Seamwork Camden cape
2024-Jun-27, Thursday 06:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chebeLarge chunk of the world is going through extreme temperatures, so naturally I want to talk about a wool cloak.
Seamwork's Camden is a lined mid-thigh-length cloak. Two arm slits, front button closure. That's it, nice and simple. I opted for a size 18 (this is, again, an earlier pattern, so there's no separate Curvy range). I made a partial toile of the lining, and decided to lower the arm slits by about 3cms, but that's it.
I chose a boiled wool in petrol melange, 100% Wool, 385g/m2 for the outer shell, and a flannel fabrice plain, in black, 100% Cotton, 165g/m2, for the lining. I used Gütermann thread colour 223, and six dark grey 25mm buttons.
I was nervous about using pure wool, and looked up some guides on how to go about it. I did prewash it, on the gentlest cycle I could select, and am glad I did as the colour bled a fair bit. Then I line dried it (which didn't take long as it did not absorb much liquid at all), and ironed. The flannel was a straight-forward pre-wash, dry, and iron. I used a ballpoint needle, and a walking foot (when I could).
Construction was quite straight forward. I overlocked/serged the seam finishes on the flannel only. The lining is slip-stitched by hand to the shell at the armholes (I did not top-stitch around them). I was supposed to do the same along the hem but my lining isn't long enough, so I had to leave it free. I'm not sure what happened. If it is the wool that stretched it did it uniformly, so it's more likely something with the lining. I machine blind-stitched the hem, fixing missed spots by hand.
When it came to making the buttonholes I discovered that the fabric is much too bulky to fit under the machine foot. Which meant I had to learn how to sew buttonholes by hand. It's not even talked about in my newer sewing books, so I had to resort to video instruction. Once I got it straight in my head it wasn't too bad (except for the blood loss), but I got off easy as the boiled wool doesn't fray and the thread is a fantastic colour match. Then I hand sewed on the buttons, and it's all done.
I did not get a chance to wear this while camping, as the weather turned out better than anticipated, so a wear test will need to wait until later in the year. The armholes restricting arm movement will definitely take some getting used to. Raising the tops of the slits, or investigating some kind of sleeve solution might be required. It is also a bit large, but that was intentional for layering. We'll have to see if it works out well.
Seamwork's Camden is a lined mid-thigh-length cloak. Two arm slits, front button closure. That's it, nice and simple. I opted for a size 18 (this is, again, an earlier pattern, so there's no separate Curvy range). I made a partial toile of the lining, and decided to lower the arm slits by about 3cms, but that's it.
I chose a boiled wool in petrol melange, 100% Wool, 385g/m2 for the outer shell, and a flannel fabrice plain, in black, 100% Cotton, 165g/m2, for the lining. I used Gütermann thread colour 223, and six dark grey 25mm buttons.
I was nervous about using pure wool, and looked up some guides on how to go about it. I did prewash it, on the gentlest cycle I could select, and am glad I did as the colour bled a fair bit. Then I line dried it (which didn't take long as it did not absorb much liquid at all), and ironed. The flannel was a straight-forward pre-wash, dry, and iron. I used a ballpoint needle, and a walking foot (when I could).
Construction was quite straight forward. I overlocked/serged the seam finishes on the flannel only. The lining is slip-stitched by hand to the shell at the armholes (I did not top-stitch around them). I was supposed to do the same along the hem but my lining isn't long enough, so I had to leave it free. I'm not sure what happened. If it is the wool that stretched it did it uniformly, so it's more likely something with the lining. I machine blind-stitched the hem, fixing missed spots by hand.
When it came to making the buttonholes I discovered that the fabric is much too bulky to fit under the machine foot. Which meant I had to learn how to sew buttonholes by hand. It's not even talked about in my newer sewing books, so I had to resort to video instruction. Once I got it straight in my head it wasn't too bad (except for the blood loss), but I got off easy as the boiled wool doesn't fray and the thread is a fantastic colour match. Then I hand sewed on the buttons, and it's all done.
I did not get a chance to wear this while camping, as the weather turned out better than anticipated, so a wear test will need to wait until later in the year. The armholes restricting arm movement will definitely take some getting used to. Raising the tops of the slits, or investigating some kind of sleeve solution might be required. It is also a bit large, but that was intentional for layering. We'll have to see if it works out well.
Seamwork Camden, finished, inside lining view
Photo by chebe
Seamwork Camden, finished, back view
Photo by chebe
Seamwork Camden, finished, front view
Photo by chebe
