This thing took me ALL.DAY (and into the next day – I didn’t go to bed til 2!) to make. Once I got the hemming done, it was easy as cake and even fun. But THE HEMMING.
*shudder*
I started by drawing a semi-circle on the fabric. I used Benjamin’s height from shoulders to ankles, plus an inch, then doubled to find the length of the flat side of the semi-circle.
I divided that in half and cut a string that length and tied it to a pencil. I taped the other end of the string to the middle of the flat side of the semi-circle and then drew an arc.
And then cut out the arc.
Then I took his neck measurement, divided by pi, and found the diameter. (It helps to have a math wiz for a husband.) I then added an inch for the hem. And then another half an inch to grow in.
I measured two inches up, and used the diameter I’d found to make a circle for a the neck hole.
Now to hem the bottom. I was told to make a basting stitch and then gather it to make hemming a round edge easier. I did this.
I don’t think I did it right. I ended up taking out the basting stitch and just trying to iron it.
Parts of it look okay.
Parts of it look like this. This picture is supposed to be rotated, by the way. Sorry if it gives you a case of the dizzies.
Well, good or bad, it’s done. Now to hem the neck hole. For the next 18 hours of my life.
I tried the basting stitch method again:
I tried gathering loosely; I tried gathering tightly.
I tried looking for YouTube tutorials.
I tried a stay stitch.
I just couldn’t get the hem to fold all the way around. It was the most frustrating thing ever.
Finally, after imploring friends and twitter and Google and YouTube, a friend emailed her mom and her mom emailed me. (DOH. WHY DIDN’T I DO THAT? MY MOM WAS A SEAMSTRESS. Sorry Mom… *Ashamed*)
She suggested putting in a basting stitch, then pinning the hem up in various places. THEN using a pin, pull on the basting stitch until it tightens to where it should be.
And that’s how I got this:
(Forgive the stains on my ironing board. That’s from ironing black fabric before pre-washing it. And also, an iron may have sat face-down on it for a time.)
It’s still not the prettiest. But it’s not twisted. Just wrinkled. And as it’s after midnight, I can live with that.
I hemmed up the straight edges and voila! A cape! Now to decorate… Stay tuned!
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Is anyone else doing another craft day today? What are you doing? Are you posting about it? Let me know!
It looks great! might I recommend next time you make a rectangular cape though? LOL! It’s much much easier – I made one for my son last year – interestingly enough, he wanted nothing to do with it and still never plays with it. Oh well!
sewing round hems – if theyre not working, like that, what i’ve found to work best is cut another piece to lay on the inside (a facing) – as the folded bit, and then clip the actual folded bit – triangles for an inside curve, just straight snips for an outside curve. its a lot more bother and thought to do the extra cutting, but i go insane if i get wrinkles.
that cape is incredibly awesome though. i need to make sure my bo stays away as i’m reading these or he’ll beg for one.
I’m such a visual person, I’m sitting here reading this aloud to myself trying to figure out what you’re telling me… tell ya what, how bout the next time you do this, break out the camcorder. K? 🙂 There is a serious lack of how-to sewing videos on YouTube.
BUT THANK YOU FOR TRYING! (It’s not your fault I have a sewing-related learning disability). 🙂
There is nothing like a superhero cape to make a toddler feel empowered. They are so small and have to adapt to such overwhelming surroundings, just that little bit of felt and imagination can boost their little egos into the wild blue yonder. Thanks for the tips.