The Gruffalo is a firm World Book Day favourite, and today we’re going to show you how to make a simple mask out of cardboard and felt.
It’s really easy to do, and works as an accessory for your little one’s Gruffalo costume, or a last-minute DIY fancy dress solution. Here’s our easy step-by-step tutorial, which comes with a free printable template to help you create your mask quickly and easily.
What you’ll need
- Our printable Gruffalo mask stencil
- 1 A4 sheet of cardboard
- Brown, white, orange and black felt or coloured card
- Scissors
- Glue
How to make your mask
Step 1
Print your stencil onto a piece of card. If your child wants to dress as a different Gruffalo character, we have printable stencils for the snake, mouse, fox and owl. If your printer won’t print onto card, print your stencil onto paper first and then stick it onto a piece of card.
Use the stencil to create your felt shapes. You should end up with something like this:
Step 2
Once you have all your pieces cut out, glue one side of each cardboard piece and stick it to the matching piece of felt. This will make your mask more sturdy.
Step 3
You may end up with a bit of white card overlapping the felt. Simply trim this off before you start to put your mask together.
Step 4
Stick on the Gruffalo’s ears and horns. It’ll be neatest if you stick these on at the back.
Step 5
Stick on the yellow rings that go around the eyes, the black eyebrows and the fur detail.
Step 6
With the decorating done, it’s time to attach the strip of felt that will tie the mask around your child’s head.
To do this, you’ll need to make a slit on each side of the mask, as shown below. We found that using a craft knife is easiest, but if you don’t have one, scissors will do the job just as well. If small children are helping to make the mask, this is one step that should be left to adults only!
Step 7
Finally, cut a strip of felt or elastic that is long enough to fit around your head and thread it through the holes. Make sure you knot it at the back of the mask to keep it nice and neat and stop it from falling off.
And there you have it! Your Gruffalo mask is finished just in time for your child to wear it with this Gruffalo onesie on World Book Day.
Remember that we’ve got plenty more World Book Day costume ideas that your kids can try this year, including these fantastic last-minute ideas for parents who’ve left things a bit late. Good luck!
