DIY Wool Blanket Coat (Cape or Poncho)

Time to DIY, friends! It's been a while since I shared a simple sewing project around here. The Batwing top is coming, but I need some more development time on that one. So, I thought since spring is right around the corner, and it's getting warm enough to ditch the heavy coat, it's just the perfect time to add a transitional piece to your wardrobe.  Something that's a tad warmer than a spring jacket, but not too bulky to bring some lightness into your everyday wear. 

So, I know that these blanket coats or capes or ponchos (whatever you want to call them) were all the rage in autumn (which is why I developed this tutorial back in September for the Estonian fashion magazine I'm contributing to), and that there are a lot of tutorials out there. But, I really love how this project turned out and thought I'd share it with you anyway. I also think that when using a classic fabric, this blanket-like cover-up could become a staple for years to come because of it's simple silhouette. 

Sadly for me, this didn't fit into my suitcase, so I gave it to my Mom. Although, I just might want it back...

 Wearing // Poncho-coat: DIY / Infinity scarf: DIY (pattern here) / 
Jeans: supermarket / Boots: thrifted / Belt: thrifted

 This is what you need to make your own:

• about 110cm of wool blend fabric with the width of 150cm (basically a piece of fabric that's 2x the length of your poncho one way, and equals the desired width of your poncho the other way, so it could also be a narrower fabric, but then you'll need twice the length of your poncho)
• 8m of bias binding
• long ruler
• a large plate
• chip of soap or taylor's chalk
• french curves rulers*
• thread to match your bias binding
• fabric glue*
• sewing machine*

* these are optional as I'll explain more in the tutorial.

To help you decide how much fabric to buy, Measure the desired length of you poncho by placing the measuring tape on your shoulder and letting it fall down over your bust. Let someone else take the measurement of where you'd like the poncho the end. Now, when you know you'll going to be wearing it belted, add a couple of extra cm to the length. Once you've got the measurement, multiply it with 2 (since the poncho is one big piece, and you'll also need to cover you backside). Also measure the desired width of your poncho by stretching out your arms and measuring from elbow to elbow, and add a couple cm to each side so you'll have so evening-out room. I found that 110cm in width was plenty, and I ended up even cutting a little bit off from each side.

Take those numbers with you when you go fabric-shopping. If the number for you length measurement is bigger than the width of the fabric you've chosen, but ok for the width of the poncho, then you'll have to buy the length of the poncho in fabric. But, if you're length fits into the width of the fabric, I'll suggest getting the poncho's width worth of fabric, and save yourself the money. Since this is a woven fabric, it doesn't really matter which way you fold it. Whew, that was a long talk about such a minor detail, but I wanted that part to be really clear. 

  STEP 1  

Lay your fabric on the floor and fold it in half length-wise in the sense that when folded your looking at the front on the poncho. Because wool fabrics are expensive, I bought mine so that the length would actually become the poncho width and the width of the fabric would be the length of the poncho.  So, I actually folded my fabric width-wise relative to the fabric itself. Does that make sense?

Make sure the corners are nicely aligned (as best as that's possible). Usually, the cuts made in fabric stores are not the straightest, so you might need to trim the sides of the poncho or the hem of it so it's straight. 

Now you've got your future poncho laid out in front of you and the sides and hem straight, corners aligned, take the plate (a large dining plate is fine), and round the 2 bottom corners of the fabric (the side-hemline meeting corners).

  STEP 2  

Measure the vertical center of the fabric, and draw a line from top to bottom.  

Then, make a mark 10cm to the side from the center line (on both sides) on the fold-line of the fabric (which is the horizontal center line), and 20cm down from the center of the fold-line. Now, use the biggest french curved ruler to draw a slightly inward curve connecting the two markings. As you can see, I first tried to do a outward curve, but that would make the neckline way too big. So, making an inward curve is the key. You could totally draw this line free-hand as well, so no need to buy the french curves just for this project, but I've found them quite handy in my sewing projects. 

Then, fold the fabric the other way, so that the vertical center line becomes the fold-line, and the previous fold-line aka the shoulder-line becomes the center line of the fabric. Makes sense? You do this to better draft the back of the neckline. So, you already have the front of the neckline drawn, and you can see half of it. Now, make another curve to the backside, as shown in the photo above. The depth of the curve-line is about 3 cm. 

  STEP 3  

It's time to make the cut! So, start cutting the front opening of the poncho. Follow the center line until you get to the neckline and then follow the line you drew there. Once you've made the cut, it should already look almost done. This is a good point to try it on and make any adjustments. If you see that it's too wide on the sides, you cold fold is again, trim the sides and re-round the corners. Just make sure you leave the center line in the center, so always trim the same amount from both sides. 

  STEP 4  

You're so close to being done! 

Next, take the bias binding and prepare it. Fold it in half, and press with the iron. This makes applying the binding later on so much easier. 

Then you need to sew the binding all the way around the edge of the poncho. Here's where the use of a fabric glue might come in handy. If you consider yourself more of a sewing beginner, gluing the bias in place before sewing might save you some headache. Pinning the bias is actually a bad idea, as the bias will stretch a bit when you sew, and then the pins will only be in your way. Mari Krõõt (a very dear friend who's getting into sewing and other DIY right now) actually made this project already, so I know that this is the place where a novice seamstress might have trouble. 

I recommend starting at the center back of the neckline, so that the final overlap of the binding will not be that visible when wearing the poncho. My favorite method of binding is to just place the fabric between the bias-binding as I sew, and pull the binding slightly to make sure it's straight and tight. Always check that the edge of the fabric is in the center of the binding (that means that enough of the fabric edge is covered with binding). The binding does have the tendency of rolling off the edge when you haven't had much practice. 

  STEP 5   

Final step! And this is optional. So, if you're sure you won't be wearing the poncho with a belt, you can just skip this part and call it done.

But, if you do, there are a couple more steps to take. Yes, you could just belt it without the loopholes, but that would mean a lot of excess fabric bulked up around your waist. That's just not flattering. 

First, you'll need to find the placement of the belt. Measure down from your shoulder where you'd like the belt to sit on your waist. Also, measure you waist, and add about 15cm to make room for clothing and the overlap in the center front. Lay the poncho down, measure  and mark the spot of the side of the poncho that's the desired distance from the shoulder (aka the fold-line), and 1/4 of the total waist measurement (including the ease) from the center front of the poncho. Mark a 5cm long vertical line in that spot. Repeat on all 4 sides of the poncho. 

Cut the lines you just drew open. Now, cut four 5cm long pieces of bias binding and place them on each side of the hole (like in the picture above). Sew in place and trim the tips. And boom, done!

Note! Steps 4 and 5 can also be done by hand. You don't need to sew the bias with a sewing machine, you can hand-sew it in place. So, if you're really scared of a sewing machine, you can still do it, it just takes more time. 

Now, this tutorial is loooong, so it might seam difficult, but I promise it's really not. I hope Mari Krõõt can confirm this in the comments as well. You can totally make this even if you haven't sewn before. And hey, using a good fabric glue might even get you off the hook on the sewing part completely. So this can easily turn into a no-sew project!

Oh, and lastly, a fun fact about the finished project photos. These were really taken in September, so those leaves are totally photoshopped. But, since it was a project that was published in the October issue of MOOD magazine, it seemed odd to have green leaves on an autumn project, Also, it was fun learning a new Photoshop skill. So, excuse the fake leaves and imagine bare trees instead. 

If you have any questions about the tutorial, leave them in the comments, and I'll do my best to help. If not, comment anyway! I love to read what you think :)

xo. Hanna