Warrior Cloak Sew Along: Day 3

Alright, to start, make sure you have your cloak with sleeves attached and sides sewn up. This is where we left off yesterday. Today, we are adding the last steps!

Step 1: Assemble hood. You'll sew along the back, then hem the front (around the face)

Step 2: Attach the hood. See photos below for in-depth explanation.

a) Lay the cloak down in front of you. Right side facing up.

b) Then, lay the hood down. Leave about 1" space on the left and right. Match at center, then gather and pin so it will evenly spaced while you stitch it down.

c) Here is where your bias strip will come in handy. If you don't have any extra fabric (I used a 20" and had some hanging off the ends as you can see), you can use a strip of bias tape. If you use a bias strip, fold it in half like I did. If you use bias tape, open it up so the folds are facing the hood. You'll want it to look like the folds are valleys, not sticking up like mountains. Pin and stitch.

d) Next, flip the cloak over. See how my hand is pushing the hood up and pulling the cloak down at the same time? You'll need to do this when you pin your bias strip down so you don't end up catching the hood or cloak, or bunching it from left to right.

e) Here's an upside down picture of how it looks pinned. When you stitch, go slowly to make sure there is no gathering or bunching. Make sure you are stitching near the bottom so all of the ugly raw edges are caught inside your stitch line.

 This is how it looks when you are done. Man, that is CLEAN!

 Step 3: Fold your sides over, then fold over again and pin. You'll do this on the left and right, then stitch.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 with bottom hem and sleeves.

Then you're done, and you've got an awesome looking cloak!

Warrior Cloak Sew Along: Day 2

Today is a simple day -

Step 1, attach cloak back to cloak front at shoulders
Step 2, attach sleeves to cloak
Step 3, Sew sides together

These steps are well explained in the pattern, but if you have any questions, post them and I'll get to them ASAP!

Tomorrow we are attaching the hood and hemming the sleeves and bottom hem!

44" Fabric Requirements

Alrighty, for those of you using cotton or another fabric on a 44" bolt, here are your fabric requirements.

12m   1 1/4 yards
2T      1 1/3 yards
3T      1 2/3 yards
4        2 yards
5        2 1/3 yards
6        2 1/3 yards
7        2 2/3 yards
8        3 yards
10      4 yards
12      4 1/3 yards

Below are the cutting layouts. The bottom edge is the fold, and the top edge is both selvedge edges. For sizes 10 and 12, you will cut the cloak front and back while the fabric is folded, then unfold the fabric and cut out the hood and sleeve pieces. (You can see this as the hood and sleeve don't all fit on the white part of the illustration)

Warrior Cloak Sew Along Day 1

Still need the pattern? Click here.

Today we are going to talk about how to measure your child and how much fabric you'll need.

The fabric requirements for the 60" bolt are on the previous blog, so you can use that measurement unless you need to add or subtract length to the garment. You want your garment to be approximately as long as the child's length from their C7 (the bony part of the spine that sticks out at the back of the neck) to their ankle with at least one inch added. If your child is younger or prone to tripping, you might want to shorten the cloak to reduce the tripping hazard.

Sewing for someone who doesn't live nearby? My general rule is to take their height and subtract 8". This tends to hit just at or above the floor for older children (size 10-12) and just below mid-calf for 2-3 year olds.

If you aren't sure how long you want the cloak to be, start with extra length. You can always hem it up later if you don't like it.

Here's a look at how I put my PDF patterns together. I line them up on my sliding glass door so that the sun shining through helps me line everything up correctly. Sometimes, the papers get a little wonky. Usually you can match up the lines and smooth out the paper if you take it apart and retape it. A little bit crooked won't affect the finished product, so don't drive yourself crazy over perfection. It is a larger pattern and everyone is probably going to hit a snag or two.

The seam allowance on this project is 3/8".

Suggested fabrics:
Non-stretch
Cotton, gabardine, wool, suitings
IMPORTANT NOTE: You must pre-wash your fabric before cutting to ensure they won't shrink!

Other materials:
Bias tape or a strip of fabric cut on the bias
Pattern printed out, then taped or glued together
Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
Straight pins
Sewing machine
Matching thread

Once you have your pattern put together and then cut out, cut out your pattern pieces. You should have:
- 2 cloak fronts
- 1 cloak back
- 2 hoods
- 2 sleeves

The back center (circled in red) is the measurement you'll adjust if you want to add or subtract length. You can just lengthen or shorten at the bottom of the pattern piece, but keep in mind that the sides (the two lines marked with green) need to be the same length so your sides will match up.

The pattern instructions say to turn hem 1/4", then 1/4" again. If you want to use a wider hem at the bottom, add that length.
Center back measurement - 1" = child's length from bottom of C7 to ankle.

**Example, my five year old is 33" from C7 to ankle. I would want the center back to be 34".

**My seven year old is 39" from C7 to ankle. Since she is older, I might consider having the cloak hit just above the floor. I would probably cut the center back at 42". 

Make sure that if you lengthen or shorten the back piece, that you lengthen or shorten the front piece the same amount.