As promised, after sharing our usual daytime photos to document all the different ways it can be worn, the seamlines, and details, etc, I really want to take some photos of my recent Wolfkiller Cloak at nighttime, too. I mean, it’s a coat inspired by a vampire AND it’s nearly Halloween, so what better way to capture the vibes than to do a photoshoot in a local graveyard??
The Wolfkiller Cloak – by night
The Wolfkiller Cloak – by Day
Yes, you read that right – these are just the photos from the daylight shoot – the nighttime shoot photos will be coming coming up shortly! Even so, this is a very photo-heavy post with a lot of detail to cover, so grab a cuppa and settle in…
As you recall from my earlier post, I planned to sew a tribute to the iconic Wolfkiller Cloak from Interview with the Vampire, but adapt it to be a swing coat with a detachable fur-hooded capelet in order to make it warmer and more wearable. Honestly, if you haven’t read the other post yet, you really should!
The construction
One of the first parts of the actual construction (after all the flannel underlining basting I did as prep) was to create the bound buttonhole in the swing coat, so no pressure there! Since it’s been a while since I’ve sewn one, let alone in velvet, I thought I’d make a buttonhole in test fabric first, and it’s good I did because I needed to make it a bit longer to accomodate the thickness of the wolf button. I swear I was only pushing the wolf button through to double-check it fit easily through the bound buttonhole I just made, but then his little fangs went over the edge and I had a little giggle! Yup, this is a Lestat coat already. 😂
Planning a tribute Wolfkiller cloak
Yes, this is both a big project AND yet another make inspired by “Interview with the Vampire“! Big enough that you’re going to get at least one In Progress post, in addition to the final reveal. I’m really excited about this one, though, and in a way that I’ve not been fired up for a long time…
The Inspiration
So what is the “Wolfkiller cloak”? In the second novel of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series, the (still human) Lestat heads out into the woods to kill a pack of wolves that were terrorising his village in 18th c rural France. After barely escaping with his life, the villagers thank him by presenting him with a cloak (and boots!) made with the pelts of the slain wolves. This scene is absolutely iconic, and it’s his wearing the cloak later in Paris that partially attracts the notice of the man who attacks him and makes him a vampire.
Now, because, in the show, they’re not adapting The Vampire Lestat book until season 3, no one was expecting to see anything of Lestat’s 18th c past, let alone THE cloak. But we got a surprise taste in episode 3 of season 2, as part of a 15 minute flashback sequence (entirely in French, too!)
A monochrome Joan wiggle dress
Carrying on from the struggles I had with the Audrey cigarette trousers, you might be forgiven for thinking that I may not want to sew another Gertie pattern for a while, but you’d be wrong! See, I had already printed and taped together her Joan wiggle dress pattern and sourced the fabric so I was committed and ready to make it happen! Like the Audrey cigarette trousers, the Joan wiggle dress was released as part of her monthly Patreon patterns, which I joined solely because she’s switched to a more 1960s beatnik speakeasy aesthetic this year. This dress was inspired by (and named for!) the character Joan in Mad Men, which was one of my all-time favourite shows.
Turquoise Audrey cigarette trousers
Even though we’ve been friends for years and I’ve followed her progress ever since she won that Threads magazine contest WAY back in the day, up until this point I’d never actually sewn one of Gertie’s patterns before, even though I own her vintage casual book. I mean, how is that even possible?!! It’s probably because I’m not really into wearing 1950s-era vintage styles, but I absolutely love her current 1960s beatnik speakeasy theme for her Patreon patterns! So I joined her Patreon to get this pattern and her Joan wiggle dress (also a knit and in my aesthetic), though it was a nice surprise to find out that you get access to all the previous patterns when you join, so even though you missed these, if you join now you can grab them.
When these slim-legged ponte trousers were released I immediately went and bought some kingfisher blue ponte from Like Sew Amazing specifically for them. I love sewing with ponte but I didn’t really have any in my stash, and I figured this shade of blue would coordinate nicely with lots of tops in my wardrobe.