Sunday, September 12, 2010

Superman Beginnings

My older son, Asher, has been a Superman fanatic since watching the original movie.  So guess what he wants to be this Halloween?  Superman OF COURSE :).  It's still a bit early to be making the whole costume, but I can't resist making him a cape in the meanwhile.

IMG_6910

Here's a quick rundown of how I made the cape - sized for a 3.5 year old.

Materials:
  • red fabric 19"x30".  I used a light weight fabric with a little shimmer that flows well.
  • yellow felt - 7"x5"
  • black embroidery floss
  • red sewing thread - match the red fabric
  • yellow sewing thread - match the yellow felt
  • iron on fusing web 
  • printed out Superman symbol - about 6" across.  I used my son's old Superman t-shirt with the logo on it.  They sell them at places like Target and Old Navy.
  • parchment paper - or another thin paper that you could see the logo through
  • Craft pen or thin sharpie
  • Scissor
  • Snap Button

  1. Double fold and sew each edge of the red fabric with the red thread.  
  2. Measure the diameter of your child's neck, add 2-3" for comfort.
  3. Fold down - 'dog-ear' the 2 top corners of the cape.  This will keep the cape from always draping over the front - optional step.
  4. Attach snap button to where you measured for the neck.  Double check to see if this is a comfortable width for your child.
    IMG_6904
  5. Trace the Superman logo onto the parchment paper.
  6. Cut out the logo around the logo and cut out the 'S'. This will be used as the stencil.
  7. Put the stencil on top of the yellow felt, make sure the whole symbol fits on top.  
  8. Use a craft pen or thin sharpie to trace around the outside of the logo and the 'S' shape right onto the yellow felt. Don't worry about the lines showing - I cut slightly inside the line around the logo and the 'S' line will be invisible once it's embroidered.IMG_6706

    Always enlist the help of the little ones :).

  9. Cut out the logo ONLY around the edges - Make sure to cut just inside the line so that the marker will be cut off.  DO NOT cut the 'S' shape.
  10. Using the stenciled on 'S' outline, embroider with the black embroidery floss using a chain stitch along the 'S'. Here's a closeup of the 'S' embroidered on.  See no more marker showing :).
    IMG_6907
  11. Using the fuse web, fuse the logo onto the red fabric about 8" down the center of the cape.  It should hit just below the middle of the back once the cape is on.
  12. Blanket stitch along the logo with the yellow thread once it's fused onto the cape.  This will ensure that the edges don't come loose and give it that extra nice look.  I use the fuse web just to make sure that the middle is on tightly. 
    A view of the front:

    IMG_6908

    A view of the back:

    IMG_6906

  13. Now your little one is ready to enjoy this cape :).
  14.  

    What's the next step?  The rest of the Superman outfit.  In the meanwhile Asher enjoys wearing his cape EVERYWHERE.  Here's my Superman spotted at the park :).

    superman1

    Sorry I didn't have many pictures of the process.  I actually made logos earlier in the day with a similar process but realized later that I couldn't use it for the cape...could you see why???

    IMG_6720

    Yep Superman's cape has an all yellow logo with black lines for the 'S'.  I guess I'll use that red/yellow logo for shirts or decal for other things - photo album cover?

    I'm sharing this project HERE.

    12 comments:

    sp said...

    Love your cape! I made one of these for my son 25 years ago, he almost wore it out! He is now in the Army, a "macho" man, however, shhhh, his mommy-made cape is still hanging in his closet! :-)

    Anji* said...

    Super cape! Great technique :)

    Donene said...

    I need to make some of these for my grandsons, they would love them!
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    Ivory Spring said...

    Oh my, so cute!!!! If Asher is Superman, that makes you SuperMom!! And in my book, you are! :)

    Karen said...

    wow!! what a great cape. maybe he really will be able to save the world when he is wearing that!! and thankyou for the lovely words about my work, I really apprecite them..

    Katie @SwimBikeQuilt said...

    we totally need a cape at our house. looks great!

    Cristie said...

    My grandson loves Superman. he would love for me to make this outfit for him. Great job! Thanks for sharing.

    Quiltstory said...

    So cute! I've got to make my little boy a cape one of these days, he'd love it. I already have started on the costumes too..it's just too fun! Thanks for linking up on Fabric Tuesdays, see you next week! :)

    Leslie said...

    this is adorable!!!

    Nina... said...

    Very cute! I bet he will want to wear it all day every day!

    Sara @ Sew Sweetness said...

    I love it! I also appreciated your instructions!

    Rene' said...

    Very cute. Thanks for sharing!

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