How to Make a Cloak

Sewing can seem like a difficult craft to the outsider with little or no experience, but the need for practical clothing or good costume fun might mean getting some hands-on experience in the craft. A cloak that keep you warm or look great--or even both--is a good project for a novice sewer.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fabric
• Needle and thread
• Scissors
• Measuring tape

1. Measure the wearer from the base of his neck to the ankles. This tells you almost how long the fabric for your cloak needs to be. Add about 4 inches more and double the sum to get the length of the straight edge of the fabric.

2. Double the fabric over.

3. Draw a half-circle on the fabric. Make the curve constant. Check it carefully and correct any errors before you move to the next step.

4. Cut the half-circle out of the fabric. Keep an even hand and follow the drawn pattern until you've reached the end.

5. Cut a neck hole into the fabric. You can do this by making another half-circle on the fabric and cutting along it. The diameter should be about half an inch to a full inch bigger than the diameter of the wearer's neck.

6. Hem it up, making sure to keep all the edges straight. This is why you gave extra fabric in Step 1 and folded the fabric over. Now all you have to hem is the bottom and the neck hole.

7. Add a sturdy, large hook-and-eye about where the indentation at the base of the neck is, relative to the wearer.