O + S Cape

Before I gave my littlest the cape I made for her birthday, I told my husband that it was dress-up clothes that she could get away with wearing as regular clothes.  He rolled his eyes at me then but I don't think he really minds.  And she does wear it in place of a jacket or sweater.  And gets smiles and comments everywhere she goes.  If you can't get away with wearing a cape when you're four when can you??

My niece is turning two next week so I decided to make her one, too.  I'm sure my brother will be as thrilled as my husband was, hehehe.

I bought the brown fabric last weekend at a fundraiser at Darrell Thomas.  They had all sorts of  different fabrics in varying sizes on for 2 pieces for $5 (!!).  I came home with a huge bag of stuff even though my storage shelves are overflowing.

The piece I used for this was narrow (maybe about 36" wide?) and probably about 2 yards long.  I have no idea what it is but I'm pretty sure it's polyester.  It's heavier weight but soft with sort of a velvet texture on one side.  Perfect for this project and I think the leftovers will make a nice purse.

The lining is a quilting cotton I bought when I was in Philly in the summer.  I only bought one yard  but it turned out to be enough for the cape even though the pattern (in Little Things to Sew) calls for 1 1/2 yards.  (I had to cut some pieces upside down so you'd need more than a yard if you had a directional print -- here's a photo of my cutting layout if you're interested).   I wish I bought more because I do really like this fabric but I was so overwhelmed with the fabric district and the fact that my family (kids, husband and my parents) were wandering around outside in the rain, it's amazing I managed to choose anything :).  There was nothing on the selvedge so I have no idea what it is.  The brown and the red together are a little Holly Hobbie but I think (I hope) it's just retro enough to be cool.

I bought the button when I was travelling, too, only because I couldn't resist it and I'm glad to have found a project that it suits.  I made a straight small this time without the length I added for my daughter so I'm crossing my fingers it doesn't dwarf my niece.  The only change I made this time  was to add a loop for hanging.