A few weeks ago, I watched one of my favorite Ginger Rogers’ movie Bachelor Mother and could not stop drooling over her wardrobe.  One article of clothing struck me in particular, which led to several late nights in my sewing studio trying to perfect the pattern.  What was this piece that threw me into a tizzy?  A small, collared capelet which adds such an air of grace and femininity to even the simplest of frocks.  Although I made mine of a very sheer fabric, the fabric choice is really up to you.  The key is to drape the capelet over your dress form when you pin the shoulder darts.

Supplies:

• 1 yard of choice fabric
• Thread

The Pattern

Use the following guide to cut out your pattern pieces.  Adjust for your personal body size as needed.

graph pattern

The Steps

Create a French seam down the center back of the capelet.

I added a collar to my capelet.  If you do not wish to have one, simply hand sew the neck edges and attach the ties as normal after you sew the shoulder seams.  If you are using a collar, make sure to test on your dress form to ensure a good drape.

As mentioned above, the shoulder darts should be made on the dress form and should be created to allow for fabric type and desired fit.  The larger the dart the closer it will fit to the upper arms. Stitch.

Carefully hem the outer edge of the capelet.

Sew the collar right sides together on all outer edges, leaving the inside edge open. Turn right side out and press.   Attach one side to the neckline of the capelet, right sides together.

Turn over the raw edge of the collar to the inside of the capelet and whip stitch close.

Make the ties and press.

Attach the ties to the inside of the capelet right next to the collar.  Hand stitch.

Enjoy your new capelet and feel free to  experiment with length, size and type of collar!

~Aimee