My Black Wool ADCapeCult With a Free Hood Pattern

Hello Friends! ITs been a long time, what a year it has been! Ive been sewing a lot but not posting much, but will do a 2020 review of all the things Ive made last year.

My current obsession is the free ADCapeCult cape from American Duchess. Last year, I made two capes, both of them posted on Minerva. I must say, I LOVE the capes! They are so warm and so so cool. However, its quite a dilemma when one wears a cape like that – how do I shake hands?(not that one would in 2020/1) How do I hug people? (Not that one would in 2020/1) How do I get groceries and pay for that (that I would – wear a cape to the grocery store, have done that and I am not ashamed! )

That’s why when I saw #ADCultCape – I knew I have to make it! It combined the warmth, badassness of a cape with practicality of access from the front of your arm. My range of motion in a cape instant upgraded from that of a Mummy to that of a T-Rex, a very drastic improvement, i should say!! (Plus its a really vest – very warm indeed!)

Here are some ways Ive been wearing it:

For the fabric, I used a striped black wool in my stash that I didnt know what to do with – its heavy weight, but very drapery and not structured – so I knew it would not be suitable for a coat. So its perfect for this! I lined it with my favorite coat lining material – a luxurious rayon sateen (I bought 10 yards of it a few years ago, down to 4 yards now!!)

After I finished the cape, I had some fabric left, and I always thought a cape should come with a hoodie. So I made a detachable hoodie!

I drafted this hood pattern years ago and uses it over and over again. After tracing the ADCapeCult, I realize a nice way to share this pattern without effort from me is to take a picture with my inch square ruler – so here ya go! The center of the hood is just a 24 X 6 inch rectangle. Note – the center stripe is actually a little longer than needed, but I never bothered figuring out the exact length needed – When I sew, I just make sure that there’s an even amount of fabric left from both side of the rectangle, on the same side of the rectangle. The seam allowance is really… forgiving 😛 I usually just do 5/8 of an inch. If you are making the hood attach directly to the cape, you should adjust the bottom of the pieces to your liking – base of this hood itself is wider than the base of the cape collar. I had mine mine detachable – so the extra fabric doesnt bother us (me and the cape). Plus, the way ADCultCape is drafted – a slightly wider hood would still work fine.

Anyways! Hope you guys make your own cape because we need to #bringcapesback !!! If you make the hoodie using my pattern, please tag me on instagram ( @juebejue) so I can see 🙂

Thank you for reading!!! Happy New Year!!