Girls Capelet Pattern, Free Sewing Pattern

Spring is the perfect season for light layers and charming handmade outfits. This month’s free girls capelet pattern, the Caprice Capelet, is a sweet and stylish sewing project for beginners and experienced sewists alike. With its soft, shabby-chic ruffles and simple ribbon tie closure, this capelet looks beautiful whether worn to a party, family photos, or everyday play. The pattern is quick to sew and only requires a small amount of fabric, making it an ideal scrap-busting sewing project for kids’ clothing. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to sew a girl’s capelet step-by-step, including how to create the layered ruffles that give it its signature vintage look.

Free Girls Capelet Pattern Tutorial

General Notes

• Seam allowances of 1/2 inch (12mm) are included in the pattern.
• I recommend backstitching (or lockstitching) at the beginning and end of all seams and ruffles to secure the stitching.

Sizes Included

One size fits most girls age 3 to 10.

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Supplies for the Capelet Sewing Pattern

• Ribbon: 42 inches (1.05m) of 1/2 inch (12mm) ribbon for the neck ties.
• Fabric Requirements – 1/2 yard fabric for the capelet (0.45m) and 1/4 yard fabric for the ruffles (0.25m)

This free girls capelet pattern is suitable for light to medium-weight, non-stretch washable fabrics. It looks great in cotton and cotton-blends. I made my cream sample from calico and the pink sample from quilting cotton. If you are going to leave the edges of the ruffles raw like my samples then check that the fabric rips easily. Densely woven fabrics usually rip well.

I suggest you pre-wash your fabrics in case it shrinks. If you use a light-colored fabric make sure any contrasting fabric is colorfast so it doesn’t run on the lighter fabric when you wash your capelet.

 PDF Capelet Sewing Pattern

Download your girls capelet pattern by clicking on the link below.

DOWNLOAD PATTERN

The pattern pieces print on 8.5” x 11”(letter) or A4 paper.  You can check that your pattern has been printed in the correct size by measuring the two-inch (5.1cm) test square.  Each page is marked with a number 1 to 6. There are 3 rows of 2. Tape the edges of the boxes together, trimming where necessary. Read my article on how to print PDF patterns.

Girls Capelet Pattern – Instructions

Here is how to make the girls capelet step by step:

Step 1 – Rip the Ruffles

In order to give a shabby-chic look to this capelet, I ripped the edges of the ruffles. The easiest way to do this is to make a small cut in the edge of your fabric, the width of the ruffle, and then rip. A densely woven fabric will rip easily.

Then, trim the strips to the lengths of your ruffle pattern pieces. Pull at the loose threads. It will get to a point where the edges are fluffy, and the loose threads stop coming.

You will have quite a pile of threads when you are finished! If you don’t like this raw look, you could, of course, serger the edges or finish them with a zig-zag stitch. Pinking shears also give a nice look and stop fraying.

Step 2 – Mark the Ruffle Positions

On the RIGHT side of one of your caplet pieces, mark the ruffle guides from your pattern piece.

Step 3 – Join Back and Front

With RIGHT sides together, stitch the caplet pieces all the way around, leaving a 1-inch (2.5cm) gap as shown at the straight edge.

Trim the seam allowance to 1/4 inch (6mm) and clip the corners and curves.

Step 4 – Turn and Topstitch

Turn your capelet the RIGHT way out through the gap and press well. Topstitch around the capelet close to the edge. This will close the gap.

Step 5 – Join the Ruffles

On the top edge of RUFFLE E, stitch a row of gathering stitches. (longest stitch length.) If you don’t want to remove the gathering stitches later then use matching cotton. I’m always looking to save time!  Pull the bobbin threads to gather RUFFLE E to match the length of ruffle guide E on the capelet.

On the RIGHT side of the cape, pin RUFFLE E to the bottom guide E. The top ruffle raw edge should touch the guide. Stitch on top of your gathering, and stitch through all layers.

Repeat steps 6 to 8 for RUFFLES B,C,D. Make sure you are matching the correct ruffles to the correct guides.

Gather RUFFLE A with a gathering stitch down the center.

Stitch the center of RUFFLE A to the marked guide A. You will be aligning the center gathering stitch to the marked guide A. Stitch on top of the gathering stitch through all layers. 

Below shows how it will look from underneath. You can see the ruffle comes off the edge.

Step 6 – Ribbon

Match the center of the ribbon to the center back of the capelet. Sew the ribbon on top of the gathering stitches of RUFFLE A. Stitch along both edges of the ribbon.

You can stop most ribbons from fraying by cutting the ends at an angle or using a stop fray liquid.

In Conclusion

Your pretty Caprice girls capelet is now finished and ready to wear! This sweet little layering piece is perfect for spring outfits, special occasions, dress-ups, or everyday play. The soft ruffles and simple ribbon tie give it a charming vintage style that looks beautiful in so many fabrics.

Because this free girls’ capelet pattern uses only small amounts of fabric, it’s also a great project for using leftover cotton or quilting scraps. Once you’ve made one, you may find yourself sewing several more in different colors and prints.

If you enjoyed this project, be sure to explore more of our free sewing patterns for girls below. You’ll find plenty of fun and beginner-friendly sewing ideas to add to your handmade wardrobe.

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