An Easy Costume Cloak

Have you ever been ready for a magical night out on the town only to discover that you've nothing to wear?

Fear not! This cloak pattern is as simple as it is elegant! You'll soon have a wardrobe full of them- one to match every outfit.

Before we start this creative adventure we'll need a few things-

Fabric:

Fleece is recommended as it can be cut without needing the edges to be seamed. We're all about keeping this as simple as possible! You can absolutely use something different, but the edges will most likely need to be hemmed.

To figure out how much material you'll need, first measure from your collarbone to the length you want the finished cloak to be. Second, we'll need to make up the difference in length for when we cut a neck hole out of our cloak. Add 6 inches to your cloak length for a smaller neck, add 7 inches for a larger neck .

This measurement will determine the width of the fabric.

Cloak Length Desired + Neck Size = Width of Material Needed

As for the length, you'll need a piece twice as long as it is wide, plus about 24 inches for the hood.

Example: if you want a 42 inch cloak with a smaller neck opening (add 6 inches) you'll need material that is at least 48 inches wide and 120 inches long (48" x 2 = 96", 96" + 24" = 120").

Basic Sewing supplies:

Fabric tape measure

Scissors

Marking pen or pencil

Pins

Sewing machine

Specialty supplies:

A set of hooks or clasp

Lots of open floor space to craft

Bravery

To avoid the Doldrums and continue on your quest for the perfect garment, first fold the fabric in half so that it makes a square.

Cloak Body:

We're going to transmute this square into half a donut. Making sure that your lines start on the folded edge of the fabric, mark out a 6 or 7 inch quarter of a circle for the neck opening and then add the length of the desired cloak and draw another quarter circle. Example: I wanted my cloak to come down to just below my knees, which came out to 39 inches in length and I wanted my neck to be on the small size so I did my first arc at 6 inches and my second arc at 45 inches (39" + 6" = 45")

Use nice sharp scissors to cut out your lines.

Notes:

-Leave the cloak body folded in half for later.

-The leftover material is what the hood is made of so try to keep it in one big piece.

-You're cutting through two layers of fabric so go slow.

-Be mindful to cut off all your pen marks.

Hood:

Now for the making of the hood! You need two of the same shape so keep the fabric doubled over. It helps if you can line up the two layers along a straight line. Along that straight line measure 18-22 inches for the face opening and measure a perpendicular line that is twice the length of your neck size.

Example: my neck opening was 6 inches so I measured out 12 inches. Refer to the pictures for an illustrated explanation. The back-of-the-hood shape can be rounded or pointed - wizard's choice!

Our journey will soon be at an end!

Hood assembly:

Make sure the good sides of the fabric are facing each other on the inside. You'll be pinning and sewing along the top and backside of the hood, leaving the two flat sides unsewn (the face opening and neck opening respectively).

Sew along the pinned edges giving about 1/4" of seam allowance.

Once your hood is sewn, you'll want to turn it right-side out for the finished look. If you made a pointy hood like me, you can use a pencil to help turn out the very end of the tip.

Cloak + Hood Assembly:

The tricky part is attaching the hood to the rest of the cloak as there is more material in the hood than there is around the neck opening of the cloak. This will cause the material to bunch as you pin and sew, but it allows the hood to have a nice large opening once it's together.

First, you'll want to use a pin to mark the center point of the cloak body before you unfold it.

Unfold the cloak into its half-donut shape. Line up the bottom and center of the hood (your stitched line) to the center pin of the cloak and secure it (good sides facing each other). Next you'll want to line up and pin the furthest corners from the center. The remainder of the pins should be placed in between the first ones, keeping the two layers of fabric evenly spaced. The hood fabric will bubble up in between the pins because of the extra fabric, the trick is to make it bubble evenly around the whole seam. I made a diagram to help explain the pinning order.

Now that it's pinned, back to the sewing machine! A steady stitch along your pinned section with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Clasp:

No matter the type of clasp you found to adorn your fanciful cloak, you'll probably need to sew it by hand.

I chose to sew it on the outside so I don't have it rubbing up against me as I wear it.

Suggestion: if making this for a child I'll probably use sew-on Velcro instead of a clasp so it'll tear away easily if it gets caught on anything.

That it! Cloak is fully assembled and ready for a warm and fashionable night on the town!

This cloak is a quick and easy way to really pull together a costume. You could use this to for a last-minute-Jedi, last-minute-wizard, last-minute-hobbit, last-minute-little-red-riding-hood etc. The options are endless!

If you are a little more advanced in your sewing knowledge this pattern can still be used with a few additions to really make it feel like a professional project. I also made a longer cloak out of a velvet-like material by following all the same steps. The only additions were some folded-over, stitched seams along the outside edges of the hood and cloak body.

I can't wait to see what last minute costume this can create for you!