Wednesday 27 November 2013

Superhero Capes...


I'm madly sewing for Christmas, and with almost a month to go, there's every possibility that I may accomplish everything on my list. Here's my latest finish... Superhero Capes, modelled by Raggedy Ann.



She's a little the worse for wear now and could do with a wash, but I made Raggedy Ann for my daughter when she was little. As you can see, she came as a kit with the face painted on. Unlike my recent monster softie, Raggedy Ann wasn't at all fiddly to sew, due to her size. I suppose it took a while to hand sew all the hair, but I honestly don't remember it being a chore.


Being as big as my daughter, we had no problem finding clothes for Raggedy Ann to wear. My youngest son still remembers being scared on several occasions, by the appearance of Raggedy Ann in his room at night. I suppose it would be rather scary to wake up and see that face moving around in front of you.


The shiny fabric, used on all three capes, was once a curtain. It was no problem at all to sew, but made a mess when cut... tiny, little pieces of glittery fabric everywhere!!! I ended up using pieces of sticky tape to pick up all the bits. To prevent more mess, I overlocked (serged) all the edges on the shiny fabric before sewing.

A superhero cape is not at all difficult to make from scratch without a pattern. Because of time constraints and the fact that the three little people were not on hand while I was sewing, it was just easier to purchase a pattern which comes in different sizes. I used the Superhero Cape pattern, by Georgia Leigh. The link will take you to her free tutorial, which begins with... measure your child. There is a link on that page to her Etsy shop, but the link isn't working at the moment. The pattern comes with appliqué templates in various shapes, as well as all the letters of the alphabet.

I appliquéd a circle and star onto the shiny side of all capes. With a little practise, appliquéd stars are not at all hard to sew.


The capes are reversible. Lesson learned with the cape above... choose a lighter colour for the circle if using black as a contrast colour.


The neck has a simple velcro closure.


These capes were a super quick and easy project (apart from the mess from the shiny fabric).

How are you going with sewing for the festive season?

... Pam

8 comments:

  1. Is ... is ... is your daughter A GINGER??!??!?! She looks a lot like her Raggedy Ann, which I bet was the intention - how adorable! Ann making her way through the house to scare her brother KILLS me, although I can see where he might have a few nightmares about it, LOL!

    Great cape - I made some earlier this year and they were a big hit - I think I'll buy the pattern with the multiple sizes when her shop comes back up (I tried too) - I don't have the kids nearby to measure them, and I like having someone else do the work of drafting the pattern :D Every kid should have a superhero cape!

    Christmas sewing is going great - yesterday I tried a tutorial for a fox ice pack for kids - omg it's adorable. The pattern is a bit small and fiddly for my gnarly hands so I'm going to enlarge it a tad to make it easier. But even my imperfect version was sweet - I can't wait to make more! I'm in the tail end of gift sewing - and there are still 4 weeks to Christmas - holy smokes!

    Sandra - (greying) ginger, mom of a ginger, aunt of a ginger, and great-aunt of a ginger!

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  2. i admire you for sewing for christmas I am not that brave . love the capes

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  3. Cute, Pam! Love that you used a curtain. So resourceful. Also love that raggedy Ann doll. The best part is the size. I always wanted a life-sized Barbie as a little girl.

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  4. Awesome capes! Might have to make one for R.

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  5. Love your fabric choices and that they are reversible! What girl would not love a shiny cape? ;)

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  6. Rageddy Ann modeling immediately brought back memories of when I was a child. My mom made a similar one for me but gave her yellow yarn hair to match mine.:) I wonder if my mom still has her packed away at her house...

    The capes look great! Perfect for a boy or girl.:)

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  7. Well, the recipient of one of Pam's capes has been using it all the time and loving it. Super Hero Pax has been zooming around the house at break-neck speed, because apparently the cape makes him fly very very fast. It was the perfect Christmas present for him, and you know how much we love your hand-crafted gifts here. We feel the love just pouring out of the parcels when we unwrap them. Thanks so much, Pam.

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