Monday, May 18, 2009

That's Really Super, Supergirl

This afternoon, before it was time for the sitter to leave, I grabbed a few minutes to run out and go to the store. I still had a few minutes to spare, so I thought I'd stop in at the little toy store in the strip mall across the street from the grocery store and see if they had any superhero capes. Devon, the 2-year-old, has been using a tiny red bandanna and a pinkish red fat quarter as capes, and though she is perfectly satisfied with them, I find it a bit sad that her capes don't exactly fly in the wind behind her when she runs around yelling "SUPER DEVON!"

So, I discover that the toy store, which has been around for over 30 years, has just gone out of business. I'll spare you any boo hoo-ing about that particular tragedy, but it made me hit the JoAnn Fabrics a few doors down to see if they had any decent patterns that looked easy enough for someone who only knows how to sew in semi-straight lines. They didn't. In fact all the pattern books were loaded with these really elaborate Marie Antoinette, whalebone corset and bustle-type costumes. Which, beside the fact that I could no more make one of those than I could put my leg behind my head, don't exactly seem conducive to fighting crime. I figured a cape can't possibly be that hard, so I bought some red and black Kona cotton and decided to work it out on my own.

After looking at several tutorials online that just weren't what I wanted, I set about cutting the yardage into a trapezoid shape, I hemmed the sides and bottom, and made an opening in the top to thread a tie through. I made one in red for Devon and one in black for Harper, and somehow, they both kept themselves occupied so I could make them. Once Devon's was done, she immediately wanted to strip down to her diaper before she put it on. I'm not sure why, but I was happy to oblige. Harper was too busy to keep hers on for long, but Devon agreed to show off her new, Justice League-worthy cape for the camera:

7 comments:

Cathy said...

They have some really neat ones at pre-school. They have used velcro at the neck to eliminate the strangulation factor with the ties. I'll see if I can find a pattern for them.

MichelleB said...

Kids and capes! Love it. My kids loved capes, too.

Anonymous said...

my kids loved capes too. My oldest who is now 28, wore towels, shirts, even grammy's bloomers as a cape if need be. I should remind him of his cape days LOL

Marydon said...

... and an upcoming super WOMAN!!
Adorable. TTFN ~ Marydon

Diana said...

Too cute! My daughter loved the whole super hero idea, too. She used an old receiving blanket as a cape and pushed out the bottoms of paper cups to make wrist gauntlets.

Joy said...

Oh that's just adorable!! Cute as a bug's ear :o).
Hugs,
Joy :o)

Vicki W said...

Too cute and just think, in the future you can pull this photo out, enlarge it and display it at her engagement party!