Category: tutorials

superhero cape tutorial!

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super hero cape tutorial // skirt as top

back in august, i made a superhero cape for Em. i’ve made a few before – they’re kind of my go-to boy gift, because boys are generally harder to sew for. today i thought i’d share a little tutorial for you! these are a quick sew – definitely time to whip one up for christmas if you are stumped on what to give a little guy/gal. i’d say this cape fits ages 2-4, though you can easily adjust the sizing – use an existing shirt of theirs for general length/width, and add a few inches to the bottom.

MATERIALS:

  • 3/4 to 1yd main fabric and lining
  • fusible web (i like steam-a-seam 2 lite)
  • two contrasting fabric scraps for the letter/symbol applique
  • velcro
  • point turner/knitting needle/pencil
  • light/medium weight interfacing (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

fold your main fabric in half, and cut the following shape out on the fold. make the place where the neckband meets the cape a sharp V, then draw out a few inches before rounding down for the shoulder to the bottom corner. you can use a straight edge to get the outer edge straight. i like to angle it out a bit so the bottom is wider than the top. the photo makes it look like the very bottom edge is angled too, but it should be perpendicular to the fold.

use this piece as a pattern to cut the same shape out of the lining fabric.

make your applique. i like to use gill sans bold font in about 500 pt for the recipient’s initial, but it could be fun to do a lightning bolt or an existing superhero logo too. cut a circle that your logo/letter will fit inside. don’t forget to trace your letter backwards! i trace my letter onto steam-a-seam paper first, peel off one side, stick to the fabric, then cut it out together using an older pair of sewing scissors.

place your applique on the main fabric, using the fold line of the cape to align the applique. fuse with your iron.

sew the letter/logo applique onto the cape. i like to use a blanket type stitch like number 11 on my machine. i change the length to 3.0 an the width to 4.0, but you can play around with it on a scrap to see what look you prefer. then sew around the edge of the circle with a wider, longer zigzag.

stitch it on…

you can actually see it better from the back…

fuse a strip of interfacing that’s about .5″ smaller than the length and width of the neckband to the wrong side of the main fabric (so about 1.5″ x 18.5″). interfacing helps the neckband stands up a bit like you see on a real superhero. 🙂

pin the main cape and the lining right sides together, allowing a 3″ section at the bottom for turning.

sew around the perimeter with a 1/2″ seam allowance, pivoting and sewing down a few stitches at the point where the neckband meets the shoulder area, then pivoting again to continue down the side of the cape.

clip outside corners, and clip into the inside corners of the neckband as shown below.

turn the cape rightside out through the opening, press out the corners using a point turner/pencil/chopstick, and press.

topstitch around the entire cape, closing the opening as you sew.

add velcro as shown. the “scratchy” part should be on the main (outer) fabric and the “soft” part should be on the lining. use 2″ inches of scratchy velcro, and 2.5″ of the soft velcro, so there’s less chance of the scratchy part touching skin.

sew into place around the edge of the velcro.

YOU’RE DONE!

this cape is actually a christmas present for my nephew S, the youngest of three boys. he’s 3.5 and loves to dance crazy hip hop moves to justin bieber music, so he gets purple lining in his cape. i’ve already made capes for his two older brothers (here and here), and he also has cape envy of Em’s. it was about time i made him one too!

since it’s a christmas present, he can’t model it. i was lucky enough to have lila, daughter of the very talented gail, model alongside Em in their awesome reading nook (it’s also famous – it was on ohdeedoh!) during a playdate. the girls play together, O makes messes, and gail and i talk sewing. it’s the best.

check out these two cuties in capes!

up, up, and away!

is lila a good guy or a bad guy? very mysterious… 😉

reaching for the clouds!

sweet buddies (they’re about 10 months apart in age – Em is older, but they’re the same size).

CAPES! i hope this all made sense. if you use this tutorial to make a superhero cape for a little one, please add it to my flickr group! i’d looooove to see them. feel free ask questions in the comments too, i’ll try my best to answer.

happy sewing!

an autumn walk, a kestrel coat, and a giveaway!

