Here is my sweet little eagle, happy and proud of his costume, phew. Today my kids went off to school dressed in their Purim costumes which is always so much fun, and in fact, yawn, they were up at the crack of dawn excited and ready to go! And I'm pretty excited too, since I think this eagle costume is my most photogenic costume effort to date. It reminds me of totem poles or Nordic design, with a little Native American Indian thrown in there. I really enjoyed the unplanned process of making it, and I'm so happy to say that I've definitely improved in the costume making department— the more you do the better you get, until the kids don't need your costume making skills anymore, and then hopefully you can use them on the grandchildren!
I thought that this year I might just gather my wits and try to sew on the sewing machine, but the glue gun won out yet again since the cape was made just yesterday. And I can tell you, a cape like this one is really quite simple to make, and you can certainly still whip one up. The hat of course is another story, but you could make a beak to go over the nose and a feathered head band or hat with the same felt feathers, and that's it! I'd love to make a colorful parrot using this same idea, maybe next year!
You'll Need:
- felt in black, brown, white and grey
- good scissors
- a hot glue gun
- brown satin ribbon
- strips of velcro for attaching wrists to cape from the inside
- white pants
- a black sweater
- a crocheted eagle hat
- a cute kid who wants to fly
How To:
A basic cape pattern is made from a circle of felt with a smaller circle cut out in the middle for the neck. The best way to do this is to cut a square that is the width of your child's reach, (measure from wrist to wrist with arms held straight out) and then fold that square into four and mark a curve of a quarter circle and cut through all the layers. Cut a small quarter circle out for the neck. Unfold and then remove some portion of the circle for the opening, in this case quite a bit, but you'll have to see what works for you. You could also make this a closed cape for a smaller child.
Cut a second layer of grey for the shoulder area, with a bit of a contoured edge. Cut lots of feathers and arrange on the cape, with the ends of the feathers glued behind, except for the neck portion. Affix everything with hot glue, including a ribbon at the front and some velcro cuffs on the inside to attach the cape to the child's wrists. This little detail is what allows the child to raise his wings, so it's really an important added touch!
That's it.....make a big bird, or a parrot, or a cardinal, or just about any bird that you can think of in the same way. And don't worry about being too literal, just go with contrasting colors and pants/skirt and shirt that tie it all together! Purim Sameach!
