Sparkle Craft: Halloween Special - Magician's Cape
In the By Thistle By Thimble story “The Trick and the Treat,” Septimo the Magician has one trick: a card trick where the Jack of Hearts mysteriously flies into the air and disappears, only to reappear over someone’s head and then float back to the deck.
But the truth is, it's not a trick at all — it's real. Septimo had received the trick one Halloween night when he was seven years old and he has been using it ever since — that is, until one Halloween night many years later when the Jack of Hearts suddenly disappears.
Where did it go? Maybe the girl with the sparkling green eyes knows?
Whether you have one good card trick or are adept at pulling coins out from behind people's ears, a real magician's cloak will make your performance all the more believable. This quick sewing project will have you fixed up faster than you can say “hocus pocus.”
This cloak only requires basic sewing skills but using contrasting fabric makes it a little more fancy than just a plain, black cloak. While you could take these directions and use almost any fabric you like, if you do want a shiny satin cloak, be sure to use “flannel-backed” satin. The backing isn't thick, but the thin coating of flannel makes the fabric much less slippery to sew.
Whether you're costuming a magician or a princess, a witch or a king, this cloak is versatile enough to have your trick-or-treater covered. A magic cloak, indeed!
Magician's Cloak
Materials
½ yard black flannel-backed satin
½ yard blue flannel-backed satin
1 yard black ribbon
Black thread
Basic sewing supplies or sewing machine
Directions
On a large work surface, stack the two pieces of satin on top of each other with right sides together. Smooth them out well — evening up the edges as much as you can — then pin around all four sides.
Sew the pieces of satin together around the edges, leaving about a 3-inch hole on one side.
Use the hole to turn the cloak right side out. Press the cloak carefully with an iron set to low heat, then stitch the hole closed neatly.
Now it's time to make ties. To do so, cut the piece of ribbon in half and pin one piece to the edge of each side of the cloak, about 3 inches down from the top.
Sew the ends of the ribbon down securely. Tie the cloak around your child's shoulders, flipping it down above the ribbon ties to make a contrasting collar.
Presto — you're ready for a magical night of trick-or-treating!
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About the Author
Meryl Carver-Allmond
The Sparkle Kitchen Series is created by Meryl Carver-Allmond.
Meryl lives in a hundred-year-old house near the prairie with her sweet husband, two preschoolers, one puppy, one gecko, and about ten chickens. While she's been writing since she could pick up a pen, in recent years she's discovered the joy of photography, too. She feels lucky to be able to combine those skills, along with a third passion — showing people that cooking for themselves can be healthy and fun — in her Sparkle Kitchen posts.
