Sewing for Me......

I never usually sew for myself. There were some disastrously big cotton maternity dresses that may have put me off. They've now been cut up and repurposed so I've moved on from that disappointing exercise.

I suppose I like sewing for my kids so much because they're flat, shapeless little creatures, and the fabric is cheap. Adult sewing strikes me as difficult and costly.

When I saw this cape it seemed a project worth a try.

Here's my cape:

I bought some lovely cream/grey pattern wool coating from The Fabric Store as well as some slippery lining. I've used the cheap polyester lining from Spotlight before and at $2-3 a metre it seemed worth putting up with. This lining was about six times more expensive but I am absolutely a convert. It almost doesn't fray at all, is delightful to cut and sew and just feels so lovely by comparison. No more nasty, shiny linings for me.

I found some perfect leather covered buttons at Jimmy's Buttons ( a chaotic, treasure trove of buttons and trims). I purchased the amount of fabric specified on the pattern but then found that since I could cut my pattern in either direction along the grain I only used half of what I purchased. Liesl + Co have a matching pattern for a girl's cape, but the whole mother/daughter matchy thing makes me squirm. I'll sit on it a while. Fabric never goes off....

As always, any pattern produced by Liesl+Co is superbly well written and some of the sewing tips for this cape really helped give the professional finish that I would insist on if I was to buy a cape. I like that it doesn't look like a homemade blanket! I struggled a little with getting my printer to print the PDF files to US paper sizes and not scale it down, but once that was sorted the assembly of the pattern pieces was easey peasey.

So here's me in my cape. (and in my helmet of course Mr Branson) I'm not so sure about how I like it. It's not really a flattering garment in my opinion, yet it is incredibly easy to wear, suitably warm for Autumn, and kind of novel here in Aus. Why just today The Age have declared capes to be right on trend.
I'm going to keep on wearing it and see how I like it....

It's turned out that it is THE perfect thing for biking. So, if you a cycle nut like me, this pattern is an absolute must have for the short commute or kindy drop off on a cold morning. So, on that note I'll introduce another bicycle. This is our CargoCycle, which, over the last few years, since kids came along and racing never seems to happen, is the bike that gets the most use of all the bikes in the garage. Two wheels good, three wheels bad. This bike rolls, corners and handles almost like a normal bike, once you get past the weird, freaky aspect of having the front wheel four feet out in front. So much better than the cargo tricycles with their cumbersome steering.

Hope all the other super mums out there (capes or no) had a good day today. And to all my beautiful, childless (whether by good choice or misfortune,) women friends, happy second Sunday in May.