Superhero Cape Tutorial

Tutorial

You will need 1 metre of polar fleece fabric. If you are lining yours then you will also need enough flannel to fully cover the inside. I had to buy 2 metres of fabric as the flannel was not as wide as the polar fabric.

The following pictures show you how to make and cut your pattern directly onto your fabric (I used paper as a guide to show you).

You will need to draw a semi circle straight onto your fabric, using a pin, a length of string just under ½ the width of your fabric and a fabric marker. My string was 75cm long. Draw a smaller semi circle at the top, the string for this one measured 13.5cm.



Cut out.



Shape the shoulders and level off any inbalances in the hem line ensuring that the centre front (CF) seam lengths match one another.




And shape the neckline.



Your fabric should end up looking like this (curved shoulders and a scooped neckline at the font).



Sew up the shoulders using a very narrow seam.

Sew up the hemline to about 1.5 to 2cm wide. I shortened my lining by 5cm in length and just overlocked the hemline.

Attach the zipper. If you are not using any lining then it will be pretty straight forward. If you are not very confident at sewing then I would recommend skipping the lining altogether, unless you can find someone to show you how to do it.

Attach the neckband. I measured 8cm (which includes 1cm either side for seam allowance) and measured out the length of the neckline. I didn’t make a note of what my one measured out to be. Pin in place and stitch. I hand sewed the inside into position to give a neater finish. Then sewed on some frog closures so that the capes can be worn unzipped and still be held in place at the neck.

For the logos, I just googled the emblems on line and traced them onto paper off my computer screen (my printer is down). I had to enlarge the superman one so I just cut and spread at 2cm intervals along the length and width to get the right size.

Cut these out of felt



and use spray adhesive to position the colours on top of one another.



Then zig zag stitch them together along the seams.



Position these about 8.5cm down from the centre back neckline and spray a little glue to hold it into position against the cape.



Then zigzag the whole thing onto the cape, remembering not to catch the lining!!

Superhero Capes

Jack and Josh are celebrating their 2nd and 3rd birthdays on the 14th August. They share the same birthday just one year apart which I think is very special indeed. This week I whipped up a pair of fleecy superhero capes to give them each their own on the day. I made a Batman one for Jack and a Superman one for Josh. They are super easy to make.

I'll post the tutorial on how to make one up shortly.

Soccatoos

It's official.


We have crossed a new frontier.


We have entered the world of kid sports - gulp.


I can now proudly wear the highly coveted badge of the soccer mum LOL

Make your own (edible) paint

Here's a really easy way to make paint for you child, without having to worry about them eating it!

1. Take a few tablespoons of powdered milk.
2. Add in a small amount of water and mix. You're looking for a consistency somewhat like paint, so keep it on the thick side. Add more water or milk as needed.
3. Transfer it into individual paint containers.
4. Put a few drops of different coloured food grade food colouring into each container and mix it in. If you don't want to use this type of colouring then you would need to explore using natural colouring from foods such as beetroot, boiled egg shells etc.



Joshua loves to paint in the bath, he also enjoys eating it as well which is fine by me. Once he finishes with it he dumps the whole lot into the bath and he ends up with lovely, soft skin when he finally climbs out (milk is a natural skin softener - didn't Cleopatra have milk baths?)

Polar fleece pants

I made these polar fleece pants for Josh using the New Conceptions pattern.


I've been using this particular pattern to make pants for him since he was 4 months old as it has been cut to fit babies and children in cloth nappies. Although I do admit to modifying the pattern each time I make him a pair of pants to achieve the final look I am after.


These pants double as nightime soakers and daytime winter outdoor play gear.

Scooter boy

I captured Joshua's first attempts at riding a scooter today. Not bad for a first day! This was given to us by our lovely neighbour whose daughter had grown out of it.

Josh is at the transition stage for dropping his daytime nap (can you see my sad face) so I now just put him in his room at midday with some toys and books for an hours quiet time. I let him know that he can play or go to sleep if he feels tired but he doesn't have to and I will come and get him when time is up. He alternates days where he sleeps and days where he just plays. Today was one of the play days. He was desperate to be let out (he has a gate at his door) and when I opened his gate he bolted straight to the scooter for some more fun LOL! I couldn't sleep either if I had just been given a set of wheels.

Having fun with long pants

Joshua loves his new thermal pants. But he especially loves it when I don't fold up the legs so they dangle down past his feet, reminding me of Thing 1 and Thing 2 in Dr Seuss books. That way he can run around the loungroom slipping and sliding like a mad man....

Kite flying on a windy day

It's a windy day here today and too cold to be venturing far from home. I've been waiting for a day like today to appear so that Joshua and I could have fun doing this!

To make your own kite simply tie a long length of string appropriate to your child's age to the handles of a plastic shopping bag. Then go outside and have some old fashioned fun and laughter.

Free Thomas the Tank Engine DVD

As Josh is now really into Thomas the Tank Engine I thought it was time to make a DVD for him. This didn't cost me a cent to make and this is what I did.

1. For a few weeks I had Stephen tape all the Thomas episodes on ABC2
2. He then edited out the unwanted stuff at both the beginning and end of each recorded episode (he has a special player that can do this, I wouldn't know how to do it myself)
3. He transferred them all onto a blank DVD (from his collection)
4. He gave me a blank DVD cover (also from his stash)
5. I cut up a free Thomas colouring in booklet that I sent away for through City Rail which I had kept aside waiting to be needed and slipped it into the cover

Here it is!

Josh's first train trip

Yesterday we visited Sue, our Clinical Nurse Consultant at Karitane for a follow up session to see how Josh was going. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to go on our first train journey.


The fact that it was forecast to reach temperatures of 38DegC and up didn't put me off. Instead I packed a small insualted bag with our meals, a thin ice brick and some wet towels. I loaded up the thermos with iced water and grabbed our hats and long sleeved shirts.


On the trip home we both enjoyed some cold fizzy drinks, Josh had a lemonade and I chose a Sarsparilla. Of course in the shop he couldn't resist asking me for this lolly or that lolly so I happily purchased two of his choices for him.



He love the trip so much he hasn't stopped talking about it or asking to see the pictures :)