Monday 11 November 2019

Caped Crusaders

I have always had a fondness for capes and cloaks. When I was a student, my landlady showed me an offer in her Woman's Own Magazine, for a cloak pattern [this was back in 1975] I sent off my 40p. It needed 3½metres of fabric- but my Dad had spotted a Tailor in Norwich with a closing down sale - I got some lovely heavyweight Trevira suiting for £1 a metre and whipped up a cloak which I wore for years. I swished and swirled my way happily around campus. When maxi dresses were in fashion, it was an ideal outer garment for going to parties etc. 
In 1981, Bob needed a Wizard Outfit - so I added an extra 50cm to the hem, cheap black lining fabric, spray painted with stars. And it became a dressing up cloak after that, and the added length has remained.

But there have been many other cloaks - Superhero cloaks for young friends [and 8 teachers] and Rosie's Cat Cape - which is still proving useful on Nursery Dress Up days.
This year, I'm doing Ferndown First's Play Costumes, and the production is Robin Hood.
"That's OK" I said, "I did that ten years ago, so I have some ideas and patterns already"
This one is slightly different - no need for a Town Crier or Taxi Drivers - but there is  a bishop, and the script specifies King Richard and Maid Marion both need a cloak.


Distinct similarity here. I have yet to find a belt, and get the sword down from the loft. The cloak is made from the old blue Kirby Muxloe curtains [the matching pair to those currently hanging up in the Ferndown Dining Room]
The bishop's robe is ecclesiastical purple, his cloak is one of the old red Cornerstones Dining Room curtains [my SIL Marion passed on to me a much nicer pair in August] I am going to provide a cross on a chain for him to wear too.
Maid Marion's dress is a 1970's maxi from the Stash, cut down to fit an 8 year old.
I'm having a lot of fun doing these - but working to a tight deadline - so there are cut-up dining room curtains all over the dining table, and we have been eating our meals in the kitchen or on our laps in the lounger for a few days. Bob is wonderfully tolerant of my Crafting Chaos!

8 comments:

  1. That school is truly lucky to have you nearby, kind enough to help out. I wish we had helpers like that but no one has ever offered. The costumes look really professional!

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    1. Perhaps if you put a request on your school website, you might get a volunteer

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  2. It was probably around 1975 that I had my Cape. Mum took me to get my winter coat - I had just gone out of children's sizes into adult - and Dotty P's had a lovely brown wool cape which I fell in love with. Mum gave in, but she didn't think it was quite warm enough, so she lined it with some brown and gold tartan fabric from the stash (and made me a matching skirt while she was at it!). I wore it for years, because I didn't grow out of it like a coat, and it boosted my eccentric status at school 😊. I finally passed it on to a friend when she was pregnant and I was cycling everywhere, so I wasn't wearing it much.

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    1. Cloaks and capes are brilliant for fitting all shapes and sizes. Your mum sounds really cool

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  3. I made my cape back in 1979 when I was pregnant and needed something for winter. It was a tan and white houndstooth check and I loved it! I continued to wear it long after both my babies were born.

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  4. I had a green loden cape in the early 70s, it was so warm, but rather heavy. They were certainly very fashionable!

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  5. Those are some lovely capes, you made!

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  6. Pop over to You Tube. There's a young American girl called Bernadette Banner who is turning her Manhattan penthouse apartment sitting room into a sewing room and building all the Ikea furniture herself! It's rivetting viewing and she also wears a lot of capes. I used to love swishing around in my navy blue wool cape with red satin lining!

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