Before I write a blog post like this one, I usually go to the internet to see if other people have already written on this topic. I do this to make sure I know my facts, and frankly, it’s a good idea to do a little pre-research on what has already been said so that my content adds to the conversation.
It surprised me to discover that AI used four quotes in its statement from three different websites. Two of the quotes came from this website!
So yeah… That’s a thing now. Google AI is using my content to answer people’s questions about sewing doll clothes. Hmmm… After you read my blog post today, maybe comment on what you think of this.
Before I go on, I need to make my required disclaimer statement: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how affiliate marketing works on my website, please go to the Privacy Policy page. Thank you!
Simplicity 8281 was one of my favorite doll clothes sewing patterns, back when I was in high school. I lived in the small farm town of Cottonwood, Idaho, where everyone was a German Catholic, and since the pope had not given his stamp of approval on the idea of birth control, most of my classmates had 10 or 12 siblings.
I know that sounds crazy, but I’m not making this up. I was one of three Protestants in my class. Everyone else had a huge family except Phil Hull. (I’m not sure why his family disregarded the pope!)
Anyway, for Christmas in about 1981, a bunch of my classmates paid me to make their little sisters a whole wardrobe, using this pattern, which they then gave to their sisters as Christmas gifts. And yeah, a lot of my friends asked me to make the cape.
You may not think of capes as a popular thing to wear in the 1980’s, but if you were born after the 80’s, you may have gotten some misconceptions about both the 70’s and the 80’s from movies, television, and social media.
The 1970’s saw a surge in fantasy fiction’s popularity in book stores and libraries. This was before the movie that we think of today as The Lord of the Rings. In 1978, there was an animated version of Lord of the Rings — and The Hobbit too — which many of my peers considered a favorite.
In 1985, I started college, and I joined the fencing team. They got together to play Dungeons and Dragons on Saturday nights, and this was before the related video games of course. Fencers from our college met at local Renaissance faires, and all of us dressed up for the occasion (even though Renaissance faire fencing isn’t the same as athletic fencing).
I remember one very cold winter, when my raincoat wasn’t enough to keep the cold out, I was a the Goodwill and found a huge chunk of wool in a bin labeled $2.00 per cloth. I took that wool home and made myself a medieval cape.
Of course I looked a lot cuter in my handmade cape back when I was twenty-something! In fact, people used to stare at me as I walked across my college campus, wearing that cape you see pictured above.
I guess I’ve always been unique.
People have had an interest in the middle ages for a long time, of course. You can see elements of this obsession in pictures of people dressed medieval-ish at Woodstock, and before that, think of the beautiful medieval-style paintings of John Everett Millais from the 1850’s.
While we’re on this topic, we can’t forget the popularity of timeless classic literature like Howard Pyle’s Robin Hood, Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, and the tales of King Arthur. As long as these stories remain in the zeitgeist, it will be popular to sew and wear capes.
But this is a website about sewing, so let’s look at capes from the perspective of someone learning to sew.
Which one looks easier, the cape from Simplicity 8466 above, or one of the coats from McCall’s 8531 below?
Yeah, the cape is definitely much easier to sew, even if you add a hood to it.
And although they weren’t officially in style, in the early 2000’s, I made my daughters a denim cape with a polar fleece lining to wear to school. Just like I experienced in college, all their friends envied them!
I remember being at a family gathering, and all my cousins’ kids wanted to “try on” my daughters’ cape. As soon as they did, they spun around, showing off, like “Oooh la-la! Look at me!” LOL!
So while the cape trend seems to come and go with other fashion trends, it never stops being cool to wear one, in my humble opinion.
Questions: Did you ever own a cape? Have you made them for dolls? And if so, did children enjoy playing with them? Please leave your thoughts in the comments.
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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.
Dear Chelly, I’ve never owned a cape for myself or my dolls but I would like to learn how to make one for the latter.
Thanks for today’s blog post,
Trisha
Of course I have lots of cape patterns, here on ChellyWood.com! Which doll do you want to sew a cape for?
I want to sew a cape for Barbie.
I have a couple of free cape patterns for Barbie in my collection. The best place to find my cape patterns will be the Barbie Cosplay Gallery. (Use that link to find it.) Happy sewing!
Great article! Never had a cape when I learned to sew in the mid-1970s since I missed Home Ec classes in high school. Have yet to sew doll clothes so I missed out on the doll capes as well. Side note: I am beginning to love Google AI just for the information I can obtain. Would never take it as the absolute truth though!!!
