Velvet and Sequined Cloak

 A fun Christmas gift I made for my niece: a dramatic velvet cloak with sequined peacock feathers.

My niece loves a bit of everyday fantasy cosplay. She had set her heart on a beautiful velvet cloak at a ren faire earlier this year (I suspect it was a handpainted beauty from The Castle Lane), with sparkly peacock feathers on it, but it was way out of their budget. Her mom asked if I could try recreating it a bit cheaper, so I had at it.

I found this free, one-size, long hooded cloak pattern from Fleece Fun, which included a lined hood, shaped shoulders and a curved hem. The pattern seemed sufficiently dramatic for my niece's needs and the price was right.

I ended up with 4 yards of this teal panne velvet on sale from Online Fabric Store (which is the online store for my childhood fabric shop, Osgood Textile!). I think I swore off sewing panne velvet in the past (how is it sticky and slippery at the same time?!), but I'd do anything for my niece, so...

I'm no painter, so for the sparkly peacock element I purchased 3 of these mesh panels with metallic embroidery and sequin peacock feathers.

I really struggled with pinning and sewing the panels onto the velvet- so shifty! The non-stretch mesh and stretchy velvet did not play well together. 

Sophie from Little Bird Sewing Studio suggested using a glue stick to hold the panels in place while I sewed and that worked great! I zig-zagged all around the panels and then trimmed the mesh away around the design. 

I also struggled a bit because I had intended to put a peacock feather panel on each front side of the cloak, but I realized when I received them that, of course, they are not mirrored. It looked jarring to my eye that they didn't match one another. In the end, I flipped one upside down so the asymmetry looked more intentional. 

The pattern calls for sewing leather cords onto the cloak as a closure, but that felt a bit unfinished to me. I opted to use some shiny gold buttons from my stash. 

I overlapped the edges of the cape and added some reinforcement for the buttonholes and buttons with a piece of interfaced cotton since the fusible interfacing wouldn't stick to the velvet.

I think it turned out great! Certainly not as elegant as the original, but a reasonable facsimile. My niece recognized it immediately when she opened the gift, exclaiming "The cloak from King Richard's Faire!!!"

She was a good sport and let me take some moody photos on an atmospheric misty morning, accessorizing with her chain mail head piece (with crystal that matched the cloak!), new fan, and wizard staff.