Winter product highlight: cloaks

Following on from capes a couple of weeks ago it's time for my last product highlight: cloaks!

Full-length cloaks were the first item that I started to offer on a made to order basis, and they've remained a steady favourite ever since. Most popular are my fleece cloaks with a polyester lining, as they are lovely and warm plus showerproof and can be easily machine washed when needed.

(I also offer an unlined version, but most people seem to like the opportunity to have a flash of contrasting colour from the lining as they walk)

In the last year or so I've seen an increase in demand for semi-circular cloaks, which customers generally prefer to have made up in a wool-blend Melton or pure boiled wool. These are truly spectacular garments, quite heavy but super warm due to the amount of fabric you have draped around you.

I haven't listed the semi-circular cloaks in my online shop yet as price varies quite a bit depending on the length you require, but it is on the list of "things I really need to do". In the meantime I'm happy to do you a quote if you let me know what you're after!

Catching up after Christmas...

Blimey December was a busy month! I barely had time to catch my breath between sewing sessions to get all the orders done and keep my area in Fabrication in Leeds fully stocked. Rather than bore you with a post per cape/cloak, here's a round up of some of the beautiful custom pieces which left my workroom in December...

Black crushed velvet cape with a pointed hood:

Semi-circular boiled wool cloak a red lining, with 3 frog-clasps as closure:

Semi-circular pure wool cloak with a midnight blue satin lining and a beautiful celtic clasp - a surprise Christmas present for a very lucky lady!! The hood on this one is detachable, revealing a mandarin collar underneath:

Full-length boiled wool cloak with a jacquard weave lining. This was designed to go over a silk-velvet wedding dress in the same colour as the lining, which I also made but don't have any decent photographs of:

Child's red melton cloak with a white fur trim, after the cloak worn by the main character in the Goth Girl books. Also a Christmas present! 

This month already has a couple of cloaks and a wedding dress lined up, so I'm sure I'll be doing another round-up at some point!

A trio of capes

A trio of capes to show you now, all made for a returning customer.

First up, charcoal fleece with a red/black jacquard weave lining:

Second, a lightweight linen/cotton blend cape for summer wear (they were dispatched to her in time for her holiday so she could take it with her!) with a pretty button closure:

Third, a cape made in the colours of her rugby team (Northampton Saints, in case you're wondering). I think this is a great idea, if I followed a team myself I'd definitely have one in their colours for me!

Photos from a happy customer

Following on from my previous post, I'm delighted to be able to share a few photos with you of a beautiful bride and her lovely bridesmaids on her wedding day.

Congratulations to Juliet and Alan, I hope you have a long and happy marriage. And thankyou to Juliet for choosing me to make your dresses and cloak, I think it was a fab combination and I'm so glad you were pleased with them!

It started with an idea of wearing a cloak...

Pictures today of a commission that I finished shortly before my week off - a commission that started with the bride to be looking for a cloak to wear on her wedding day and ended up with me being asked to make not just the cloak but matching bridesmaids dresses and her dress as well!

First, her dress: a simple full-length strapless dress with an off the shoulder band that also went round her arms.

And her cloak: beautiful burgundy duchess satin, lined with ivory satin and with a silver clasp to hold it closed.

And the bridesmaids: the same lovely colour satin in styles appropriate to their ages (and sadly the older girl's dress fitted on none of my mannequins so you only get a picture of it on the hanger).

I have seen photos of the wedding day and they all looked absolutely gorgeous, I'm waiting for permission to share them with you all though, so you'll have to keep your fingers crossed for now!

And now on the person it was made for...

Yesterday I received a lovely email from the lady the cloak in the previous post was made for enclosing a photo of her and her new husband on their wedding day. It's so nice to get to see my garments being worn by the people they were made for, and she very kindly said that I can share this photo online too, so here you go...

Apparently the cloak was a big success, keeping her warm as intended while also looking flattering and stylish and drawing compliments from her guests. And I have to say, based on this photo I can see why!

Congratulations to the bride and groom, I wish them all the happiness and a long life together.

First wedding cloak of the year...

Yes I know it's April, but January to March doesn't really seem to be a popular time for weddings. I made this cloak a little while ago, but I always wait until after the day to share pictures of anything the bride's wearing even if she hasn't explicitly asked for secrecy.

So, here we go... this was a lovely idea for a cloak, full-length ivory cotton velvet with a round hood, silver clasp and arm slits so that she could hold a bouquet / champagne glass and still be warm!

The full-length picture doesn't really do it justice, since it's on a mannequin which is just a torso. It draped properly and without distortion on a body with arms, but that didn't work for photography. I've added renovating my full body mannequin to my list of things to do!

Ever popular cloaks...

My cloaks seem to be growing in popularity with every month that passes, which is very pleasing since it means that I've got the design and price about right! Last week I sent out 3 custom made cloaks, 2 of them to the same person. They've arrived safely and she's delighted with them - I received an email the morning after delivery to say that she couldn't decide which to wear first which is a lovely dilemma to have caused.

Her first choice, a dark red fleece with a camel coloured lining...

And her second, emerald fleece with a cerise lining...

As you can see they're quite different to each other but both make lovely cloaks, what would you chose if you were having one made yourself?

New cloak design?

Another 'coming soon', this time a full-length cloak option rather than a one-off!

I was recently asked to make a full-length faux leather cloak for a semi-local gentleman. Faux-leather is something I've not worked with for ages, but having done so I think it makes a really nice cloak so I've decided to add it to the list of materials I offer my cloaks in!

I need to finalise pricing of them (and review how much they'll cost to post, as they're quite heavy) but they should be available in my online shop by the end of the month. In the meantime, here are a couple of shots of the one I've just made as a little preview...

And, if you'd like to order one before they appear in my online shop then just drop me an email