Two Crafty Girls: Super Hero Capes

I am the lucky Auntie to 5 nephews. Yep, 5! They are all little superheros to me!

To celebrate them I made some unique capes. I wanted them to jump off the couch, fly off the dresser, and soar across the coffee table feeling like real superheros.

"What?!? That sounds unsafe Auntie Jess!" Remember, I am the Auntie, not the Mommy!

I went to the fabric store and picked the material based on its feel and ability to "float" like a cape should. I am sure it is 100% polyester! I bought 1/2 meter per cape. But I had lots leftover so you could probably get away with less.

I came up with a pattern by extrapolating from a bib.

I figured a cape is really just a big bib that is worn backwards!

So I laid a bib down on my fabric along the fold and just followed the shape making it much longer. I made the capes 32 inches long.

I cut out a neck hole, just following the bib and then rounded the corners at the top and bottom.

I zig-zagged the edge all the way around. I like the contrast of the black thread on the yellow cape, kind of like a cool trim.

Then I repeated these steps for the other capes.

When I looked closer, I didn't like how "chunky" the zig-zagged edging looked, so I decreased the stitch width and length and went around once again.

This looks better to me, nice and neat now.

I just trimmed off the first edging.

A bit more professional for my amateur superheros!

I took some contrasting fabric, leftover from cutting the other capes out.

(Remember, I said I had lots leftover!)

Using a dessert plate I traced (with a pencil) and then cut out one red and one blue circle.

I drew the first letter of their name using a pencil on the blue circle.

With the blue and red circles layered together I sewed along my pencil lines for the letter. I now had two circles sewn together by a block letter. I carefully cut just the blue layer along the inside of the stitch line and removed the blue fabric revealing a red "L".

I then pinned the initial letter "emblem" in place on the cape and sewed around the edge.

I was thinking of Edna Mode when I decided to used a small piece of Velcro at the neck to hold it closed, just like the bib. I thought a tie at the neck may be a bit risky for flying boys in capes and the Velcro would easily break away if it got caught.