Thursday 23 April 2015

KCW: Forest Path Cape

I wear my Liesl & Co Woodland Stroll cape a lot. Quite a while ago I bought some lovely open weave wool in a large scale plaid from The Fabric Store along with some lining with the intention of making the little version, the Oliver + S Forest Path cape for A.

Well, it's Autumn time and chilly and Kid's Clothes Week rolled around, and hey, the Forest Path pattern is almost on theme with Wild Things, right?! Obviously, it had to happen this week!


The cape is a nice simple sewing task for something that ends up looking quite "high end". It was finished last night and worn today and A received  quite a number of unprompted admiring comments from strangers on the street. You've got to love a pattern that's easy to sew but makes you look clever!
 


I would have loved for the plaid to have matched up along the shoulder seams, which are the only seams there are, so it felt like it should have been possible. But if I wanted the pattern centred then the back pattern piece was a fraction too small for matching with the front. I'm sure if I'd been making a larger size the scale of the plaid would have magically fit the pattern and it may have worked out.

I'd bought the pattern way back when I bought the fabric and I only had the small size range pattern. This is a size 4 which is the biggest in that size range.


We took a trip into the city to hit up Buttonmania for the perfect buttons. When we got there the sign on the door said they were closed and I was at a bit of a loss, until I read further and discovered it was "warehouse Monday" when Kate opens up the back of the shop and you buy great handfuls of buttons by weight. So, down the hallway we went and found these buttons and dozens of others and had a great shopping spree (for about half of what I would have paid for 5 buttons at Spotlight).

I've realised I didn't get a good picture of the lining, but it's the lovely acetate from The Fabric Shop that doesn't go all stringy like cheap lining does and it's exactly the same colour as those buttons. My buttonholes were looking a bit anaemic so after cutting them open I went over them again with a zig zag stitch.


The main wool fabric is quite an open weave. It looked like it may not be too warm, and it was threatening to unravel where I cut it. The solution to handling it, and adding some warmth, was underlining with bamboo quilt wadding. I had enough left overs to add a single layer of soft, fluffy warm bamboo between the wool and the lining.

So there you go, it's panda food too! Totally on topic with the Wild Things theme!
Hope you're all having a good Kid's Clothes Week so far.

14 comments:

  1. Oh, it's beautiful! I especially love the colors - that light blue looks beautiful with that "marsala" reddish brown. I can only imagine it feels very fluffy and soft to wear, too, with the quilt batting inside! This is the type of thing I would absolutely compliment if I saw it on the street! So lovely and classic but unusual too.

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    1. Thanks Inder, you're right THIS is the real Marsala. More purple and brown than my claret Camas blouse! Funny, one trick I've found to getting a kid to love something you've made is to point out how soft it is, and cuddle-able and then cuddle them a few times. Suddenly becomes the best garment ever! This one's a winner in that regard!

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  2. I bought a plaid patterned wool last month, an end of the season deal and made my daughter and granddaughter matching capes. I bought extra for matching. I laid the wool out as a single layer and then I cut out the entire front and back of each. In that way I was able to match the seams. I played with the lay-outs forever, it seemed! My husband was really impressed with my work. My daughter and granddaughter not so much! If I ever get a picture of the two wearing the capes, I will post it. I am not holding my breathe though.

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    1. I'd love to see that picture Jennie! That's just the kind of thing I do obsess about. There's no doubt though, that had I cut the shoulder seam to match then the front overlap would have been offset and the plaid too wide across the middle. Some plaid battles can't be won it seems.

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  3. Absolutely stunning, I love this so much. Great pattern matching.

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  4. A very smart and classy cape and can see why the comments have been coming. It sounds so snuggly and warm with the quilt batting.

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    1. Thank you Sharon. It's lovely to be able to sew the things that are either impossible to buy or look like I wouldn't be able to afford them!

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  5. Tres chic! What a beautiful little cape!

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  6. Love it! Your button hole comment here reminded me that I've been meaning to try a bound button hole sometime. Have you tried one? The instructions overwhelmed me a bit but they look so well-finished.

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    1. You know I thought briefly about doing that as just like you, I've seen instructions and thought "I should try that one day". Too lazy this time around, but it would have been a good solution, if I'd had the technique sorted.

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  7. i applaud your plaid-matching! agree about this cape; such a simple sew, but looks so elegant.

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  8. I love the cape! The fabric is very pretty and perfectly suited to the cape. I've long admired the pattern but I know it's not something my girls would willingly wear.:(

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