DIY for Kids: Make Your Own Superhero Cape

Is your little one obsessed with Superman? Are you raising the next Wonder Woman? We’ve got just the craft for you! Kids can design their ideal costumes, perfect for a day of dramatic play. Can’t decide on just one design? Well, like any good hero disguise, this cape has two sides. Inspire creativity, choose a super hero identity, and spend a day saving the day!

This super-easy cape features star and lightning bolt emblems, but you could make it to resemble your favorite superheroes or villains or create two new characters with personalized emblems featuring your initials. The project requires a sewing machine—you could make it without one, but it will take you a while to stitch around the edges!

You will need

• 1-yard square each of green and blue cotton
• 4-inch square each of red and black cotton
• 8-inch square of yellow cotton
• Scissors
• Sewing needle and pins         
• 15-by-35-inch piece of fusible webbing        
• Sewing machine and matching thread          
• 1½-by ½-inch piece of Velcro or hook-and-loop tape
• Iron and ironing board

   
Instructions

1. Print the cape template and cut it out. Fold your green fabric in half and pin the template on top. Cut out one cape then repeat with the blue fabric. Use a small plate (about 8 inches) to draw and cut out a circle from yellow and black cotton. If you want to use the emblems featured here, cut out a yellow lightning bolt and a red star shape—draw your own or use a template and increase the size. Also cut the circles, lightning, and star shapes out of fusible webbing.
      
2. Iron the fusible webbing onto the back of each shape. Line up the yellow circle centrally on the front of the blue cape 8 inches from the neckline. Iron in place, and then iron the star on top of the center of the yellow circle. Repeat with the green cape, the black circle, and the lightning bolt.
      
3. Pin the two capes right sides together. Machine sew around the edge with a ½-inch seam allowance. Leave a 6-inch gap along the bottom to allow you to turn the cape right sides out. Trim the edges around the neckline of the cape then make snips in the seam allowance around the curved edges, about 1 inch apart. This will prevent puckering.
      
4. Turn the cape right sides out and push out all the corners and neckline. Press the cape and sew the turning gap closed by hand.
      
5. Pin and sew one piece of the Velcro onto the end of the neckline on the blue fabric. Sew the other piece on the green fabric (at the other side) so that the two pieces line up when the neckline is joined.

  
Extract reprinted with permission from GMC Publications, The Superhero Craft Book by Laura Minter and Tia Williams, RRP $9.95.

RELATED: Find More DIY Projects for Kids, Tweens, and Teens