1. GC4: MASK STEP BY
STEP GUIDE
Lion King Zazu Mask

2. Step 1: Wrap the headband in material
To begin the mask wrap an
ordinary headband with blue
material. Begin from one end
and work your way round
making sure that all of the
underneath material is
covered. Once you have
completely covered the
headband stitch the material
to the headband to ensure it
stays on.

3. Step 2: Basic form of the beak
Measure the length of the face
down to the base of the nose.
Use these measurements to cut a
piece of chicken wire to the
appropriate length. Attach this
piece to the centre top of the
headband and bend the bottom
half to the desired angle. After
this proceed to cut out two
smaller pieces of chicken wire to
create a rough beak shape on the
end of the initial strip of wire.
Tape these two pieces to the
initial piece so that they are
secure as these will later become
part of the mask.

4. Step 3: Creating the basic beak structure
Measure out three shapes to create
the basic structure. To ensure that
they create the shape of the beak you
wish, tape them together and fold
them into the required shape. If they
do not fit then re-measure the shapes
and try again. If they do make the
required shape then remove the tape
so that they are three separate shapes
again. Then use these shapes as a
template to cute out three separate
shapes of chicken wire. The chicken
wire shapes will probably turn out
larger than the templates, however
this is not an issue as it allows the
beak to slot onto the rest of the mask
structure.

5. Step 4: Covering the base of the mask
Measure out a piece of blue felt that is
longer than the base of the mask but when
folded in half is the same width. Fold this
piece of felt in half , take a needle and
thread and stitch down the open side,
knotting the thread at the end. You should
use blue cotton to match the felt as this
will make the stitching discreet.
Once the felt has been stitched turn the
now tube of felt inside out, we do this to
hide the rough side of the stitching. The
tube of felt should then easily fit onto the
base of the mask. The tube of felt will to
longer than the base, but this isn’t an
issue. Simply cut off the end of the felt, but
leave some material at the end as you will
need to fold this under and sew it shut.
Once this has been done, to ensure the
felt stays on you can stitch it to the top of
the headband .

6. Step 5: Covering the structure of the beak
Once all three wire shapes have been
folded into place, tape them together
so that the retain the shape they need
to be in. Then cut out a piece of
material that just covers the outside of
the shape. Then take a needle and
thread and once the material is in the
correct place stitch all around the
edges of the shape. If the material
seems like it may not fit, this is ok as
the material will stretch out and
eliminate and creases. Begin stitching
from the inside as this will hide the
knot, also match the thread to the
material colour as this will also
disguise the stitching.

7. Step 6: Putting a bottom later on the beak
Cut out a piece of material ,in the same
colour as the outer of the beak, that is
the same size as the base of the beak.
This is needed for when the mask is
used it will hide the wire inside the
beak. By using the same colour thread
and a needle, beginning stitching from
the inside to hide the stitching and go
around all of the edges. This may
seem tricky at first, but once the
material is stretched out fully it should
fit perfectly.

8. Step 7: Attaching the beak to the mask
The beak should then slide onto the
base of the mask and sit comfortably
in place. However as the mask will be
used for performance, it needs to be
sewn onto the mask base. This is
easily done by using either blue or
orange thread and sewing from the
underneath area. By sewing from
underneath it allows us to disguise
the stitching as this is the area of the
mask that will be seen the least
amount of times.

9. Step 8: Creating the back of the mask
Cut out five strips of blue voile material, all
the same length and width. The strips of
material should be similar in width to the
initial nose piece, but long so that they
come lower than the neck. Attach these to
the mask by sewing them onto the
headband, to make this even you should
start from the middle and work your way
outwards. When stitching use blue thread
and also begin sewing from underneath to
hide the rough side of the sewing and any
knots.

10. Step 9: Adding the feathers to the mask
Using feathers in all different
colours, work out evenly how
many you have to go onto each
strip of material. Once you have
done this pin them into place, but
make sure that the colours are
evenly spread. Then take a
needle and thread and sew each
feather on, this is done quickly
and securely but sewing through
the stem of the feather.
Once all of the feathers are sewn
on the mask is then complete.