Cape Making

Another commissioned costume! 

A friend of mine asked if I could make him a dark green hooded cape. Sounds easy enough, right? 

Try finding more than 6 yards of heavier fabric for a sane price. :P I was stumped. I already had the pattern, just no fabric to make it. :sigh: But I had these big, funky curtains that my grandma gave me that were left in her house by the previous owners. The weight was nice, it had a really nice pattern, soft texture, but the color... I can't even put that color to words. They are the strangest shade of tan/yellow/red/chartreuse that I ever did see. Good luck trying to picture it. 

But I could dye it. 

I never played with dye before. 

Why do I always save the new techniques for commissions? :shrugs:

So I bought a package of dark green dye. The package said that it was color tested on white cotton fabric... we'll see how this project is going to turn out. My fabric was the world's strangest color and a chenille blend. The package also said that I would work with a front loading machine and then proceeded to cover up said directions with a big sticker for a top loader. I didn't really want to test it out in Mom's washing machine anyway, so I headed to the tub in the guest bathroom hoping that it wouldn't stain the shower. 

I filled the tub following top loading machine directions sans washing machine, stuffed the cape into the tub (yes, I made it before I dyed it. Eek! Talk about commitment!), sloshed it around (and got green hands in the process), and left the cape to soak for 30 minutes. While waiting for the cape to dye (not die), I did a sudoku and made ice cream. All the while I twiddled my thumbs hoping that it would take the color. The timer went off, and I pulled my green creation out of the tub. I rather felt like a made scientist creating some sort of monster in a comic book... It certainly looked green. I dubbed it 'Hulk.' After letting it dry for 18 hours, here's how everything turned out: 

 

I'm pleasantly surprised and pleased with it. Hopefully it's green enough. Otherwise we'll have to return to the evil lair to add more radiation to it. :P 

And now for some dramatic before and after pictures! 

I think I need a cape for myself.

Until next time!

SG

PS- If you're wondering about the state of the tub- it's fine. It weathered my experiment like a champ. You can't even tell that it was filled with murky green water.