Does your little one love to dress up as a superhero?
With a little time and sewing skills you can make a cape out of a work shirt.
I got this great idea from the women of Rookie Moms and it inspired me to write my first sewing tutorial.
I got this great idea from the women of Rookie Moms and it inspired me to write my first sewing tutorial.
Supplies Needed:
- Dress Shirt w/Collar & Cuffs
- Scissors
- Long ruler or straight edge (or a good eyeball)
- Pencil or Pen
- Pins
- Sewing machine
- Felt for cape logo
- Fusible web to attach felt logo
1. Find a shirt that Mom or Dad would be happy to donate to the superhero cause.
2. Cut the Shirt apart at the seams. You will keep the following pieces: (2) Front Panels (removing the center front button plackets), Back Panel, Collar, Cuffs & Sleeves (cut in half w/out the plackets: see step 4 below)
3. Set the Cuffs aside
4. Once the sleeves have been removed (minus the cuffs) cut them in half. Discard the half that includes the placket. Do this to both sleeves so you end up with 2 halves (that do not have plackets).
5. Start with the back panel. Take a ruler and draw a line from the neck point to the hem corner. Make this cut on both sides of the back panel.
6. Take the Front Panels and place them next to the back panel. Take the ruler and make a straight line from the armhole to the hem. Make this cut on both front panels.
7. Lay the half sleeve pieces next to the front panels. You will now have a total of 5 pieces, they will need to be sewn together. As you can see from the photo the panels will not line up exactly. This is okay, you will be cutting the cape shape out of this fabric once it is sewn together.
8. To sew the panels together I decided to sew them together with french seams to eliminate raw edges. You can also sew a regular 3/8" seam and over-lock the edges or leave them raw.
To sew french seams:
- Sew the "wrong sides" together first at 1/4".
- Trim the sewn edge as close to 1/8" as possible.
- Flip the fabric so the right sides are touching and pressed the sewn seam.
- Then sew 1/4" seam with the right sides together to enclose the first seams you made.
Here is a tutorial on french seams from Freshly Picked that may be helpful: French Seam Tutorial from Freshly Picked
9. Now that all 5 panels have been sewn together. Fold the fabric panel in half and make the following cuts.
- Trim the neck line if needed
- Trim the hem to have a nice curve. You can measure the center back length with your child to ensure it's not too long.
- Take the ruler and make a straight line from the neck point to the corner hem. Remove the cut piece.
10. Now you have a nice cape shape and you are ready to hem the side edges and bottom of the cape. I pressed the edge up 1/4" then again 1/4" and top stitched the hem.
11. You are ready to attach the collar. Find the center back of both the collar and cape panel, pin together with right sides facing together. The collar will be longer than the cape neck, the extension of the collar will have the button and button hole that will be used as the closure for the cape. Attach the collar at 1/4", press the seam allowance down and top stitch in place at 1/4". The cape & collar are now complete.
12. Now you are ready to add a felt logo :) I cut a 6" gold circle and a yellow star out of felt. I appliqued the star to the circle patch. Then used paper-backed fusible web to heat bond the applique to the cape. You can also sew the circle logo to the cape.
The fusible web I use is Pellon Wonder-under: Wonder-under at Create for Less
13. Now it's time to get your superhero dressed! Add the cuffs and head piece to complete the ensemble. In an afternoon you can make a superhero cape for your little one using a work shirt you already had.
