They're so dramatic, simple, and elegant. I'm making two as Christmas gifts this year. As the first has already been opened by its recipient, I can now blog about it! Yay!
I made a purple wool cape for my aunt. She lives in KY where it gets cold but not crazy cold, so a cape fits the bill well for winter days.
I actually used a pattern she sent me for my birthday, Simplicity 7438. My version was released in 1996.
An alternate view:
The faux fur collar was certainly a new adventure for me. Strangely, the pattern doesn't say to interface or underline the fur. Since I didn't want a floppy collar - ain't nobody like a floppy collar - I underlined the black fur with some stiff netting I had left from my Halloween costume (guhhh I still need to blog about that).
Fake fur GETS ON EVERYTHING. Seriously, a little piece of it felt like it was stuck up my nose for like, hours.
I'm glad I underlined the collar, as it now stands up really nicely. The three hooks serve only to close it, rather than also hold it up - which is what I suspect they would otherwise do.
I made the shorter version, complete with a faux fur collar.
I used purple wool as the main fabric for the garment. (I checked with my aunt beforehand to make sure she didn't have any sensitivities to it.)
The inside is lined with gorgeous brocade. Normally I would never line a garment with this fabric, but it's a cape for cold weather, so I think it's alright.
The inside:
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| The lining is slipstitched to the hem about 1/4" from the bottom edge for no-show. |
An alternate view:
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| The collar stands up on its own. |
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| Machine-stitched the netting. Don't worry about removing it as the edges are all concealed. |
Fake fur GETS ON EVERYTHING. Seriously, a little piece of it felt like it was stuck up my nose for like, hours.
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| I took this picture AFTER sweeping off 45,000 little pieces of fur. |
Here's the finished product! I sent it to my aunt early so she can hopefully wear it before Christmas!