Hey, thanks for commenting on AI. Like you, I can see how it may benefit humanity in the long run. I’m curious to see how things play out regarding AI.
Hey, Chelly ! I still have the cape my mom made for me in 1965, when I was a high school sophmore. It’s black wool lined in blue paisley cotton, from a Simplicity pattern. In 1985, I began making and selling cloaks at science fiction and fantasy conventions, and then added shoes and basic tunics, hats, skirts, and pants to the mix. The cloaks were mostly heavy twill or ultrasuede, rarely lined ( French-seamed ), though the wizard cloaks were fancier, of course. All were machine washable, since they would be worn outdoors for larping or SCA events. Also, being based in the deep south, they could be worn year-round. Because I have never thrown a scrap of fabric away, my dolls and stuffed animals have extensive Lord of the Rings wardrobes.
I love it! You wrote: “my dolls and stuffed animals have extensive Lord of the Rings wardrobes” — That’s awesome!
Can I assume you’ve seen my Romeo and Juliet with Dolls stop-motion videos?
You are unique! Thanks God
We are very lucky. Thanks for the informations. There is always something interesting to learn!
AI can be good when it tells from where an information comes from.
I have noticed that your site is often highly considered.
Thank you, Marco, for asking the question that inspired this blog post!
I thought it might be because coats created bulk under those tiny arms and capes didn’t . I’m older – I remember capes were a fashion trend for human scale clothing in the late 60’s early 70’s . My mom made a really pretty tailored navy blue one w/ shoulder epaulettes but she only wore it a few times . I asked why and she said it wasn’t handy for driving . So capes must be for people who have chauffeurs .
“So capes must be for people who have chauffeurs.” LOL! 😂 Now that I think about it, though, when I wore one in college, I didn’t have a car. I was using public transit.
Hi, Chelly!
I have 3 sisters. During the late 60s, my older sister knitted capes for all 4 of us (she didn’t knit one for my brother. LOL) 2 were navy and 2 were burgandy. I wish I could say I still had mine, but they’ve all since disappeared.
As far as AI, I like it as a quick source, but the increased use of it on Pinterest is getting really annoying. AI generated pictures are used as a hook. You go to a site, hoping to find a pattern only to find that it doesn’t exist.
I have also seen reviewers on Etsy say they’ve bought a PDF pattern and it was so obviously AI generated that it was unuseable. Wondering if anyone has used AI versions of your patterns.
I have a pretty extensive collection of free patterns here. Wouldn’t it be weird if AI was adapting my patterns for people? That would explain why people are disappointed with AI generated patterns!
My mum made a cape for my sister to dress up as Mona the Vampire, it was gorgeous. This is a great post, I am fascinated to hear about all of this recent history and culture. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences.
Oh, you’re very welcome. Talking about sewing — in particular sewing for dolls — is truly my passion! I’m enjoying the discussion right along with you!
😀 Fantastic. 🙂
The other thing to keep in mind is that capes aren’t exclusively the domain of medieval fantasy fans. Simplicity 8281 looks much more like an opera cloak to me, and dressing up for the opera, ballet, theater, etc., was still expected through the middle of the 20th century. Kids in the 70s and 80s might not recognize the kind of formal wear people wore to see performances of the arts, but the adults in their lives would.
To me, the huge thing to remember is that 1977, when 8281 was published, was only 20 years out from the original What’s My Line on television, where the panelists included a professional journalist and the founder of Random House! They dressed formally on there – Dorothy Kilgallen’s evening gowns were to die for – and the tenor of conversation looked nothing like a modern game show. And television was considered low culture! Evening gowns for a TV game show about guessing what somebody does for a living.
It’s wild to realize just how much the world shifted between that point and the late 70s. But the visuals of that world – where a cloak might be considered not just fashionable but de rigueur, depending on where you were going – lingered. (The same thing happens today; the iconic image of a powerful female businessperson still shows up with 80s shoulder pads sometimes, even though dreading like that would be a deliberate throwback at this point.) Kids playing with Barbies might not have recognized it, but grown-ups buying the patterns likely would.
This is an interesting take on the discussion of the popularity of capes in the 20th century. You’re absolutely right. I saw things from a child’s point of view in the 1970’s and 1980’s, which was very different from my mother’s generation’s POV. So thank you for adding to the discussion!