Red Riding Hood

Woo hoo!  I have nearly completed the cape!

Excuse the folded caplet, it really does lay fine.

It's Simplicity 5840 view A.  It still needs a clasp and to be hemmed.  I'm holding off on the hemming till I have the dress finished and can figure out how long I need it.  After I started sewing I realized most red riding hood costumes don't have sleeves and are more cape like.  This is a little more medieval, but I'm hoping if I shorten it up (a bunch) it will look fine.  My husband stated that as long as it's red and has a hood people will know what I'm going for.

This thing was a mountain of narrow hems.  The sleeves, the middle edges, the caplet, the hood.  I don't know if I saved any time with all the sewing the Threads method requires, but I definitely got a lot less frustrated.

Picture just doesn't do it justice.

This was also a lesson in READ THE FRAKIN' DIRECTIONS.  I was ticked at Simplicity because I cut out all the pieces and didn't have room to cut out the hood.  In the directions (just looking at the picture) it seemed I was supposed to cut it out of some random piece of stray fabric.  I managed to cut it in two pieces instead one in the scraps and added an extra 5/8" where they were supposed to be one so I could sew them together.  After I get to sewing I find out I was only supposed to cut one of the caplet and cut the hood out from the layer under that.  Oops.  You can't tell so no harm done, but lesson learned.  I had another cutting error/mad at pattern maker for no good reason, but I'm going to save that anecdote for the post when I finish the dress.

Quick Note of Thanks!!

Thank you Threads Magazine!!  I am using their instructions for narrow hems (same Threads July issue referenced in Mickey Shirt #1) and it has made things ten times easier.  I'm working with a polyester interlock and it's extremely slippery.  This technique has given the fabric the weight needed so it doesn't roll.  Hopefully this will cut down on frustration and make things go quicker.  Fabulous!

No Power!!!

My power went out from Wednesday at 5pm to this morning (Friday) at 4am.  I just taken a dinner break from sewing the red riding hood cape when this happened.  It was really annoying.  The upside I guess is that because we had to go out for meals yesterday we spent the whole day out.  I'm not a going out kind of person lately, but it gave me an opportunity to get the car the 60,000 mile check up (important when driving from WV to FL in 5 weeks) and I got the final notions needed to complete the costumes.  I have the Jedi tunic half done just hanging in the closet waiting on hwt interfacing.  The cape didn't really need anything so it's almost finished (again, narrow heams = Evil).  Hopefully I will have something to show after this weekend. 

Thanks all who are reading this because without you I'm just talking to myself and that's crazy enough when I do it out loud let alone out in public.