Missing a sock?
Turn your lonesome sock into a ferocious dragon!
Activity Duration: 1 Hour. Recommended Ages: 6 - 10 Years Old.
You Need...
- 1 Sock
- Scissors
- Glue
- Pipe Cleaners cut to 2 inch pieces (alternatives: bread ties or construction paper)
- Pom Poms (alternative: cotton balls)
- Construction Paper (alternative: printer paper - color with marker, crayon, or colored pencil)
- Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
Instructions
Step 1: Form the Dragon’s Mouth.
Insert your hand into your sock and spread the length of it down your forearm so that it fits, leaving 3 – 4 inches between your fingertips and the toe end of the sock. Move the heal of the sock so that it rests on the top of your wrist.
Use your free hand to push the toe of the sock inside to form the mouth. Position your hand inside the sock so that your four fingers are inside the top lip and your thumb is inside the bottom lip. Practice opening and closing.
Gently remove the sock from your hand so that you don't loose the form of the mouth and put it on the table.
Step 2: Cut Out the Dragon’s Facial Features.
Have an adult print you the Dragon's Facial Features Template from our Digital Programming Page .
Use scissors to cut out rectangles of construction paper and cut them into a fringe. If you don’t have construction paper use markers, crayons, or colored pencils to color regular printer paper.
You will need two fringes for the dragon’s beard, two for the eyelashes, two for the mustache, and four for the mane. You may make more if you want your dragon to be extra furry. You may make them all the same color or any combination of colors that you like.
Cut two circles for the eyes and two smaller circles for the nostrils and cut two long, skinny rectangles to be the whiskers.
Step 3: Adding Furry Fringes to the Face.
Glue the eye lashes in place toward the top of the head.
Glue the larger of the mustache fringes to the fabric of the top lip, and the smaller on top of it to create a double layer of fringe.
Glue the larger of the beard fringe to the fabric of the bottom lip, and the smaller on top of it to create a double layer of fringe.
Glue the two larger mane fringes to the sides of the face, and layer the smaller fringes on top of them similar to the beard and mustache
Step 4: Forming the Nose and Eyes and Horns.
Glue two pompoms side by side above the mustache. Then, glue the small nostril circles to the pompoms to form the nose. If you don’t have pompoms, you can use cotton balls or glue the nostril circles directly to the fabric above the mustache.
Glue the eyes on by placing them over the eyelases' base.
Bend the pipe cleaners to form a slight curve. Glue them to the fabric at the top of the head. If you don't have pipe cleaners, you can use old bread twist ties, or construction paper.
Step 5: Almost Done! Let Glue Dry
Let dragon rest and don’t touch it while the glue dries for 3 - 4 hours or over night.
Once the is glue completely dry, gently crinkle and bend the fringes of the eyelashes, beard, mane and mustache to give them a furry texture.
Use your markers, crayons, or colored pencils to add any more details or color to your dragon’s face. (Tip: markers will color on fabric or paper. Crayons and colored pencils work best only on paper)
Insert your hand back into the sock and use your fingers and thumb to open and close the mouth. Play with your dragon and make up a story or adventure with it! You can make as many dragons as you want!
Show us your ferocious dragon! Snap a photo of your new dragon and send it to aarc@austintexas.gov. We will post your dragon on Instagram!
We'd love to hear your feedback!