Hi Ya'll,
I'm posting this over here because it's quick & easy. For those of you who are walking in the 3-Day, it's a guide for how to make a handy cape to wear. For those of you not walking in the 3-Day, just consider it a guide for making a cape for your kids. Or yourself. You could wear it to the grocery store.
Tonight I made two capes in just under an hour. Easy-breezy. The first was made with pink broadcloth that sells for $1.99 a yard at Hobby Lobby. Talk about cheap entertainment.
I cut the fabric to 36" x 25". My main goal is to leave my legs showing -- they are my greatest asset, you know! I think this would be a bit better wider -- closer to 36" x 30".
Because this is a costume of sorts, and my Momma is in Heaven, and Mrs. Lewis hasn't critiqued my sewing since my 4-H days, this really is kinda slapped together. But it works.
I used the selvage on this one for the bottom hem. That way I didn't have to hem it. On the sides, I pressed it under 1/4" and then again another 1/4", so the raw edges would be hidden. I stitched that close to the inside fold.
At this point, I have to tell you my hip new sewing machine is as much a fabric snob as I am. It did not like the broadcloth. AT ALL.
Once the sides were sewn, I made a casing on the top for the elastic. I pressed the top edge under 1/4". Then, I folded it down about 3/4", and pressed it again. I stitched that close to the inside edge. No, I didn't pin it or measure it. But if you're new to this sewing thing, you probably want to do both of those.
The key is to have a casing wide enough to thread your elastic through.
You'll want to cut a 12" piece of elastic for the top. I used 1/4" wide elastic. You put a safety pin on one end and start threading it through your casing. One the other end reaches the end of your casing, stitch it in place. Then, keep pushing your safety pin through. The fabric will begin to gather along your elastic.
Once you get the safety pin end of the elastic to the other end of the casing, stitch in place there, too.
Voila!
You have a cape!
To pin the cape on, I tied some polka dot ribbon around two safety pins -- on the side that doesn't open. Then, I pinned the cape to the shoulders of my T-shirt.
I also made a cape out of this shinier fabric. It's kind of a brushed velvety fabric. I'm not sure what it's called other than "That stuff Mom used to make our bridesmaids' outfits for A'Lise's wedding. You know, that crawly stuff."
This stuff is $5.99 a yard at Hobby Lobby. It's a bit more, but it's all shiny and pretty. AND you can make two capes out of one yard of fabric. On this one, I cut the fabric to about 30.5" x 37.5". My snobbish machine really liked this stuff better.
One caveat: This cape is heavier than the other one, and pulled on my shirt a bit. I think it would probably be warmer than the other one -- something that would annoy me on mile 15 if it was really hot outside. I did make it bigger, so that's part of it. I need to cut it off a bit. It doesn't show my legs enough. Did I mention it's shiny??
So that's the scoop on the capes. If you want a cape for the 3-Day, it's really a simple project. I'm thinking anyone with a machine and a year of Home Ec could figure it out. If you don't sew, you can probably find someone who can -- it's seriously a 30-minute project.
When we walked the 3-Day in 2007, I didn't have the first clue who Caroline was. I just knew that Suzi was walking for Caroline's loved ones, and needed a picture taken with these hearts. 
