hooded capes

About a month ago the kids became uber obsessed with the Tangled movie….listening to the music non-stop, reenacting scenes, Owen taking the role of Flynn Rider, Lucy being Rapunzel and sometimes Mother Gothel–throwing a blanket over her head to act as a cape. Lucy finally got sick of the blanket one day and asked, “Mom, can you make me a Mother Gothel Cape?”
Not a bad request.
I figured Flynn could use one too.
Well, also a month ago I was asked to review the new book Growing Up Sew Liberated, by Meg of the Sew Liberated blog and shop. I was asked to wrap up her book tour by sharing a project from the book. Who knew that these two little requests would collide?
And would result in two hooded dress-ups!
But more on the capes in a moment. Let me tell you about this cute book first.

Do you follow Sew Liberated?
Then you probably know what a sweet, kind, creative woman Meg is. What I love most about this book is that you can see her personality in it. You can just feel it through her writing and kid-friendly projects.
The book walks you through the daily life of a mom of young kids. It starts with waking up, getting dressed (with sewing patterns to go along), then playtime, eating, and finally bedtime. It’s a really sweet evolution of the routine many of us know.

And the ideas in the book are just darling.
As I flipped through the book I immediately stopped at the reversible hooded cape pattern. Hooray! Now I didn’t have to figure out how to make one for Lucy! I could just cut and sew.
I grabbed the pattern pages from the back of the book and got started.

Now just a word on pattern pages in books. The way many sewing books are going these days, is that the pattern pieces are printed full-size but many of them overlap. This means that you have trace some of the pieces to your own tracing paper. To be honest, it’s not as convenient as just cutting out the pieces from their paper. But I’m sure it saves on printing costs, making the book less money for me to buy, so I totally appreciate that.

Instead of using tracing paper, I taped 8.5 x 11 pages together and traced all the lines and markings from the books pages. It came together pretty quickly.
I cut out the size SMALL cape and held it up to Lucy to see how it fit, then made two small adjustments. I added a few inches to the length and rounded the hood off (rather than a point). Man I’ve been sewing a lot of hoods lately!
The sewing was very simple and straightforward. In fact, it’s similar to sewing a circle skirt (well, half of a skirt) but with a hood!

I used a synthetic black velvet for Lucy’s cape and polyester satin linings for both capes. The best part about this project is that I used up random old fabrics from my stash. The orange fabric is a soft furry knit that I bought years ago. Now it has a home.
A couple hours later I had two cute capes!
Reversible, easy to get on and off, and ready for playtime.

Flynn Rider doesn’t really wear a cape in the movie but I knew I couldn’t make a cape for only one child or there would be arguments. So we reinvented his outfit. And now Flynn has options. Owen thought it was fun (racer shorts tutorial here).
And Mother Gothel was pleased too.
flower gleam and glow….let your power shine….
These robes are a very easy project and would be a great go-to gift. They can definitely double as Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings capes too. So many options. I know many nieces and nephews who would love one!
(Lucy is wearing the Christmas in July dress which is way too short but she insisted on a red Mother Gothel dress to go with the cape. You can guess what project is next on her list…)
My favorite touch (aside from the reversible colors) is the button. A simple accessory that adds a bit of charm.
If you’re looking for a new sewing book, I really think you’ll love Growing Up Sew Liberated.
And you’re in luck this week! Meg is offering a 20% off discount to all books and patterns in her shop for MADE readers!
Just enter “MADE” at checkout.
Offer is good until June 29th.
Thank you Meg for inviting me as part of your book tour!

  1. 1) The Little locals

    We love these capes. We will definately be making three for the Harry Potter fans in the house. Thanks for introducing us to the very talented Sew Liberated.

  2. This is absolutely adorable. Also super helpful šŸ˜€ Thanks!

  3. 3) Janene Steenkamp

    Awesome! I made my daughter a reversible cape after these this evening, and it came out beautifully – thank you so much for posting this. x

  4. 4) chandra

    Hellooo, any chance you could upsize these for grow-ups? My friends and I have been looking for wool capes with large hoods, but they are soooo expensive we might as well sew our own!

  5. Hi! Just to let you know that I featured your Riding Hood cape on my blog! Go check it out!

  6. 6) Eryca

    I just ordered the book but can only get to the fabric store this weekend, how much fabric do i need for each side? you did such a gorgeous job I can’t wait to make them!

  7. 7) Nikki Freeman

    How do you think quilting cotton would work for these? would it be a bit too light and stiff?

    • 8) Dana

      Sure, that would work. It will be lighter weight and will wrinkle more easily, but go for it!

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