The impending tournament season has served as a strong reminder of our girls’ need for warm cloaks. Mirella’s previous cloak was a half-circle made from wool. This worked well, but I often wanted a bit more fullness for her. I felt that a full-circle cloak would possess too much material for active kids on the move, and so I decided to make Mirella and Quinn 3/4-circle cloaks for this season.
After purchasing 6 yards of blue wool, I washed it on hot and then dried it, fulling it in the process. Then came the fun part.
Drafting a circle isn’t too difficult as long as you can establish a center point and then use a tape measure and tailor’s chalk to mark out the circle. The challenge is to calculate the correct neck measurement.
So, I started with the basic circle equation: C=2πR. I began by working with the neck measurement and calculating C (circumference). Because this is not a full circle cloak (but a 3/4 circle), it was important to take the measured neck circumference and then divide it by 3 and multiply it by 4. After that, I was able to insert this number into the equation and calculate the R (radius) to be used for measuring the neck pattern.
Once I had both cloaks cut out, I cut out a matching lining for the cloak from red linen.
Currently, I am in the process of hand appliquéing the crescent from Gerald’s arms onto the cloaks. The crescents are made from two layers of white linen which I am sewing to the wool with the palestrina stitch.
I am anxious to see how this all comes together.
~ Cristiana
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