A Wool Cape for Genevieve

My neighbor went KonMari on her attic, so she gave me a load of patterns and fabric.  There was a gorgeous length of double-sided wool, and since Genevieve had outgrown her Sunday coat, I wondered if she would like a Sunday cape.  Indeed yes!

 Over the years, we have received some dressy coats as gifts or hand me downs, or I have found them at thrift stores for a few dollars.  I don't usually set out to look for a dressy coat, although there was the time Ben requested one and I do love to support my children's interest in looking good. I doubt I would have bought Genevieve this cape, but since the wool and pattern fell into my lap, I seized the opportunity. 

I'm glad I had already sewn a cape from this pattern with fleece for Ben.  I lined the cape with satin, but I didn't follow the pattern precisely.  I essentially made a second cape out of grey satin, where the pattern was excluding front panels for the lining, which I couldn't understand. I used the red side of the wool inside the placket and hood so that it would show (I was afraid that a full red cape would always and forever mean "Little Red Riding Hood" in a tiresome way). 

I also made more of a placket for the buttonholes than the pattern directed, but this wool was so plush that keeping it smooth under the presser foot was very tricky.  I think I should have used my walking foot when I was sewing double thickness.  I would like to pick out one of the placket seams and straighten it out a bit, but I'm worried that I'm going to snip the wool in the process because the stitches are so deep in the plush. Oh well. 

Genevieve adores the cape, and (don't tell!) I'm going to make her a muff to go with it.  She probably needs a lantern in her hand, too, don't you think?  She was hoping I would make it floor-length like Ben's, but I thought it would look so costume-y that she would have to switch her wardrobe to hoop skirts and bonnets. 

As it is, if she keeps growing straight up the way she has been doing since toddlerhood, this cape should fit her forever, even as it becomes above-the-knee length.