With some simple sewing, you can quickly make this easy homemade Captain America costume from recycled t-shirts. It's super comfy, and kids will love it!
1royal blue t-shirtin the size of the person who will wear the costume.
Scraps of white and red jersey fabricif you cut them from the bottom of old t-shirts, you can save yourself the hassle of hemming the shirt later on.
A piece of fusible web for the starOr freezer paper and fabric paint, if you prefer.
Instructions
Make the shirt
Cut a star out of white fabric (or paper if you'll be painting it on) in a size that looks proportional for the blue shirt you are using.
Place the star in the desired location on the blue t-shirt and mark a horizontal cut line underneath the star. (Lower the mark line a bit to leave room for a seam allowance.)
Cut off the bottom of the t-shirt along the cut line. To make sure your cut is symmetrical, fold the shirt in half before making your cut.
Calculate the width of the stripes by placing the t-shirt flat on a table and measuring the width. Add 7 times the measurement of the seam allowance you plan on using. (So, if you plan on making a seam of 1 cm, add 7 cm to your measurement.)Once you have calculated that measurement, divide it by 6 to get the size of the width of each stripe.
To determine the length of the stripes, have the person try on the shirt and measure from the cut line to the desired length. Once again, add your seam allowance for the top seam. If you are using fabric from old t-shirts, cut the stripes from the bottom, leaving the hem. This will save you the hassle of hemming the shirt later on. If not, add extra length for the hem of your shirt.
Cut out 6 white stripes and 6 red stripes with the calculated width and length.
Once you have cut out the stripes, sew them together. Place one white stripe together with one red stripe with the right sides facing each other. Sew down the length on one side, lining up the bottom hems well if you’re using them.
Add another stripe by placing a new, red stripe together with the unsewn part of the white stripe (right sides together and lined up along the hem) and sew down the unsewn edge of the white stripe. Continue the process until you have six stripes together. Repeat with the remaining six stripes.
Line up the stripe panels under the t-shirt to see if you have the width right. Then, stack both panels of stripes together with right sides facing each other and sew down both sides to form an inside-out tube of fabric. (Adjust the width before sewing down the sides, if needed.)
To connect the stripes to the rest of the shirt, flip the tube right side out and then flip the blue shirt inside out.
Place the right-side-out tube inside of the inside-out shirt, lining up the raw edges (not the hemmed edge if you are using it).
Sew the stripes panels to the shirt by sewing along that edge, going all the way around the entire shirt.
Flip the shirt right-side-out.
Cut the star out of white jersey fabric and appliqué it onto the shirt. (You can also paint on a star or cut a star out of iron-on t-shirt tranfer material and ironing it on.)
The pants
If you can't find comfortable pants in the right color, make some pants, using some pants that currently fit to help make a pattern.
Cut the pattern out of blue jersey fabric and use these instructions to sew them together.
Making Captain America's helmet
Trace and cut this pattern out of blue jersey fabric, following the instructions for sewing the pieces together.
Trace and cut Captain America’s “A” out of white jersey fabric. Sew it onto the helmet using an appliqué technique. (You can paint it on instead.)
Free-hand a wing shape pattern on paper and trce and cut it out of a very stiff fabric.
Sew or glue the bottom ends of the wings to the swim cap helmet on either side.
Putting it all together
Put on a white long-sleeved shirt. Wear the Captain America shirt over it.
Finish putting on the pants, helmet, and red boots.
Optionally, buy some red gloves to wear with the rest of the costume.
Hold the shield and you're ready to go!
Notes
To make seams tidy, use a serger/overlock machine if you have one. You can then use a regular sewing machine to sew down the edges and strengthen the seams.