Glen Plaid Cape

As soon as I saw the George and Ginger Revelry top/add-on pattern it was love. I bought it on impulse and nostalgia for gothy-dramatic days of my youth. Would Natalie Merchant wear it in 1993? Oh yes, I think she would. I think that I should keep with my early-90s inspiration and get some burgundy or dark teal fabric and make another. But I had this Glen Plaid liverpool fabric on hand and decided to go for it for my wearable muslin.

So the Revelry is really just a bodice with a cape attached. It has different sleeve lengths as well as cape lengths (I used the half-circle), and a hood option. Worn alone it is a crop top, but it can be mashed up with the skirt from the George and Ginger Mix it Up dress. I chose the circle skirt and just attached it to the bodice. That was the only pattern piece I used from the mix-it-up. If you like a circle skirt and can do the math, I imagine that you could just compute your skirt pattern if you wanted.

The pattern calls for a stable knit like ponte or liverpool. I used some liverpool from my stash. Because of the multiple circle pieces (cape and skirt) it consumes a lot of fabric. But the bodice itself is pretty easy and since it’s unlined it uses less and smaller pieces.

I didn’t have enough fabric for the hood. So I started by using the binding that the pattern called for. Since a hood is an option I found that the neckline is too high for my comfort. Especially since the weight of the cape keeps pulling it back. So I cut it a bit lower and made a facing. I would bet that you could use any of the pieces of the Mix-It-Up front bodice if you aren’t doing a hood or sleeveless and then you could have a different/lower neckline. I think I’ll do that in the future.

I really like the cape. It’s totally fun. I like how the glen plaid makes this look less goth-y and more Victorian. I also really like the sleeves on this bodice. I made the long sleeves and the wrists are really quite tight on me. I think that may not work for some, but I really like it with the drama of volume of the cape up top. I think the tight sleeves are a clever design choice and I am a fan.

I’ll also say, this was a much easier make than I had expected. AND I cut the whole pattern out on my new projector! It was pretty wonderful to not have to print and tape up multiple patterns (plus, giant circular patterns!) when trying out a new-to-me pattern. And for my first projector-cut pattern for myself, this is a win!