BUT. . . that doesn't mean I spent a ton to make this. I was working with some other super charitable and fabulous folks (through the Regretsy forums) and they funded the fabric panel and I provided the notions and sewing time. And I didn't fall into my normal trap of "oh, I'll buy extra for me". I bought just what I needed (with a tiny bit of wiggle room). Though that did mean I ended up with a butt load of elastic. I couldn't find a tiny pack, so I have a few YARDS of elastic on hand now. Guess that means I need to find uses for it now.
But I digress.
Show the pics for crying out loud!
Up, up, and away!!
It's the Riley Blake My Mind's Eye super hero cape set (in green). It's a yard sized panel that includes the cape front (the horizontal stripe), mask, arm bands, belt, and the "decals". Oh, and instructions printed on the fabric.
True confession, I love cut and sew panels like this. They are a lazy person's DREAM. Just buy the fabric, wash it up, cut and sew. Yes, I pre-washed this because I figured if it's going to go to a kid it's going to get dirty and need to hit the laundry at least once. Best to shrink it up a bit before hand so it will hopefully last a good while.
The only thing you need to provide is: backing fabric if you want the cape to be reversible (you could just cut the cape out and serge the edges and move on with life but that would look cheap as hell), elastic (for the mask), velcro (for the belt and wrist bands). Totally optional items: batting (for bands, belt and mask) and fusible web.
You can totally make the set without fusible web but I had some light weight Heat and Bond on hand so I used that for the patch on both sides of the cape. I didn't want to sew it down because it would leave stitches on the opposite side which would look bad. I suppose I could have sewn the patches on before assembling the cape but I didn't think of that ahead of time and the instructions didn't mention it, either (for the record, the instructions are only "meh". . .but what do you want for instructions printed in the leftover space of a fabric panel?).
While I'm discussing the directions, they had typos in them which made me laugh but was also annoying. They also had you make the bands and belt in a kind of dumb way. They wanted you to attach the decals in the same spot where you put the velcro which would mean having ugly stitches on the decals. Also, I think it would have been more wear on the decals. If they're right at the fastener, I'd bet kids would pull on them to open the bands/belt which would lead to ripping (eventually). So I put the decals opposite the fasteners so the stitching wouldn't be as ugly.
The instructions also fail to mention that if you're using a backing fabric or the cape (to make it reversible) you can use that same fabric to make a reversible (and matching) mask. The mask pieces in the set are stripes on one side and black on the back (so technically could still be reversible but BORING).
I had to get something snazzy for my backing fabric so I went with green and shiny silver zig zag. Not for the low profile hero, that's for sure. Hell, I wanted to wear the mask just for shits and giggles (and I did model it for my hubby and I tried to get him to model it for the pics but it was cold out and football was on and he was not putting on pants for my crafty shenanigans--he did smirk at the set, which for him is big approval).
(oh, the instructions call for 5/8 yard backing fabric. I upped it to 3/4 since I was going to pre-wash and it gave me plenty to make the mask back and left me with a bit of scrap which made me happy. I love obnoxious shiny fabrics).
I decided to skip using bating on the belt/bands/mask (even though I had some on hand). I was worried it would shrink and make everything get funky and I didn't want to wash the whole big piece I have (lazy!). The items aren't as rigid as they would be with bating but they aren't droopy and cheap looking, either. I had that mask on my face and it definitely hid my true identity.
OH. . .I also found THE BEST VELCRO. I've only worked with velcro a tiny bit and from that limited experience I HATED IT. You had to sew the loops onto on side and the hooks on the other and the hooks were always grabbing the thread and it was a big ole pain in the butt. BUT. . .they have this version (velcro brand) that's hoops and hooks all in one. The hooks are short and hidden below the hoops so you don't have two separate pieces and the thread doesn't get all caught up in it YET it still holds together great. I used it on this project and on my cat's sweater (posting that next!). Really, it was worth the price (it was a tiny it pricey but all velcro is. . .this was worth every penny).
Ok, so that's the super hero set.
Next up. . .my cat and her new sweater.
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