Finished Project: I Am Patterns Mimosa Cape

 

Nothing beats a quicky instant-gratification project like a cape, especially while working on a lengthy project like a winter coat. I stumbled upon a new (to me) pattern company recently that I absolutely adore – I Am Patterns. They’re a french pattern company that designs classic garments with a modern twist, like the Sirius top and Aphrodite dress – both of which are in my ever-growing sewing queue.  Plus, after finishing up my first semester of grad school, I want to crank out as many garments as possible from my sewing machine over winter break!

 

After drooling over Julie’s Mimosa Cape made out of a yummy YSL wool check, a lightbulb went off in my head that I had fabric in my stash perfect for this pattern – a double-faced wool knit from Metro Textiles with a soft jersey backing.  I’ve had this fabric for a few years and wasn’t sure what to make with it, a dress would be too formal for my current work.  But a houndstooth cape is perfect!

 

I had juuuuuust enough fabric yardage to squeeze all of the pattern pieces onto, and I ended up cutting the back piece with a seam instead of cutting it as one piece on the fold.  Sewing the cape was super easy, it’s essentially two shoulder seams and a ginormous collar, which I lined with some checked flannel scraps from my stash.

 

What makes this project a little more advanced are the welt pockets, which I must say are fun to tuck my hands into.  I liked the technique to make them, the welts are much more secure with how they’re constructed versus hand-sewing the welts down like I’ve done in past projects.  Hard to explain here, but I’m going to try to make my welts that way in the future.

 

The edge of the cape isn’t supposed to be hemmed, which is fine if your fabric doesn’t ravel.  After wearing this for a day, I might end up adding some nice bias tape to the edges and turning it under, there was some slight fraying as I wore it.  Nothing major, but it would make for a nice detail on the inside.

 

This cape is so fun and swishy to wear!  I’m glad I waited until I found the right pattern to use for this fabric, it’s a perfect match.  I think I’ll be getting a lot of use out of this during the cold winter months ahead.

 

Pattern: Mimosa by I Am Patterns, size 40
Fabric: double-faced wool knit from Metro Textiles
Jeans: Paige Denim
Boots: Nine West
Sunglasses: Tommy Hilfiger
Lipstick: Rouge Dior in Rialto