Spring of Sewing #3

Whew! Moving is finally over (mostly). I have furniture, I have food, and most importantly, all my craft supplies seem to have survived the trip. I'm stoked to get on with my many projects, but until I can fully get back into the swing of things, here's the third and final project from the sewing class I took.

So, it may not surprise you to learn that, just like last year, I began planning my Halloween-time escapades far in advance. I wasn't totally sure about design for a long time, but even in the spring, I knew I wanted to be Taako, and I knew he was going to be wearing a fashionable capelet. It just seemed like the sort of thing he'd be into. So when planning for the final project came around, I had a very specific idea in mind. 

That seemed pretty straightforward to me! All I had to do was find a capelet pattern and I'd be set. So I searched through the class's library... and found nothing. 

I searched online... and found nothing. 

Catalog after catalog, nobody seemed to have a pattern for the kind of capelet I had envisioned. I was actually kind of surprised; it didn't seem to me like my design was particularly unique. But for whatever reason, I couldn't find something to match. I could have scrapped the idea and gone for a more accessible pattern. But we all know I didn't.

Having almost no experience pattern drafting, I wasn't prepared to make a garment this complicated (not that it's even that complicated) without some help. In a bid to use as much of a commercial pattern as possible, I came up with a pretty neat trick. Find a coat pattern with a nice collar, and use its design from the shoulders up. Then, draft the shoulders down into a cape instead of sleeves and a body. That way, I could avoid making all the complicated bits, and I only had to come up with the easy stuff! I chose this lovely coat as my template:

A few rounds of mockups and tweaks gave me a pretty good idea of how to make a good capelet, so I set off looking for fabric. I knew the general color scheme I wanted to work with -- various shades of blue with accents of red and black -- and it wasn't hard to find a nice dusty blue wool to serve as the outside. I came up with some lovely red lining fabric that has a subtle rose brocade as well. I'm particularly fond of the red lining, both because the fabric is pretty and for some character-relevant reasons that are extremely spoilery. On the off chance that anyone is reading this while in the middle of listening to TAZ: Balance, I won't elaborate, but those of you who have finished it should recognize the significance of red outerwear. 

Anyway, back to the garment itself. Construction was fairly easy, since the instructions from the original pattern were still mostly relevant. Soon enough, it was time to show off the finished product!

See what I mean about that lining fabric? It's such a subtle fancy element. And I love how the red is almost completely hidden (save for buttons) while the cape is closed, but can burst out whenever the wearer moves their arms. Not to mention, it's quite practical and warm thanks to the wool! I think this will make an excellent component of Taako's ensemble come October. 

Here ends the saga of sewing class for me. I thought it was a fantastic experience, especially as someone who hadn't sewn clothes before. Now, I'm confident enough to take on most commercial patterns, and even try my hand at making my own! This adventure may be over, but the journey of cosplay is still very much active. If you'd like to continue to hear about that, then be sure to come back in (hopefully) a few days, where I should have another update. Until then, stay crafty!