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thank you so much for the birthday wishes! it was a really nice birthday…a quiet but sweet day with my little fam that culminated in dinner at my new favorite restaurant (portlanders, you must try the pizza at nostrana!) and drinks at a great pub with great friends. my birthday gifts were mostly sewing-related, which was fine by me!

i was also able to finish up a project i’m really excited about. it’s the kestrel coat, by clever charlotte. have you heard of clever charlotte? they’re a relatively new independent kids’ pattern company, and recently released their second line of patterns for fall/winter. i first heard about them when katy of no big dill reviewed a couple of their spring/summer patterns back in june, and thought they were very interesting and beautiful and different from anything else that i’d seen.

a little while back, i was contacted by erin, co-creator of the company, to see if i’d be interested in trying out a pattern from their new fall/winter line. after getting over my initial surprise (who? ME?! they want ME?) i checked out the patterns and quickly agreed!

erin gave me my choice of pattern, but gently suggested that i try the kestrel coat. at the time i wasn’t so sure…while i thought the coat looked beautiful, i’d never made a coat before and was a little nervous. i practiced on the sunday brunch jacket (because i know i can always trust oliver + s to learn techniques), then felt ready to tackle the kestrel.

honestly, i shouldn’t have worried! the pattern was really well-written, with the perfect ratio of diagrams and clear written instruction. i made the 3T, using a lovely bone colored velveteen from fabric depot, lined with anna maria horner little folks voile that i’d been hoarding. it is a bit large on her, and i know it’ll fit next year too. Em was happy about the “reindeer fabric” and buttons, which are the perfect mix of her favorite colors (pink and purple, duh). it kept her warm during a long, chilly afternoon walk together.

i really like the details in the pattern. i knew it was going to be a special-looking coat when i was done. i did make one modification, on the sleeves. the pattern calls for separate upper and lower sleeves, with the lower sleeve puffed a bit. i wanted to let the scarf collar and full gathered back details of the coat shine, so i opted to modify the sleeves to just one piece. i handstitched the lining in, for a clean finish on the cuff if rolled up, and i left a little extra length inside there to let out next year. here’s a quick “how i did it” on the one-piece sleeve:

line up the dotted basting line of piece 6 (lower sleeve) with the cut line of the bottom of piece 5 (upper sleeve).

put a piece of tracing paper on top. using a ruler, connect the outer edges of the upper sleeve with the lower edges of the bottom sleeve. trace the rest of the pattern, including notches.

now you have a one-piece sleeve pattern! one more step…

square off the sleeve hem, using the cut edge of the sleeve as a guide. i did this step on the fabric itself with a rotary cutter. proceed with the pattern as instructed, skipping the steps relating to the two-piece sleeve.

and now, the part i’m really excited about…my first giveaway ever! if you’d like to give clever charlotte a try or if you’ve been eyeing one of their patterns for a while, leave a comment below for your chance to win a clever charlotte pattern of your choice! you don’t have to decide which one right now – i know it’s a tough decision. 😉

here’s how to enter:

  • leave me a comment, any comment!
  • include your email address in your comment, if it’s not linked to your profile. if you’re nervous about spam, the format of skirtastop(at)gmail(dot)com works great.
  • the giveaway is open until this sunday 11/27 at noon PST, and is open to international residents. **Giveaway is now closed**
good luck and happy thanksgiving to all you non-international residents!

guest posting at elsie marley!

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listen.  i’ve only been blogging for 6.5 months.  when i get comments, it’s super exciting.  when i get emails from bloggers that i have been inspired by for years asking ME to guest post or pattern test for them, it completely blows my mind!

my mind is STILL blown by the fact that meg of elsie marley asked me to contribute to her weeklong leadup to her fall kids clothes week challenge (KCWC) with a tutorial for fun details to add to kids’ clothes.  meg was one of the first people to feature something i had sewn on her blog (my christmas party dress), and it was around then that i realized what an amazing little community sewing bloggers are.  so supportive of each other!  anyway, my post is up TODAY!  i made an oliver + s sailboat top for O from another of my husband’s oh-so-soft cotton knit j.crew sweaters, and added little elbow patches in herringbone flannel.  the cozy fall hoodie i made for Em was my first try at this elbow patch endeavor, as you now may have guessed.

