Winter Belle Cape with McCalls 6196

    Hello sewing friends!:) This was my main project last month. I made this "Winter Belle Cape" for my 4 year old niece as a Christmas gift. I knew I wanted to make her one some time ago, so I was pretty excited about it! I had to wing it since I couldn't find an actual "Belle Cape" pattern, but I used McCalls 6196 as a good base. The main fabric was a deep red panne velour and I decided to line it with a novelty satin-type fabric, just to complicate things for myself!;) I purchased a cut of faux fur since the fur trim that was available in spools was all long pile and I wanted the cape to look as much like Belle's as possible. I used the smallest size after reading some reviews for this pattern. I think I cut the fur in strips of 2 or 2.5 inches with the bottom under-cape trim 3" (I think!).

McCalls 6196

Disney's Belle in her winter garb;)

  Here shown is the pattern pieces for the hood and altered "caplet". I used the measurement from my niece's elbow to wrist and subtracted that amount (plus an inch more I think), so the caplet would come slightly above her elbow.

Here is the main sewn hood piece and lining piece. I constructed the hood and pressed up the hem as instructed for the main piece, and tucked the lining piece inside, having trimmed off the hem allowance on the lining piece so it would fit inside the main hood piece better. I trimmed off a bit of the bottom lining as well.

  Above is shown the two main caplet pieces. I sewed the front and back pieces together on both lining and main pattern piece then sewed them right sides together along the bottom and turned right-side out and basted the pieces at the neckline.

Pressed bottom of caplet inside and trimmed seam allowance.

   Here you can see how I attached the hood and caplet. I later added an "under cape" from another pattern in such a way that the raw seam was hidden. I though I had taken photos of that part but I must not have:(

I added some twill tape to the neckline, as it didn't seem particularly stable. Here is the "under cape" and caplet lining with the attached twill tape.

On my dummy:) I didn't get any of the finished cape on the dress form. Thats what I get for finishing it last minute!

 


    For the under-cape I followed part of a tutorial for a "Anna" (from Frozen) cape, but I wish I had made the under cape a bit wider. This is ok, but I think it would have been better to use a full "red riding hood" type cape so it would go over the shoulders better. I made it so the under cape would fall at my niece's ankles.

I was going to hand-sew the trim on, but I quickly realized it would be far too time-consuming so I simply used my sewing machine!:) I applied fray check to both the cut top and bottom edges (this should be done before sewing on the trim. Only after I sewed some trim on the first section did I realize the bottom needed fray check as well.

  

      I both machine sewed and hand-sewed the trim on the hood. Machine sewn along the edge and secured the rest by hand. I left the trim around the caplet hang free for the most part but secured it in a few spots. I machine and hand sewed the trim to the under cape as well. 

How perfect is this wrapping paper? Bonus, I already had it on-hand! Disney princesses in their winter capes! Funny though, that Belle is the only character that actually had a winter cape but she's not featured?? 

   I wish I had gotten a photo of this on the dress form! *Sigh*. Oh well, turned out pretty well I think! Now I can work on sewing for myself;) Til next time!:)

Vegetarian-Friendly Donair "Meat"!:) ...You're welcome;)

Donair turnover and french fries, yum!!

     Hello all! I'm deviating a bit from my usual sewing-related posts! I'm quite excited about this recipe I've put together. I can't take all the credit, as I've borrowed the spice blend from an actual Donair meat recipe.

     I'm from the East Coast part of Canada where Donairs are quite popular. Its a spicy meat that is cut into strips and  typically served in a pita with chopped onion, tomato (sometimes mozzarella cheese) and Donair sauce (creamy, sweet & garlicy, yum!). You can also get Donair pizza, egg rolls, and my favourite, Donair panzerotti's which is like a pizza turnover. I recently developed this recipe to share with my vegetarian husband.

     We once had a "vegan donair" at a local restaurant (a couple years ago now), but honestly, it was horrible! Tasted like a soggy mushroom, though the sauce was great (made with coconut milk). My husband was not impressed with that donair either and I assured him not to judge all donairs based on that one experience! I recently put together this recipe and my husband was won over and has requested it several times since. Makes me happy!:)

 This Veggie "Ground Round" is the base for the "meat". I love this stuff, its so versatile!



Below I'll have lots of self-explanatory photos:)










Donair "Meat"
-1 pkg Yves Original Ground Round
-1 tsp ground oregano
-1 tsp all-purpose flour
-1/2 tsp ground black pepper
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
-1/2 garlic powder
-1/2 onion powder
-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
-1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.

Place Ground Round in a bowl and add spices and flour. Mix well. Add egg, mix some more;) Dump out "meat" mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap and squeeze into a mound. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake til lightly browned, about 30-35 minutes, turning once after about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

I find it helpful to make the meat ahead of time (usually the morning of or day before) and refrigerate it before cutting into strips, seems to cut better. Fry slices, browning on both sides for a few minutes over medium heat. Now your Donair meat is ready to use!:)

I bought some pizza dough and used it to form turnovers, also adding mozzarella cheese, but you can use it however you like to eat your usual donairs:)

Donair Sauce:

-1 can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated!)
-1/4 cup white vinegar
-1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix together all ingredients and refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Spice blend:)