange fleece for straps
A bag of stuffing
Good sewing scissors
A sewing machine, cotton thread, machine needles
Feel free to allow for an open seam at the spines and strap if it’s easier – a friend of mine did this instead of turning the spines inward for a clean finish and it looked just as fabulous. You can always go for longer tails too of course (just increase your green fleece length and perhaps add a few more spines).
The wonderful thing about fleece and felt is that you don’t need to hem your work whichever way you decide to sew; just keep your cutting out clean and the material does the rest for you. Give the material a bit of a tug when you’re done, it will (magically) roll a clean hem for you.
How to do it:
Cut all your templates out (link below) using stiffish cardboard. My favourite source is an old cereal box – never fails me.
1. Cut out your green tails using your cardboard template.
2. Fold your green fleece in half with the ‘wrong’ side facing out. Using your cardboard template, cut 12 tails. I’ve added a picture of how I cut them out to maximise my material – the measurements are based on you doing this. You can do the same for spikes of course too (and it saves on cutting time)!
3. Cut out your head ‘spikes template’, again see my picture for how to maximise your material.
4. Fold your green tails in two, down the fold line. Lie the orange spikes on the open side, pointing inwards so that you can’t see them (unless you can’t be bothered with a clean hem, in which case, just sew them on the outside). Pin the spikes in and sew a straight line from top to bottom, keeping the top end open (you’ll need this to stuff it). Turn the tails inside out so that the spikes point outwards (assuming you sewed this way).
5. Cut your straps.
6. Stuff your tails and pin the straps along the top. Sew slowly to ensure no stuffing peeps out. Bravo!
Dinosaur Tail Costume Pattern PDF Template
Shoestring Tip: My template gives measurements and shapes for you, there’s no need to be painstakingly exact, grab a ruler and pencil and build your template to meet my suggested sizing. Also feel free to add the odd colourful spike in there (just pin it in before you sew). I did this for the birthday boy to make him stand out.
My Magic Shoestring 