Is it a coat? Is it a cape? Well, it’s actually a fabulous hybrid — a coat-cape made of felted wool fabric. With its swingy silhouette, stand collar, and lantern sleeves, it is comfortable and easy to wear, yet so stylish.
I love capes with their simple style, but sometimes they can be a bit fiddly to wear. This design solves that issue with its chic little lantern sleeves. The sleeve hem is slightly narrower than the end that attaches to the body, creating a subtle lantern shape. I made a full facing for the sleeve and topstitched the edge, which makes the lantern shape more pronounced.
The collar is a simple stand collar that can be taller or shorter depending on your preference. In fact, I think it would be fun to play with different collar shapes!
The pattern is from the autumn/winter 2024 issue of Mrs. Stylebook, a Japanese sewing magazine that is published a few times a year. Most of the styles have schematics from which you have to draft your patterns. The best way to do this is to use your own sloper as a starting point. For the Coat-Cape, the pattern was drafted using just the bust measurement.
A Coat-Cape with Designer Details
The fabric is a felted wool imported from France that I purchased from EOS Fabrics, a wonderful online retailer of fine fabrics, many of which are designer deadstocks. The weighty fabric does not fray so I chose not to line the garment, but I think the design would be lovely with a dramatic lining!
Two snaps topped with decorative buttons close the fronts. On the inside, I hand-sewed a bright red trim that I bought years ago at La Droguerie in Paris, France. Because the coat-cape style has a lot of swing and opportunities to show off the inside, I thought it would be interesting to add a decorative detail along the inside hem and front seams.
Customization Ideas
The simplicity of the design makes it really easy to add details that make it your own. Here are just a few ideas:
- Shorten or lengthen the overall length
- Shorten the sleeves
- Change the collar shape
- Use different closures that run the length of the coat-cape
- Add a bright lining
- Add decorative braids or ribbons along the outside hem and fronts
- Use decorative stitching such as channel stitching to emphasize the swing shape
- Use color blocking to mix different fabric colors
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