KCWC is really fun, and it’s a great way to find new blogs and make some new internet friends, too!  won’t you come visit me at elsie marley?

oh who am i kidding, i’m sure 99% of my visitors today are visiting from THERE!  welcome, take a look around, and feel free to stay awhile!  🙂

race for the cure and mini flag tutorial

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last weekend was the komen race for the cure in portland.  we lost my mom’s sister, elaine, to breast cancer in 1995 and still miss her.  she was a marathon runner, lived in an amazing house in california wine country, and was the executive director for the napa valley vintner’s association.  yep, pretty much the coolest gal ever.  i remember when we visited her in napa, she made us cocoa with steamed milk with her espresso machine (this was in the early ’90s when the espresso craze hadn’t taken off yet).  we started running the race for the cure while she was still battling, and have run/walked it on and off  since.

this year, the race fell on my sister andrea’s birthday, and she wanted to walk it with the kids.  she also asked her friend, kim, to join us.  we ended up walking with two 3 year olds, a 2.5 year old, a 9 month old, and a 5 month old, plus kim is pregnant (and left another daughter at home with daddy)!  phew!  the 5K walk took us over 2 hours, we took so many breaks we almost got beaten by the “end of the race” police cars, and it rained during the final stretch, but it was worth it.  it’s just so powerful and important being with all of those people walking for the same cause – a cure for breast cancer.  there were tears of course, but it’s also a happy, celebratory event.  we walked in memory of those lost, in support of those currently fighting, and in celebration of those who have conquered!

i wanted to make some decorations for the event – people like to dress in costume and get into it, especially for the 5K walk.  i told Em it was a “pink parade” and let her dress in almost every pink item in her closet (her dream come true)!  O got in the spirit with pink legwarmers, but kept it boyish by rocking his pirate shoes.  😉  he also nursed in the ergo during the walk – can you think of anything more appropriate than a baby breastfeeding during a breast cancer walk?

i made komen logo badges for our ergo carriers…

quick pink felt buntings for the strollers…

and little pink and gold flags for the girls to wave!

the mini flags were inspired by these amazing flag sculptures by oh happy day!, but mine are preschooler-sized.  i made them with scraps of pink ombré fabric leftover from Em’s ballet bag and superhero cape, backed with a metallic gold fabric i recently picked up at the halloween display at joann.  here’s how:

STEP 1: gather your materials – takeout food chopsticks (preferably unused!), and 1/8 yard each of a front and back fabric (for four flags).  cut a 4″ x 7″ rectangle from the front fabric, then make a mark 2″ in from the right edge, centered.  cut out at an angle to each edge to create the shape below.

STEP 2: pin the flag onto the backing fabric, then sew around the edge with a zigzag stitch, leaving about 3/4″ at the bottom left edge so you can insert your chopstick later (you can see the little purple mark if you zoom into this photo).

STEP 3: trim away the extra backing fabric, close to the stitches (don’t cut the stitches!)

STEP 4: sew a channel for your chopstick with a straight stitch, about 1/2″ from left edge of the flag.  you can eyeball this based on your chopstick – just don’t make it too big, or your flag will fly off with vigorous waving!

STEP 5: insert chopstick with the “pointed” end first, wave it around!

voilà!  mini flags for the cure!  🙂

first guest post and tutorial!

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the talented and inspiring candace of sparkle power! asked me to write a guest post for her while she and her family take some time to welcome a new baby boy into their lives, and my post is up on her blog TODAY!

i decided to go for it on my first ever guest post and do my first ever tutorial, too.  i share some boyish appliqué templates and my go-to bib pattern, and show you how to make a simple appliqué bib like you may have seen here or here.  if your little one isn’t in need of bibs, you can use the appliqué designs to liven up a boy (or girl!) item that needs a little punch.

click here to check out my appliqué bib tutorial on sparkle power!  

🙂