How to make a hooded cloak with sleeves

A hooded cloak is a long, loosefitting robe that can be belted or left to hang loosely over the body.

The hood is large and serves both as a broad collar over the back or as a loosefitting head covering. Hooded cloaks were commonly worn during the Elizabethan time period by both men and women. Today people like to wear hooded cloaks as Halloween costumes or as costumes for time-period events and other special occasions. A simple hooded cloak can be made with just a few seams.

Measure 10 feet from one end of the fabric and cut straight across. This will be the front and back of your cloak. Fold the cloak piece of fabric in half lengthwise, right sides together. Fold again across the width. Now you have 10 feet of fabric folded into quarters. Mark the folded corner with the fabric marker. This point is the centre of the whole cloak and will serve to identify the centre of the neck hole.

Mark the neck hole by drawing a ¼ circle from the centre corner of both folds that measures 24 inches.

Cut out the neck hole following the line you drew in the previous step. You will be cutting through four thicknesses of fabric. When you open it up you will have a complete circle cut out of the middle of the fabric.

Mark the shoulder position by placing a mark on the outer edges of the cross fold.

Open the fabric. Choose one side to be the front of the cloak and the other side to be the back. Cut a 3 inch slit down the front of the cloak from the top centre of the neck hole. Set the cloak piece aside.

Cut the facing for the neck opening from the remaining fabric. Cut one rectangle 4 inches wide and 3 inches long. Cut a 2 inch slit down the centre of one short edge of the rectangle. Set aside.

Cut a rectangle that measures 24 inches long and 2 inches wide. This is the neck facing. Set aside.

Cut two sleeves from the remaining fabric that measure 22 inches long and 26 inches wide. Fold the sleeves in half lengthwise, right sides together, and mark the centre point with the fabric marker. This will indicate the centre of the sleeve seam. Set aside.

Prepare to cut the hood. With the remaining fabric, cut a rectangle 24 inches wide and 26 inches long . Fold the rectangle in half, 26 inch sides matching and right sides together. Cut off the top corner of the folded edge so that it curves to form the back of the hood.

Sew the facing to the front of the cloak at the neck hole. With right sides together, match the edges of the neck hole beside the slit with the edges of the short end of the rectangle with the slit. Match the edges of the slit. Pin in place and machine stitch. Turn the facing to the inside of the cloak and press. Top stitch all along the slit.

Attach the sleeves to the body of the cloak. Match the centre of each sleeve with the centre of the cloak shoulders on each side, right sides together. Pin in place and machine stitch. Press the seams open.

Sew the side seams and the sleeve seams. Fold the cloak and sleeves in half, right sides together, and carefully match the front and back of the cloak at the sides. Pin all along the full length of the cloak, around the arm pit, and down the full length of the sleeves. Machine stitch. Press the seams open.

Sew the top of the hood together. With right sides together, pint the top of the hood and around the back curve. Machine stitch, tapering the seam to meet the outer edge of the fold that runs along the back of the hood.

Attach the hood and facing. With right sides together, line up the edges of the hood with the edges of the neckline. Lay the facing on top of that, right side of the facing fabric against the wrong side of the hood. Pin all 3 layers together. Machine stitch.

Press the neck facing under at the seam. Top stitch around the neckline of the cloak and under the hood. Be careful not to catch the bonnet in your sewing as you work your way around the neckline.

Hem the sleeves, around the face of the hood, and the bottom of the cloak.

Trim all lose threads.