Dragon Costume – Simplicity 1765 Children’s Costume Review

I almost said no to this costume because I had previously made some dragon PJs for Halloween 2020. I’m so glad that I changed my mind because this costume turned out amazing! (And I ended up with a happy kiddo in the process.)

This fabric was just perfect for this costume!

The only issue was that it had a non-breathable plastic coating, so we had to be really mindful that my kid didn’t overheat while wearing it.

S1765 Children’s Dinosaur/Dragon Costume Review

The only dragon type sewing pattern I could find was Simplicity 1765. My child is currently in the dreaded in-between sizes – too big for children’s patterns but too small for adult sizes – so I had to size up the pattern. My first complaint is that there are no finished garment measurements except for back length which meant I had to do a lot of measuring and calculating (and hoping I calculated right!) to size the pattern up correctly.

This pattern generally looked the way I wanted so I didn’t need to make many changes. I don’t think I’ve ever sewn a pattern without making some changes. The whole point of sewing your own items is to customize them perfectly to your needs, right?

I purchased wings instead of making the ones in the pattern because honestly I thought they were really ugly and not very dragon-like. The wings I bought fit on like a back pack, so I sewed some extra large buttonhole slits in the back of the costume to feed the straps through and keep them hidden underneath the costume.

I also did turn edge applique for the belly accents instead of the recommended glue. I generally prefer to more permanently affix everything. I didn’t want have to deal with a molting dragon halfway through trick-or-treating.

Because I was using a stretchy knit fabric instead of the suggested stiffer felt I had to prevent the back and tail plates from being floppy. I ended up lightly stuffing them and it worked out pretty well.

One change I shouldn’t have made was stuffing the tail earlier than instructed. I was even half thinking that I might regret it because there probably was a reason they did it last, but I went ahead and did it anyway. (For the record there is a reason…) The instructions say to cut a slit in the fabric and stuff the tail at the very end, but I really didn’t like the idea of having an ugly raw seam, even if it was on the inside. Long story short, the early stuffed tail made everything else a pain because it kept getting in the way.

Despite my best efforts I ended up having to scrap the mittens. It was a combination of factors, really. I underestimated how much I needed to size them up. The fabric I used had absolutely no stretch. Plus they’re stuffed to look like fingers, which took up what little room there was inside the mitten. My kid was unable to move their hands in them and it would have been uncomfortable and awkward. I had thought about making some gloves instead, but as I was running short on both fabric and time we just went without.

There are a lot of nice details that add to the look of this costume such as the belly accent and the feet. Overall this pattern was generally easy to follow. There was only one instruction that really left me scratching my head – they told me to refer back to the general instructions for one item but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what exactly I was supposed to be referring to! Fortunately it all worked out in the end!