Elvish Cloak
My sister and I are avid fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's books, so we decided to make costumes for the release of The Hobbit, The Desolation of Smaug... this is the cloak I made.
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Pintrest- www.pinterest.com/ruthmichaelaj
Instagram- www.instagram.com/ruthjohnsoncreations
Step 1
Begin by drawing your plan, (this is very important to work out all your measurements before you buy fabric) I measured my height and then estimated my desired length from that.
Step 2
Buy your fabric... crushed velvet is the best for this project as it drapes nicely in an elvish manor, however in new zealand its hellishly expensive. So you may opt for a cheaper alternative if you so wish. However luckily for me, I picked up some super cheap crushed velvet when I traveled to the Philippines, I got about 7m for $40. So this is what I used.
Step 3
The next stage is to mark and cut your fabric. As you can see in the first image, I used my height as the radius for the circle from which I would take 3/4 from as the cloak. Use chalk to mark the UNDERSIDE of the fabric and measure 3 seperate 1/4s. Cut these out once your done and round the bottom corner of 2 of the 1/4s. leaving the middle corner will give a point to the end of your cloak, which in my opinion makes it look more elvish. Also cut two long triangles for the hood, make sure theres lots of fabric to create the gaping loose elvish look around the face.
Step 4
Now to sew it all together. I just sewed with my sewing machine with no special needles or stitches and that seemed to work. I didn't need to hem the fabric, which is why I didnt tell you to account for it in your measurements. I did every seam twice as I was afraid the seams would pull and stretch as the fabric does. Once the 3 1/4's are sewed up, sew the hood triangles together and cut a small hole for your neck and attatch your hood to the hole. You may wish to sew some ribbon onto the neckline to tie together or perhaps use a clasp.