The festival of cloaks (part three)

Tailored shoulders, version one.

Sometimes you just don't have enough material to make a semi or full circle cloak.You can keep the same length by forming only a partial circle but then the front opening will hang open rather than falling closed naturally. But there's a solution! We shape the pieces so there's a seam running along the shoulder area leaving you with a cloak that closes naturally in front. You don't get as much billowy goodness but you save on fabric.

Here's how to make it.


Materials: One blanket or bed sheet, scissors,  needle, thread, tape measure, string, pins, hook and eye closure, tailors chalk or washable marker, iron, seam ripper or razor blade, long straight edge (I used a spare piece of lumber.)

Optional: Embroidery floss, ribbon, clasp, fancy trim, a second sheet the same size as the first to use as a lining.

Sources for materials:

Fabric: salvation army or other thrift store.
Hook and eye closure: fabric store or big box store with a sewing or craft department.
Embroidery floss: this is basically colorful string, fabric store, craft store, art store, big box store, anywhere a kindergarten teacher might shop.
Ribbon: same as hook and eye or online.
Clasp: same as hook and eye or online.

Step 1: Using your seam ripper undo all the seams from the sheet or blanket then iron flat. By doing this I enlarged the workspace of my sheet from 65"x96" to 66.5"x103"

Optional: If doing a lining base that fabric to your outer fabric facing the same way and treat both as one until further notice.

Step 2: Fold your fabric in half the long way, wrong sides together. This can be a bit big for most tables, I used an open space on the floor.

Step 3: Draw a line starting from the bottom corner of the folded side up to about an inch inside of the top unfolded corner. That inch will be seam allowance for your front opening. This is where the lumber came in handy, I used it as a 80 inch long straight edge for drawing my line.

Step 4: Anchor one end of your string to the bottom folded corner, tie the other end to your washable marker and shorten it till it is exactly the length of your fabric. Draw an arc from the top folded corner till it reaches the line you drew in step 3. Repeat this process from the top folded corner to the line.

Step 5a: measure across your shoulders. Divide by two. Add seam allowance.

Step 5b: Using this number find the point where the fold is exactly this distance (perpendicular from the bottom) to the line you drew in step 3. Mark this point on the fold.

Step 5c: Find a point 2 inches above your mark. Make a second mark on the line you made in part 3. Draw a line connecting those two points.

Step 5d: Do th same thing on the opposite corner.

I know it sounds complicated so here's a picture of the pattern you end up with.

You can see that I erased part of the diagonal line. Since there's no need to cut that part of the line I removed it from the pattern. not making that cut leaves enough material to make the hood (labeled 3).

Step 6: Cut out our pieces. You should end up with one of number 1 and two of number 2. You'll also end up with one of number 3.

Step 7: Flip your number 1 over and lay on top of the number 2's. Take your scissors and trim the pieces so they're even.

Optional: separate out your lining pieces now.. Repeat the next few steps with your lining, You'll basically be making two cloaks of the same size until you're ready to attach the hood.

Step 8: Sew the three pieces together along the sides. Now it's starting to look like a cloak. Instead of 180 degrees of arc though we only have 148, that problem will be mitigated when we sew the shoulders.

Step 9: Fold along the new seams you just made, wrong sides together. You're now looking at the front of your cloak (wrong side).


Step 10: Get some newspaper, draw and cut out a circle for your neck hole, add a little seam allowance but not too much.. This time we can't pleat down any excess so don't make it larger than would be comfortable.

Step 11: Pin your neck circle to the cloak. Your center line is where the two front pieces meet. 2/3'rds of the circle in front, 1/3'rd in back. Cut out the neck hole.

Step 12: Turn in and sew down the seam allowance along the front opening.



Step 13: Sew the shoulder seams.

Optional: Time to sew the lining tot he cloak. Attach at the shoulders, neck and along the opening, wrong sides together. Leave the hem open.

Step 14: Time to make a hood. Find piece number 3.

Step 14b: Same as with the riding hood, measure around your face, add a couple inches, divide by 2. I went slightly smaller this time.

Step 14c: From the fold measure down by that amount and make a mark.

Step 14d: Divide the circumference of your neck opening by 2, add 2 seam allowances, for front and back. Draw a line of that length parallel to the fold.

Step 14e: From that line round out the back side of your pattern.

Optional: If you're making a lining make your lining piece a couple of inches longer on the bottom. You can choose as I did to line just the hood. I used some scrap left form part one of the festival of cloaks.

Step 15: Cut out your hood.


Step 16: Sew the back half of the hood closed. In front turn in seam allowance and sew down.

Optional: if lining the hood leave the bottom overhang unsewn on your lining. Stitch outer hood and lining to each other, wrong sides together. Turn right side out.

Step 17: Sew the hood to the body of the cloak.

Optional: leave the lining hanging

Optional: fold the lining around the seam you just created and sew down. This will hide that ugly edge.

 Here's a picture of the finished hood.

Step 18: Add the hook and eye on the inside 1-2 inches below where the hood and body meet.

step 19: Hang your new cloak up and leave it for a couple of days to stretch out, then hem it. If you've done a lining DO NOT SEW THE HEMS TOGETHER. But do hem them to be even with each other.

Optional: decorate!

Cost

One bed sheet: $1.25 (half off!)
Hook and eye: $1.80 for a package of two so $0.90

Total $2.15 plus decoration.

Optional: add another buck twenty-five.