Cuz Every Kid Can Use a Cape

When my 3 year-old nephew's birthday rolled around, I was desperate to get him a cape. I simply could not think of a better gift! If you can sew, stop here and I'm sure you can whip one up in the 5 minutes you'll save not reading this blog post. Since I am ridiculously uncrafty I didn't even consider sewing my own....well, that's not entirely true. I thought it might be possible for (yes, even me) to modify a Christmas tree skirt for my purpose. I went to Winners and looked over their luscious velvet and tassled products. Thank goodness I decided to go home and open my laptop instead! (I may not be crafty, but I've got mad research skills.)

I was uninspired by the flimsy crushed velvet crap readily available in stores. My preference was for a personalized cape. It's definitely fun to pretend that you're Superman, but I think it's even more fun to be your own superhero. I would have LOVED (and might still love) a cape with my own initial on it.

I ended up with a gorgeous and well-built cape from Panjo (as pictured above). Though she is no longer selling her creations, there are many others available on Etsy: I like homemade heroes, babypop and kidz*escapes.

Now that I have my own little one (and my mother's old sewing machine) I think I'll try to construct a handmade version. Stay tuned for the potentially disappointing results. : )