There is a new pattern from Pattern Union and it’s a really good one! It is two in one, consisting of a wrap pattern and a cape pattern.
The inspiration for this pattern came from my late Mother-in-Law whose name was Beverley. She bequeathed me a fox fur wrap which instantly made me feel fabulous whenever I put it on. Sarah made a copy of the pattern and the Beverley wrap and cape was born. Bev would be so thrilled to know that she inspired this pattern!
It is described as “Cape and Wrap PDF patterns with optional welt pockets that can be sewn either on the outer fabric, the lining fabric, or on both the outer and the lining. Both patterns can be made to be reversible. This pattern is extremely flattering as the front flaps skim the front of the body giving a lovely silhouette. This is a versatile pattern that will take you from day to night, and through warm weather to cool weather as a delightful layering piece.” It comes in sizes 8 – 26 and, as is usual with Pattern Union, the pattern is layered so you only need to print your size/s, and it includes a pattern envelope which is optional to print. I really like these as it makes my pattern storage look really schmick.
Both the wrap and the cape have welt pockets and the technique that Sarah uses is foolproof and I feel that I have done immaculate welts, possibly for the first time ever!
I wore the wrap to the Sydney Frocktails and it was exactly what I needed to keep the evening chill away. I made it from a wool shawl which I had been given when I was in India, and which I loved but never wore. Now I have a garment which I love and wear constantly!
I teamed the wrap with my Sumekko dress and Sobi belt – all from Pattern Union, which was actually a coincidence!
The fabric is glorious on both sides so I made the wrap reversible by the prodigious use of handstitching. I used blanket stitch right round the edge.
And a regular running stitch on the shoulder dart, the seams and the back neck darts.
Some more detail of this gorgeous fabric with the pocket shown. I attached this by machine and used a running stitch around it.
I adore the shape of the back of this little wrap, it is just so flattering. Please note that I didn’t do welt pockets as I was going for a reversible look.
The cape is like a grown-up version of the wrap being longer at the back. I chose to use some wool which was given to me by my friend Leonie, and it came from her mother’s stash so I am assuming that it was bought in the 1970s or 1980s. The fabric was narrow and an eye watering yellow. As you may know, I am currently having a little obsession with yellow so it was an obvious choice, but I did feel as though I might look like I’m wearing safety gear if I walked about in it so I dipped the whole piece of wool in coffee. It’s hard to see the difference but the coffee definitely toned the yellow down.
There were a few little moth holes so I pulled a thread from the weave of a scrap and invisibly darned the holes. Bingo! They were gone. I know that visible mending is all the rage, but I think horses for courses – I didn’t want my darns to show. In fact, I can’t even find them now.
I actually made this wrap twice! I made it in a size small and felt that it was a bit big on the shoulders. It’s quite tricky when patterns are generally based on bust sizes, but this one is all about the shoulders. If you have narrow shoulders, go down a size. I also chose to make the cape reversible and the fabric I used for the other side made it quite heavy. I pulled the whole thing apart, altered the shoulders to XS and lined it with some beautiful cotton from Crossgrain Fabrics.
I am so much happier!
You might notice that my top is made from the same fabric as the lining. I had a bit left over and wrangled a Lotta Jansdotter Esme from it. I added a pocket from the Helen’s Closet York Pinafore as inspired by Ali from @robinsnest1926, and had to extend the sleeves with cuffs due to a shortage of fabric. I am thrilled with the combination!
I mentioned earlier that the welt pockets are the easiest ever. Sarah has a tutorial on how to do them in the pattern instructions, and it is really easy to follow. I’m going to be putting welts into everything!
I had to include this outtake – this always happens to me when I’ve unpicked something – I spend hours finding little pieces of cotton and pulling them out. I didn’t intend to do this on camera, but couldn’t resist.
I have another cape to make, and have already made more wraps, which I will blog separately as this is getting to be a very long post.
The pattern is now live at Pattern Union and is priced at $8, which I think is excellent value. There is a fair bit of pattern making skill in this, and Sarah and I made a lot of samples as she tweaked the design to maximise the fabric use efficiency and improve the ease of making. The big win though is those pockets!
There’s a lot to love about this pattern – it is named after my beloved Mother-in-Law, it is extremely flattering, it is easy to wear, versatile and can be made in almost any firm fabric, and it is cheap to buy. The other thing which made me excited though is that Sarah included me as a pattern model, so this pattern qualifies for the #so50visible challenge currently being run on Instagram under the #sewover50 hashtag. If you want to enter this challenge there are still a couple of days left and there are prizes to be won. You don’t have to be 50+ to enter, as long as your pattern model is mature you will be eligible. What are you waiting for?
The little hedgehog brooch came from Kul Kul in Subiaco. I bought it as a gift, but Mark liked it too much so it found its forever home with me!
This cape really makes me want to swish and twirl!
