Alas, the long awaited superhero cape tutorial!

Batman on one side and Superman on the other.

You can also make a girl version with a princess crown on one side and a Supergirl symbol on the other. I used pink and purple, but you could use your daughter’s favorite colors.

The instructions are for a Batman/Superman cape, but you could also make SuperWHY! or Obama, or whatever your little one desires.

For many superhero applique patterns, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Materials (Boy)
3/4 yard black fabric
3/4 yard red fabric
1 sheet each of red, yellow, and black felt (see picture below)
Heat n Bond Lite (fusible web)
red thread
black thread
small piece of Velcro
Download and print out superman and batman applique (PDF)

This is what the felt rack looks like at my Joann’s. Many fabric stores carry small pieces of craft felt (not wool!) that are very inexpensive. I think these were $.50 each.

If your child is older or taller, or if you just want the cape to be a lot longer than mine you might need to buy one yard of each fabric (or more).

All of the directions below can be applied to the girl cape, except use the princess crown applique instead of the batman applique. I’ve done a girl version in dark pink on one side and light pink on the other and it looks totally fantastic.

1. Measure your child from the shoulder down to the knee. This will be measurement A. You can decide how wide you would like your cape, or you can use my suggestion which is 20″.

2. Fold your fabric in half selvage to selvage. Using the picture below, mark your fabric with chalk or a fabric marker. The side measurement is A and the bottom is 10″ (or half of your desired width). **NOTE** I have a PDF version of the pattern for sale in my shop for just $5.75!

3. Cut out on your chalk lines. Place your black cape on top of your red fabric on the fold. Trace or pin and cut.

4. Using your printouts of the Superman and Batman (or princess) images, trace onto the paper side of the Heat n Bond Lite. Each image needs two pieces of felt, so for the Batman symbol trace the oval separate from the bat. For the Superman symbol, trace the triangle and the “S” separately.

5. Cut apart each shape (NOT on the lines!).

6. Iron the shapes onto the felt according to the directions on your fusible web. It only takes a few seconds to fuse the paper on.

7. Cut out each shape on the lines. Peel paper off.

8. Iron the shapes onto the right side of the cape. Batman on the black; Superman on the red.

**It is very common for red fabrics to change color with heat (temporarily!). Do not be alarmed if your red fabric has darker spots where you ironed. Once the fabric cools off it will return to its normal color.**

9. Stitch around the edges of the appliques. I like to use a regular zigzag stitch at the default width. Since felt does not fray in the wash, there is no need to cover the edges completely. However, if you are a pro with applique, a satin stitch would look very nice.

10. Pin cape pieces right sides together and stitch using a 1/2″ seam allowance. Leave a six inch opening on the bottom for turning it inside out.

11. Trim seam allowances and clip curves (clip valleys, notch mountains).

12. Turn the cape right side out and press.

13. Edgestitch around the entire cape (using black thread on the top and red thread in the bobbin).

Try the cape on your child and mark where you want the velcro to go. Stitch velcro on.

All done! One happy little boy (or girl)!

***Please do not sell items that you make from this tutorial or with my applique patterns. I offer the applique patterns for free, but they are copyrighted images, so they shouldn’t be sold. ***