Simple Super Hero Cape

I originally came across this tutorial on the Southern Institute for Domestic Arts and Crafts a few months ago, and knew it would be something my two year old would love. Plus it's super easy and requires zero sewing (unless you want to), so I knew it would be something I would love! Little boys and girls alike will love pretending to be a super hero, or super villain!, with his or her very own cape! All you need is a t-shirt and some felt and you're good to go.

Supplies:

The first thing you will need to do is cut the sleeves off of your shirt. Then you will cut up each side of the shirt so that you can open it and lay it flat.

 

Next, cut the front of the shirt off, making sure to leave the ribbed neck and part of the shoulders in tact like so:

Flip the shirt over and trim the back so that it's the shape of a cape you want, and then trim the ribbed collar to fit your child's neck. Make sure it's not too tight of course!

 

Now you can start on your felt design! For your design, you can use a template or freehand it. I chose to use a template for mine. I don't trust myself enough to just go all willy nilly on the felt! This particular cape was made for a little boy named Jack, so I did a basic triangle for the design and a capital letter "J" for the initial. Simple!

Trace your design and initial onto pieces of paper then cut them out. Flip them over and trace them the wrong way onto your felt. This will ensure that the pen marks are on the side of the felt that will be attached to the cape.

 

Once you have all of your felt pieces cut out grab your felt glue (or glue gun if you don't have felt glue), and glue them together. If you're using felt glue you will need to let it completely dry for 24 hours before completing your cape.

When the glue is dry, flip the decal over and add velcro to the back. Then put velcro on the cape. You can skip this step if you'd like and just glue it onto your cape, but trust me...use the velcro. I learned that the hard way. Felt starts to get pretty nasty after a few washes!

Do the same for the ribbed neck of the cape. This helps make it easier for little people to put it on and take it off.

I decided on a whim to make a little felt piece to put on the closure of the cape. I felt that it really completed the whole look!

And you're finished! The first time you make a cape will take you a little while, but the more you make them the faster you get at it! This one took me about 45 minutes to make because I had to take pictures of each step. It's also a great project for the little ones to help out with. They can choose the colors they want and the design to go on the back. If you're feeling brave, you can even let them help you cut the designs out!