You’ll notice, that in the image of Simplicity 8466 above, there’s an adorable cape pattern for fashion dolls. A cape is a super easy design, for even the newest beginners to sew.
The cape above is short (hip-length), made of bright blue fabric, and appears to have a red ribbon for its trim.
But if you’re looking for more of a floor-length medieval-style cape, I recommend vintage Simplicity 8281. Both of these capes are fine for beginners.
What I like about them both is the fact that they tie at the neck, using a ribbon. So simple!
Then we have the McCall’s 6420 cape (below), which has tiny slits for your fashion doll’s hands to poke through. That’s a little trickier to make, but I still say, even with that alteration, this cape is relatively easy to make.
Another cape that can be a bit challenging is the one below.
As you can see on the McCall’s Crafts 4400 doll clothes pattern, there’s a hood, but honestly, hoods aren’t that tricky to make. The tricky part is getting it to drape over the shoulder, as shown on the cover art. The smaller the doll is, the less the clothes will drape like that.
Of course it helps to use jersey fabric instead of heavy cotton or something like that, but it’s still difficult sometimes to find a jersey fabric that’s lightweight enough for your dolls.
Now of course I have a free cape pattern, here on ChellyWood.com, and you can find my hooded cape pattern and tutorial when you visit my historical costume and cosplay page. It looks like this:
A few of my older patterns have not yet been converted to PDFs; they’re still only available as JPG images that you can download and print that way.
But tomorrow I plan to convert this cloak pattern to a PDF, for easier downloading and printing. So check back tomorrow to get that free printable PDF sewing pattern, for making a fashion doll cloak with hood.
Most of the commercial patterns I display and talk about here on ChellyWood.com are also available for sale on eBay. However, if you’ve never purchased a pattern on eBay before, it’s a good idea to read the article I wrote called, “Tips for Buying Used Doll Clothes Patterns on eBay.” It will save you time, money, and will likely prevent buyer’s remorse.
And by the way, if you use the links I’ve provided to make your eBay purchase, this website will receive a small commission, which helps fund the ChellyWood.com website, so I can continue to provide you with all the free patterns and tutorial videos offered here.
In case you haven’t heard, my Creative Spark class, “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” is now live on the Creative Spark platform. You can sign up any time you want!
And don’t panic if it seems like too much to take on right now — sometimes our lives get really busy. I get that. But for any class on Creative Spark, you don’t have to sign up any time soon. Just sign up when you’re ready.
And there’s no specific time limit to your courses. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you.
To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.
Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:
*ChellyWood.com earns money by linking to JoAnn Fabrics, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and other online affiliate programs. Links provided above may be affiliate links. For a full list of my affiliate programs, and to understand how cookies are used to help this website earn money, please see my “Privacy Policy” page.
Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with the pattern company or companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly finds inspiration in the doll clothes designed by these pattern companies. To purchase patterns from Simplicity, McCall’s, Butterick, Vogue, or other pattern companies shown and discussed in this blog post, please click on the links provided here. These links below the “Disclaimer” section do not help raise money for this free pattern website; they are only offered to give credit to the company that made these patterns.