Super Quinn Cape

My favorite gift to give pre-schoolers is a super cape. I made them as favors for Sydney's 3rd birthday and the kids are still zipping around in them a year later, which I think means they were a success. This weekend was our godson, Quinn's, b-day and I figured he needed to feel super for his 2nd birthday.
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I know that at a certain age little men want real super hero capes, like batman or superman, but until they get there, I love the super-kid cape with their own initial on the back. I want my kids to feel confident that they can save the world in big and small ways as just themselves, just a bit "awesomer" (to use a Joey word) in the cape.

To make your own: I begin with the tutorial here, but mostly just looked at the shape she uses for the neck, since I'd have no idea how to draw that on my own. Her cape seemed a bit wide and long for my petite Super Sydney when I made the first one. I think that when I was making my pattern last year I looked at this tutorial for the cape shape because she uses measurements. I tried one of these with the felt neck and wasn't in love with how the neck part turned out on mine, although hers looks perfectly lovely.

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I use a yard and a half of cotton broadcloth because it's inexpensive and floats nice and lightly behind your super-kid. You can cut it out all at once if you use a yard and a half of the same fabric, strategically folded. I drew my pattern onto newspaper first and I can post a picture of my crinkled and taped pattern if you'd like to take a look at it. The only part that really matters is the neck part, the rest will float down and away from your cherub.

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Print out your super-kid's initial in size 500ish font and cut out your paper letter (don't use your sewing scissors!). I use wonder under or heat 'n' bond light under a piece of nice fabric (expensive fabric just holds up better--I used Amy Butler Sun Dot for Quinn's) a little larger than the letter shape. Follow the directions on whatever adhesive you chose, centering it on the cape so that it's closer to the shoulders than the bum and stitch a safety stitch around the edges. Or, you can use heat 'n' bond ...um..heavy?...it's packaging is red and you just press it on there, no sewing. I did that for Sydney's favor-capes because I was on a mission and had a new baby.

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Place your two cape pieces right sides facing and press it all together, smoothing out the fabric to the edges as you go. This works as kind of a pre-pinning helper. Then pin, pin, pin your edges starting at the neck. Then, sew, sew, sew, leaving a little 3-4 inch gap for turning it right side out. Cut around the curvy parts' seam allowance while it's still inside out with your pinking shears to help things lay nice. Cut a few notches in the scoop-neck part too.

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Flip right side out and press, checking to make sure that your seam is snug against the edge and not slipped in there a ways (maybe no one else has this problem). Then topstitch all around, close to the edge, so you close up the gap.

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Battle velcro onto the closure (my velcro never turns out perfect) and voila.

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Your child can now go to the library or pre-school or the dreaded grocery store ready to save the world!