Very Easy Costume Cloak

Very Easy Costume Cloak

This week’s Project

Level - Very Easy

Skills - pattern-less costume

Reversible

Which of the Four Basic Patterns - Simple Cloak

I staggered into the small lecture room with a throbbing head, hoping I would make it through the presentation without passing out in front of the class.

“Today,” I started, “we are going to make my favorite easy cloak pattern.”

It really is this simple …

One:  Buy, borrow, scavenge or otherwise, legally acquire a rectangular shaped wool or wool-like synthetic blanket in a solid color suitable to the colors of the time-period and persona you are dressing to represent. 

Two: Cut a coordinating fabric of the same dimensions – this can be another blanket, or in the case of our example, some finer fabric that matches your time period.

Three: Face the right sides of the two fabrics together and sew all around leaving enough open to slip the garment inside out (wrong side to right side).  For this pattern I suggest leaving a four to five inch long opening.

Four:  Pull the right side of your cloak through the four to five inch opening you've made.

Five:  Slip stitch the opening closed so that the cloak is finished and reversible.  You can top stitch if the cloak if for a time period after the sewing machine was invented, but an invisible stich is more attractive.

Six:  Think about how you would like to tie or close the cloak.  Again take the reversibility of the cloak and the time period into account.  The example below has a round piece of hardware (taken from an otherwise broken hand-bag) and ties. 

I love this pattern because the finished garment is appropriate for many uses.

This is especially useful for cool-weather events as it can be made to be quite warm if you use two heavy fabrics, just remember to check that the doubled fabric will fit through your sewing machine and that you have heavy gauge needles for sewing heavier woolen weights.  You can buy machine washable natural looking synthetics or you can dry clean this easily. 

Enjoy your new cloaks!

Dove’s adventure starts here: http://automatadove.blogspot.com/2013/12/doves-adventure-begins-with-how-to-make.html