Cape & Crown Sewing Tutorial for a Warrior Queen (or King)

A couple of years ago I made my son a King costume for Purim (a Jewish holiday where we dress up and eat a lot of candy – kind of like Halloween only with a “they tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat” back story). Both kids have been using the costume for “Warrior King and Queen to protect the children from the terrible monsters” role playing, but it’s not easy when there’s only one cape & crown. My daughter has been bugging me for a while to make her a set, but I just haven’t got around to it (sound familiar?).

One day this week, we came home and she insisted I make her a crown and cape RIGHT NOW! And I said: OK! OK! I know I promised, but can I at least have a cup of coffee first?! I’m glad to say she went away for a few minutes and let me have my coffee in peace.

She chose the fabric (I’m not sure I would have gone for ALL PINK), and the whole thing was done in a couple of hours, so it could easily be a nap time project or done in one evening.

At least there are two swords, so I didn’t have to figure out how to DIY those… By the way, both swords are made of thick foam, and I recommend them very much for this kind of play – they are firm enough for fighting, but can’t really cause a serious injury (no pointy edges). They hurt when they hit you, though.

Materials

1 piece of fabric 11” X 7” for the crown
1 piece of fabric 28” X 28” for the cape
1 strip of fabric 3” X 17” for the cape collar
Matching thread
1” wide elastic, approx. 10” long
A small square of hook & loop tape (e.g. Velcro)
A 10” by 5” rectangle of thick & stiff interfacing or felt (for giving the crown it’s shape)
Standard sewing notions

Notes

Measurements are for
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Instructions

Sew the cape: Hem the cape on the bottom and both sides (fold over 1/2” twice, press, pin and sew). Set your machine to the longest straight stitch, and sew a straight line across the top (unfinished) edge. Do not secure the stitch by sewing back at the begining and end. Pull on the loose threads to gather the top edge.
Make the cape collar: Fold over all 4 sides of the collar fabric strip 1/2” and press. Fold the strip in half lengthwise so that the front is slightly shorter that the back, and press (like double fold bias tape – to make sure when we sew the front we will catch the back in the stitch).Open the long folds and match the edge of the collar to the one side of the gathered edge of the cape. Pin right sides together so that the raw edges of the collar and the cape are lined up, and sew in place as close to the edge as you can. This is just to hold the collar in place, so you don’t have to worry much if its straight or pretty.Refold the collar up on the fold lines, wrapping the strip around the gathered raw edge of the cape. Pin all the way to the end of the strip (past the edge of the cape). Edge stitch around all 4 sides of the collar.
Sew hook & loop tape to both ends of the collar so it can be closed to keep the cape from falling off.
Make crown template: Take your interfacing (or thick felt) and mark a line down the middle. Measure and mark 10 equally spaced vertical marks from the middle line to the top. Mark a diagonal line from bottom left to top right of the first rectangle created by the vertical marks. Mark a diagonal line from top right to bottom left of the second rectangle. Continue marking diagonal lines from bottom to top and top to bottom to create triangles for the top of the crown. Cut along the diagonal lines to create the template for the crown.
Sew crown: Fold your crown fabric in half right sides together and pin (this will make the next steps easier). Center crown template on the fabric so that there is 1/2″ on each side. Mark crown shape on the fabric. Sew a straight line across the bottom of the crown. Sew along the triangles at the top of the crown. Clip the peaks and valleys of the triangles, and turn the crown right side out.

Fold the open ends in 1/2″. Press. Slip the interfacing inside, you may need to scrunch the triangles a bit to get them in. Slip the elastic in on both sides and pin in place. Top stitch all around the crown.Sew on “crown jewels” made of large buttons.