How to Decorate a Magic Cape

His magic cape can give him the confidence he needs to perform.

Decorating your child's magic cape helps add his own personality to the costume. Personalize the cape by adding his favorite colors, designs or even his own name. Get your child involved in the decorating process and take him to the craft store to pick out decorating materials. Putting together his magical cape can be a fun activity for the whole family.

Things You'll Need

• Cape
• Ironing board
• Iron
• Crayons
• Printer paper
• Scrap fabric
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Fabric paint
• Stencils
• Paintbrushes
• Newspapers
• Sequins
• Hot glue gun

Instructions

1. Shop for a cape or make one on your own. Craft stores, toy stores, thrift shops or costume stores are all places to look for a cape. Since you will be decorating the cape, select one that is a plain solid color. This way, your new decorations won't be hidden by a design in the fabric.

2. Spread the cape out on an ironing board. Set your iron to a medium-high to high setting, depending on the type of fabric. Iron the cape, focusing on all creases and wrinkles. If your cape is wrinkly, your glued-on decorations may not stick properly.

3. Draw a design for placement of your cape decorations. You may want to give your child a box of crayons and a piece of printer paper. Let him draw pictures of how he wants decorations on his magical cape to appear. Setting up the design ahead of time minimizes errors while decorating your magic cape.

4. Pick out a variety of decorating items from your local craft store. Fabric paints, stencils, sequins and pieces of scrap fabric are easy to use for decorating. You will also need a hot glue gun and sewing machine, to hold everything in place.

5. Follow your design plan and start with the biggest pieces first. Cut pieces of scrap fabric with scissors. For example, if you are decorating a magic wizard cape, you may want fabric in the shape of moons and stars. Sew fabric pieces onto cape with your sewing machine.

6. Make designs on the magic cape with stencils and fabric paint. Your craft store offers a variety of fabric paint to make decorating simple and enjoyable. Opt for paints that are easy for you to use, such as fabric spray paint, paint pens or fabric paint and brushes. Before you use fabric paint, spread out old newspapers to catch any drippings. Whether you use spray paint or glitter paint to decorate, using a stencil helps give you solid lines.

7. Use stencils to spell out words, names or designs around the rim. If the cape is for a magician, you may want to spell out "Timmy the Great" or if it is for a princess, use the stencils to spell "Royal Highness".

8. Attach sequins to the magic cape with hot glue. Sequins give the cape a little extra flare by adding shine and sparkle under a spotlight. Place sequins in a place where they will attract the most light, such as right in the middle of the back or around the rim of the hood.

Tips & Warnings

• It may be helpful to look at cape designs online or in a costume book. There are a variety of design ideas for magic capes with various themes, such as prince, wizard, princess or magician capes.

• Allow hot glue to dry thoroughly before wearing the magic cape. Picking it up too quickly may cause pieces to fall off. Additionally, you can get burned from hot glue if it isn't completely cool before touching the cape.

• Make sure your child tries on the cape before decorating. The cape should fall somewhere between her thighs and knees. If it is too long, she might trip on it during her performance.

References

• Michael's: Fabric Paint
• Disney Family Fun: Artful T-shirts
• Michael's: Frequently Asked Questions About Fabric Painting

Resources

• Disney Family Fun: Custom Cape