Batman and Superman reversible capes aren’t really a new thing or something that I came up with, they have been around forever, and you can get a hold of kids superhero capes quite easily from different places online. The thing is though, they are something that I enjoy making for my kids and for gifts so I thought I would show how I make mine. With Batman v Superman opening next week I thought it was a good time to share them. Also FanX is coming up next weekend and these capes are perfect for an easy cosplay option for kids. I made the traditional Batman on one side and Superman on the other but I also decided to make a girl version. I thought about doing Batgirl and Supergirl but since Superman and Supergirl’s capes would look the same I decided instead to do Batgirl and Wonder Woman.
You can easily do any superhero you want. One year for Christmas I made a set of reversible capes for one of my boys. We already had a Batman/Superman cape so I made him a Green Lantern/Flash cape with each of their symbols on them. A Captain America/Thor cape, blue with a shield on one side and red with a hammer on the other. And the last one was Spiderman on one side, red with a black spider, and on the other side a personalized Super Jak cape, it was blue with a Superman style shield on it but instead of an S it had JAK on the shield. I think that the Super Jak cape was by far his favorite. I don’t think he took it off for at least a week after Christmas.
Now my youngest daughter loves Batman and Batgirl so she was so excited when I said I was making a Batgirl cape, in fact, the day that we bought the fabric we came home and she followed me around with the purple fabric asking if I was ready to make her Batgirl cape. When I did make it I got it all done except for the Velcro and she wanted to wear it so bad that I just safety pinned it and she wore it around like that the rest of the day.
I am including the pattern for the size and shape of cape that I make. I would say it is a good size for toddler and preschool age kids. My older kids wear them too but if you want to make it for an specifically for an older kid you will probably want to make it a little larger. The cape pattern will print of in 4 pieces that will need to be taped together. I am also including the patterns that I made for the symbols. They are just ones that I drew by hand so they aren’t perfect, if you want a different one or even a different superhero’s symbol you can always just try googling images of the symbols to use as patterns.
How to Make Reversible Superhero Capes
You will need:
- Printable pattern- Reversible Cape Pattern and Superhero Symbols
- 2/3 yard of fabric for each side (I used red for Superman and Wonder Woman, black for Batman, and purple for Batgirl)
- Felt squares for the symbols (for Superman: red and yellow, for Batman: yellow and black, for Wonder Woman and Batgirl: yellow)
- Velcro
- Scissors
- coordinating thread
- pins
- sewing machine
- basting spray (optional)
- marker (optional)
Instructions:
Print out the pattern and tape it together. Fold the fabric in half and place the pattern on the fold. Cut out. Repeat for the other side. Next cut your symbols out of the felt. For Batgirl I just cut the symbol out of yellow felt. Wonder Woman’s symbol I cut out, then cut along the lines to separate the different parts of the symbol, when I sewed it on I left a little bit of space between the pieces so the red cape showed through. Batman’s symbol is a yellow oval with a black bat on top. For Superman cut out one yellow diamond, then cut out the red diamond with the S so that the yellow will be seen through the holes. I found it easiest to lay the piece backwards on what will be the back side of the felt and trace it with the permanent marker. That was especially helpful for cutting out all of the little pieces of the Superman symbol.
Next, you will want to place the symbols where you want them on the back of the cape. If you have basting spray that makes it really easy because you can spray the wrong side of the symbol then stick it in place, if you don’t you can pin it in place. Sew close to the edge of the felt to attach the symbol to the cape. Do that for both cape sides.
Place the two capes right sides together and pin. Leaving an opening a few inches long in the bottom of the cape, sew around the outside of the cape using a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Clip the curves. Turn the cape right side out. Topstitch around the outside edge close to the edge, about 1/8″, closing the opening that you left for turning.
Cut a piece of Velcro about 2″ long and sew to the ends, one part to one side and the other part to the other side.
And that is it. You now have a fun reversible cape for your little superhero.
