craftgrrl | Forest Fall Capes

Burda 9674 - my first successful Burda. I'm not sure what was wrong with me (or the pattern company) 6 years ago, but now these patterns aren't frustrating. Or maybe I'd just chosen a pattern that was 'way beyond my sewing ability back then. :-D

Sizes 7 and 10. I made some minor modifications to this pattern. Instead of a rounded hood, I made them pointed. In the pattern, they have the hood lined, but I lined the entire cape. This is intended to be an autumn-functional Hallowe'en costume. It gets cold up here in Southern Ontario when the kids go door-to-door begging for candy. The gap in the cape on the right indicates a pocket in the side seam. Each cape has 2 pockets. I cut them in the same fleece as the capes, but lined them with the satin lining fabric to keep little hands toasty. (And my models asked me to obscure their faces for internet consumption.)

I laid the pieces across the grain instead of on it. The outside is made of fleece from an old blanket - so I know this is as pilly as it's going to get. It's good fleece. I wanted to take advantage of the leaves printed along the edges of the blanket. As with all stash-busting and blanket-chopping projects, I had to arrange some pieces a little more creatively than others; the size 10 has the leafy hood, and the size 7 had to be brown. You won't notice it here, but the pieces on the 7 aren't cut on the same grain, either.

It's hard to see, but the hood on the 7 has a tassel, but it's the same brown as the fleece, and small. I made the tassel on the 10 using a scrap piece of fringe. I don't really like the colour - it's more green than golden, but I have the colour sense of a stoplight. I'd like some input here: does this fringe-tassel look OK with this fleece?

Hoods down. Cute and pointy, just the way I like them.

Button Detail! Yes, they are PEACH PITS! Not real ones, I'm pretty sure, but each one appears to be hand-carved, and I had six of them, and they're matching capes, and I've been saving them for the perfect project, and this seems to be the one. I "inherited" them when someone's aunt was stash-busting.

Lining shot. (I hope these pictures line up with the text... The satin is gorgeous. It's polyester, feels filmy on the felted side, like sueded suiting, or something. I got it a long time ago for a project for myself, but never did muster the enthusiasm.

Small trick I picked up from a Kwik-Sew housecoat pattern (remember the faux-fur coat? :-D): sew the outer shell and the lining separately, including the hoods. Stitch up the sides of the cape and the edges of the hood. Turn THE HOOD right-side out (pulling it down below the shoulders of the still-unfinished cape) and stitch the NECK seam allowances together ALONG THE STITCHING LINES to close it. Now you won't have a hood lining shifting out of place when you adjust the garment on your shoulders, and you won't have to deal with attaching the separately constructed hood to the separately constructed and lined cape. Too much fussing.

I've already told my daughter (the one on the left) that the capes are for my market table, but if they don't sell by the end of October, she can have them. She's trying to teach herself hexes now.

Constructive criticism always welcome.
Cross-posted to my journal and