I am so excited to bring you a final look at this teeny little cape, especially if you are a sewist-creator. It is a cape for 15 lb, 6 month old Ella so she could be Anna from Frozen opposite Abbi’s Elsa from Frozen for Halloween. You can see them both here in Sam’s Halloween post, and a sneak peek of this finished cape here. But here’s a replay of just baby Ella as Anna. Note that I whipped up the cap to complete the look, including attached braids!
I made this tiny cape up as I went along, with a few hints from internet photos of ready-made capes, a commercial pattern 4 sizes too large, and my self-taught pattern drafting skills. I have to say: Go, me! It was a big undertaking but everything went so smoothly! I’m just tickled by the way it turned out!
Using fleece — sparkle fleece for extra pizzazz (and just the right color find) — made the front/bottom hem for the body of the cape easy: no hem at all! Just a nice clean cut edge was all that was required, especially because it is a costume…
The short, top-layer capelet had an extra bit of trim. Attaching the ball fringe required a turned-under hem, but that also helped the shorter layer of fabric to have some weight to keep it laying down and draping nicely. The line of stitching that holds the hem in place is actually visible next to the rickrack, but not very noticeable because the rickrack is so attention-getting…
Anna’s cape in the movie has a beautiful double heart cloak clasp. There’s one available at JoAnn that I’ve admired through button sale after button sale, and was sure I had purchased at some point over the last decade. However, it was nowhere to be found. I’m actually quite glad, because comparing a similar cloak clasp that I do own showed me that it would have been to heavy and bulky for little miss Ella. Instead, I used a coat hook and eye — an oversized and sturdy hook and eye — and embellished the outside with two heart-shaped buttons to simulate the clasp. You can see it in the very first picture as well as below… I think it worked! Yes?
Using fleece also let me keep some bulk out of the neckband (above). I was able to just trim off the extra fabric from the edge on the inside after stitching just one layer down, instead of folding it up inside and stitching through an extra layer. A woven fabric would ravel if you just trimmed it off as I was able to do with the fleece.
This whole front section of the capelet is only about 7″ across — smaller than a hand span, and only about 4″ tall. This is one of the most creative tiny things I’ve sewn!
Hope you’ve enjoyed having a closer look at this teeny size 6-months Anna cape! “Anna’s” sitter-upper is getting a little worn out by this picture LOL Didn’t Sam do an amazing job on that Elsa hat, tiara, and hair one-piece crocheted item???
Gail
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