Made By A Fabricista: Winter Cape

Lately I’ve been going through old inspiration pictures I’ve saved and finally making them. I’ve had this image saved since 2015. I have always loved it and wanted to make my own. I’m just happy that it is still very much in style.

I found these beautiful wool coating options. I got a black wool solid that had some texture for the top and a wool plaid for the bottom half of the cape. They both hold a nice weight and were perfect for the project.

As a starting point I used McCalls M8347. To hack this pattern to make it more like my inspiration picture I first cut two fronts from the front, removing the placket detail from the original pattern so that I may install a lapped zipper would extend into the collar. Luckily, I already had the perfect jacket zipper in my stash so that saved the time of going to the store. I color blocked the lower half with the plaid. I do wish I had been a little bit more meticulous on this step as my plaids do not line up perfectly but it’s not horribly noticeable.

I added in front welt pockets with leather flaps that I drafted. I used some leather that I already had and added snaps like in the inspiration picture.

I will admit I could have done a better job at installing the zipper but overall if came out nice. I also decided to line the cape for a cleaner finish and noticed the original picture was lined as well. To form the sleeves, I installed snaps on each side.

Overall, this was an easy project I would say the longest step would be the installation of the welt pockets and maybe the zipper. When I can’t remember how to do a technique off hand, I love to refer to my Reader Digest for Sewing book and I always get the best results.

Another thing I would like to note is that I do have the zipper extended all the way into the collar so that it could look like a very high mock neck. However, since the original pattern was drafted to not serve this purpose, it is very tight on the neck and nearly impossible to zip all the way up. So next time I would probably have to adjust the neckline some for a better fit. I love my new cape very practical with many styling options.