What I decided to make was a magic cape and a lush foxtail that could be worn with a belt. The pattern I chose was the Traveller Cape from Twig & Tale. The pattern directions seemed simple and there were only 3 pieces to the pattern. I chose a lovely grey soft pile minky fabric for the outer layer and a purple silk charmeuse with the matte side out for the lining.
The pattern was relatively easy to sew, although I was initially stumped by the lack of information on yardage. After a brief correspondence with the friendly folks at Twig & Tale, I was able to move forward with the project. I chose the medium length cape, which turned out slightly shorter than what was depicted in this picture. Because of the difference in thickness of the two fabrics and the slipperiness of the charmeuse made it impossible to machine sew , even with hand-basting and using a walking foot. I ended up pulling out the stitching three times. Hand-sewing the lining was a much easier solution despite the longer time invested.
I used a lavender long-haired faux fur fabric to make the fox tail. Thank goodness for YouTube, which offered several excellent video tutorials on how to work with faux fur. It was really difficult to sew this simple piece because of all the loose fiber. Some lodged in my throat for days, despite wearing a mask. Remind me never to sew with this material again. After it was sewn (it came out really plush and tail-like), I had to devise a way to wear it . It was too heavy to tie it with an elastic band to a leather belt. I finally hit upon the idea of sewing it onto a wide elastic belt with a front zipper closure.
I love the cape and tail and they worked perfectly well with the rest of the art installation. And now that the show is over, I have a lush cape that I can wear on cool San Francisco evenings around town.
Here is the lovely rose-swirled grey minky with the purple silk charmeuse lining. I decided to have the matte side of the charmeuse show rather than the shiny side. The front and back pieces are clipped together for hand-sewing.
The plush purple tail is worn with the wide elastic belt. It was a great way to wear the tail, which had considerable heft, without worrying about it slipping off.
The finished cape with an accent button to keep it closed. Instead of the hood, I chose to make a collar, which turned out quite well.
