Ever since the dawn of comic books and video games, little boys (and girls) have loved to dress up as their favorite superhero and pretend to save the world. Let your child’s inner hero or heroine come out in “flying” colors this year with homemade superhero capes for their birthday party!
It’s the perfect way to finish off a superhero scavenger hunt where your little Supermen and Batgirls can use all the materials they’ve collected during the hunt to make their very own cape to take home. Just put materials to make the capes at each clue location and tell your players that [insert monster of choice] is destroying [city/town of choice] and it’s up to them to save the day! Here’s how to do it!
Step 1: Gather all the materials you will need for the capes. You will need: 24 x 30 piece of felt in whatever color you choose (for example, black for Batman and red for Superman); smaller squares of felt for the superhero logos, scissors, fabric glue, a marker, measuring tape, Velcro self-sticking dots and superhero logo patterns (you can find and print these easily from the internet).
Step 2: Lay out the piece of fabric flat on a table and fold it in half with the folded side to the left.
Step 3: Using a measuring tape, measure in 8-10” (use a smaller measurement for younger children and slightly larger measurement for older children) from the fold along the top of the fabric and make a dot with the marker. Then measure in 12-15” (again depending on the size of the child who will be wearing the cape) from the fold along the bottom of the fabric and draw a dot. Then connect the two dots with a straight line for you to cut along (if you are drawing on black fabric, use a gold or silver metallic marker so it is easier to see).
Step 4: Cut along the line and open the fabric back up. You should now have the shape of a cape. Stick one of the Velcro dots to the upper left-hand corner and press hard until it seals. Then, flip the fabric over and press the other half of the Velcro dot to the right-hand corner.
Step 5: Using a pattern printed out from the internet, trace the superhero logo of your choice onto a smaller square of felt in the designated color. Holding the pattern with the felt overtop of it against a backlit window makes the tracing process quicker and easier.
If there are two layers to the logo (like in the Batman logo), cut the background layer out first and then use the paper stencil to cut out the second layer.
Step 6: Using fabric glue, attach the logo (if there are multiple layers to the logo, glue them together first) to the cape and press firmly until it adheres.
Step 7: Put the capes on party-goers using the Velcro closure and let the world saving begin!
Some potential world saving activities include feats of skill and strength like lifting giant boxes and stacking them across the yard in a race against time. Boxes could be labeled TNT or EXPLOSIVE and children need to move them away from the city.
Or make up your own fun activities. Superhero capes for kids’ give them superpowers and abilities. Just don’t encourage flying off the top of your swingset unless they are secured properly to a zip line. :)