A superhero caper

The dynamic duo!

I have been wanting to share this post for awhile. I know there are a lot of pictures, but they are such fun pictures I don't want to leave any of them out!

This project got its start a few months ago when I needed an idea for Emily's birthday. When I asked her mom for ideas, she mentioned that Emily (about to turn 3) and big brother Darrin (4) loved to play super heroes. They had invented their own superheroes -- Emily is Super Emily-Cat, and Darrin is Super Gromit. So Joanna suggested I might make superhero capes. What a fun idea!

I decided to make one for Darrin even though his birthday is not until September. It just seemed to me it would make Emily's gift much more fun if she and Darrin could both have capes to play super heroes together.

I did a lot of research before settling on a pattern that suited me. Who knew there were so many superhero cape patterns floating around in blogland? This is the one I finally ended up using: Clever Little Cape . I liked the idea of a collar and also the fact that the cape is lined. It really helps it to swirl nicely. I did end up enlarging the pattern by quite a bit to ensure that it would fit my grandchildren for some time to come.

Here is Emily's cape:

And here is the emblem on the back. I designed these myself after looking at some ideas online. I drew the shield emblem in a drawing document and then added the lettering using a font in a very large size to fit inside the shield. The emblems are made from felt, so they won't be completely washable, but hopefully the capes won't need washing too often. I did find out that simply fusing the letters to the shield (and the shield to the cape) with Heat'n'Bond® wasn't good enough. They came loose very quickly. So I blanket-stitched them in place and they should hold up well.

I also put a hidden cat in the lining of Emily's cape. The lining of hers is made from an old pale green sheet.

And now, for the cape in action. Joanna took these wonderful pictures.

Revealing the hidden cat:

And here is Darrin's cape:

You probably can't tell, but the design on the fabric is colorful shooting stars.

Here is his Super Gromit emblem.

And a hidden Gromit in the lining.

His cape in action. I love the pics his mommy took!

Revealing the hidden Gromit:

And here are both super heroes together, ready for action and another adventure!