I really don't know what to call this thing. It's a cape, but not really. It's mostly a big, heavy blanket with a cut-out for a head. Laugh if you want, but it does work:

It is essentially a big piece of Berber fleece left over from a jacket that I'd made for myself (which, apparently, I've never blogged about. Oh well.) Purple plaid Berber fleece at that. Nice, heavy, warm, purple plaid Berber fleece.
I folded it in half and used a saucer to cut a hole in both laters. I then measured Em's head and cut a piece of ribbing and stretched that around the hole, sewing all three layers together. Then I tried to sew around the outside and turn to topstitch. That, unfortunately, did not work.

While it was a great idea in theory, I couldn't turn the thing right side out. I had to frog-stitch three sides so that I could turn it. I then topstitched the one side that was left and realized that four layers of nice thick, warm, purple plaid Berber fleece was too much even for Rosemary the Singer 401 to handle. So I serged (overlocked) the remaining sides and the cape/blankie with a collar was done.
Despite my terribly accurate measuring (the thing stretched, of course) the neck is still too big. But since Miss Em likes to have one hand by her face at all times so she can stick her fingers in her mouth, it's all good.
Her dad, teachers and paras all like it -- it seems to be much easier to get on and off than any of the coats I've tried, including the famous wheelchair coat. Divine Miss seems to like it -- keeps her warm and cozy and is heavy enough to keep the wind out. The only issue is that it is pretty long and without vigilance, will drop down and get caught in the wheels of the chair. But that is minor and the length means that she will be able to use it for a long time.
The original cape has been retired permanently. It was getting pretty ratty toward the end, but it lasted much longer than I expected, considering it was made from cheap fleece and an even cheaper lining. I think that it lasted a good 6 or 7 years,
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The other funny thing from yesterday, in addition to Sprite's telling everyone I'd made my top, is that I was wearing the jacket that matched the blankie. So of course, everyone knew that I'd made both of those as well. Sprite was so proud of my accomplishment and so sweet to tell everyone that I just felt good all over. My sweet, funny little girl.










