This year I have rediscovered passion for making my own clothes. Not only it is more sustainable nature vise, but also I can make clothing items that I would not be able to purchase anywhere. For example, this 1940s cape that I begun to make in October and finished in the last days of November.
The idea to make the cape was born after I purchased a large piece of wool blend curtain in a thrift store. As I was perusing the fabrics, my colleague pointed out the piece and suggested to make an outerwear item for myself. I was immediately visualizing the style and decided to construct something similar to the capes of WWII nurses (like this one). Later, I bought a couple of meters of red lining in a fabrics' outlet and begun to search for a potential pattern. After some time I settled on a 1940s pattern from Etsy (you can find it here), which was quite easy to follow and to construct the cape.
Is this kind of outerwear warm? Yes! The wool blend layer it thick and on the heavier side, so it is like carrying a blanket around. The polyester lining doesn't let the warmth that the body generates to get out, so at one point of our forest stroll (where we were completely alone, hence no face masks) I even had to flap the cape to cool myself. Of course, it was somewhere around +4 C outside, so I don't know how I would feel if there was snow and minus, let's say, -5 C, but I guess this cape more or less is designed to be used in autumn, so it worked perfectly.
Besides being inspired by WWII nurse's cape, after it was constructed I thought that it also resembles the cape worn by Wirt in the mini series "Over the Garden Wall". That made me to appreciate my latest creation even more!
Stay safe!
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