Hooded Cape - Tutorial

Ever since seeing this cloak over at The Artful Parent I have wanted one for my girls. As usual though, I never have the materials needed for projects I see around the place. Such is my life!


Last week  this cape over at Imagine Childhood really caught my eye and I knew I had to make one immediately. I had some larger material and a flannette sheet (thanks to my mother in law) and got to work straight away. Seriously. I saw it and 5 mins later I was trying to make it.


I like this cloak because it is *basically* a rectangle. I only gets tricky if you're making it reversible with differing fabrics, but even then its pretty easy. The first one took about an hour because I made a mistake, but the other two were done in 1/2 hour - 20 mins. If you are a good sewer you could seriously make it in like 10 mins!

First off you need 2 squares of fabric. For a small child 1 metre of each is plenty.
I didn't even measure mine.

Fold each piece in half and sew along ONE short edge (on each)

Now place the two pieces inside eachother. The tricky bit is that the material you want on the INSIDE of the cloak should be on the OUTSIDE with seam facing UPWARDS. The material you want to be the OUTSIDE of the cloak should be on the INSIDE with the seam facing DOWNWARDS.  (Like this)

Now put the rectangles flush inside eachother so the edges are meeting. Now you sew AROUND the two sides. This will enclose it all except for the bottom. It is like sewing a upside down U shape.  Dont sew the edges together, you are sewing around the front. So it will be double the height of the cape. (Like so)

Now flip the thing inside out and all your seams will be inside the layers.
You should have neat seams now.

Now lay it flat again so it is like a rectangle. Using some chalk or pencil draw two lines about 2cm apart around each side. You can use your kids head for a guide for how far down from the top this line should be but about 20-30 cm is good.

Sew around these two lines. DONT SEW THE RECTANGLE together, make sure you go around - across the entire length.

Unpick the space between the two lines at the front of each side. This will create a little hole for you to thread through some ribbon, string etc using a safety pin to help you thread it right around (this is the most time consuming bit). Once ribbon is in PULL TIGHT and now you have a HOOD!

Hem the bottom edge by turning the edge over twice and sewing closed.

voila your cape is done!

and you'll look like a "Little Blueberry Riding Hood"

And of course your sisters will come home and be all jealous so then you will have to run to the fabric store to get more material to make more capes. Because EVERYONE LOVES  A CAPE!!

A  "Harry Potter" inspired one. (stars on the inside)

And she just 'wanted a purple one' Its spotty on the reverse side.

Then you go walk the streets to your friends house looking like druids ( or babushka's)

Maybe I did do a Halloween Craft afterall ;)

Except these will be used all year round in the craft box!


I hope my instructions were clear? Tell me if you make one!