Dressing Warm For The Era: Yellow Wool Capelet

This year so far, Maryland has experienced a very short and mild winter. With Spring arriving quickly, it's getting close to the point where I'll have to put away my winter wear.

With that being said, I never really got the opportunity to really take some good photos of the new wool capelet that I made in January.


This capelet is perfect for any time period 

Initially this capelet was a result of a de-stashing project. I had 1.5 yard of left-over wool fabric that I wasn't planning to do anything with, and instead of donating it to GoodWill or selling it, I decided to make a winter capelet based off of a couple of 18th century examples I found on pinterest. Now, what made this project most interesting was that while many of the wool caplets and silk mantelets I have seen were hooded and were lined with fur, there were a few that surprisingly did not require such.   

  

This was a fairly easy project to do. I laid out some leftover Waverly fabric I had deconstructed from an old regency gown that never saw the light of day, and used it as the lining while adding the wool overtop. After pinning everything in place and cutting out the semi-circle, I ran it through the sewing machine (wrong sides together, since there was no need to turn it inside out.



Clarabelle inspecting the pattern layout


Afterwards, I trimmed the entire border with faux-fur ribbon I bought on clearance at Michael's and carefully de-wired the ribbon with needle-nosed pliers (It reminded me of those heavy wires that the Orthodontist used when I had braces 😅). Finally I added two sets of ties to tie around the neck and around the bust. It's not really necessary to add extra ties, but I get cold very easily and wanted extra coverage. 



Overall, this was a very quick and easy project to whip up in a matter of 2 days. I really enjoyed it! Regardless of it being predominantly an 18th century garment, it did very well in serving its purpose, in keeping me warm when I went to Gettysburg, PA for a visit to the Victorian Photography Studio. Heck, given it's very basic structure, I don't see why it couldn't be worn with any time period 😃 



Well, that's it for now. Can't wait to show you what I come up with next.

Stay tuned! 

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