DIY No-Sew Elsa Cape for Pretend Play

Kids love to dress-up and engage in pretend play. This type of play is integral to development and is a great way for kids to practice imaginative and creative play. My daughter has recently asked for an Elsa cape for a “show” that she has been meticulously planning for a while now. Grab an old t-shirt and make a super quick and easy DIY no-sew Elsa cape!

For a DIY No-Sew Elsa Cape

What you need: 

• a t-shirt (I used an adult large so that it was long)
• fabric paint
• bleach
• velcro
• scissors

What to do:

1. Cut the back of the t-shirt on the side seams.
2. Continue the cut up the seam of the sleeve where it connects to the back.
3. Cut along the shoulder seam and along the neckline of the front of the shirt to make 2 separate pieces or fabric.
4. Cut some material off of the shoulder area to make a more streamline cape.
5. Cut the neckline in half, and apply velcro to each side to create a breakaway neckline. 
6. Spray the bottom of the shirt with bleach (see how Twitchetts does this here), or dampen the cape and sprinkle on some bleach powder. (optional).
7. Rinse and dry the shirt to remove any excess bleach.
8. Use fabric paint to draw some snowflakes on the back of the cape.

I’ll be honest, I had no idea how to draw snowflakes and found this awesome (and simple) tutorial on Pinterest!

With the other side of the shirt (the crossed out part above), I stuck some velcro on the cut ends of the neck and made a dress-up doctor shirt for the kids as well! Better than throwing the scraps in the trash!

[Tweet “Make 2 simple dress-up outfits from one old t-shirt! “]

If you really want to step up your Elsa dress-up making game, check out this tutorial from Ruffles and Rain Boots to make an Elsa dress-up apron!

Don’t forget to add this to your Halloween or Kids Pin board!