Wash and dry fabric. My fabric label said it was preshrunk, but just to be extra sure, I washed and dried it again, because I wanted to be absolutely sure it wouldn't shrink later.
Press the fabrics flat.If you only have 3 yards of fabric, the order in which you cut out the fabric is important.Cut the long straps first. Cut the 90 inch pieces and 60 inch pieces in a row. Then, what is left below will work great for the remaining pieces.
Cut out the the fabric pieces you want to stay the natural color. One piece for the hood, one of the main pieces, the hood straps, and the ties for the straps. Set them aside.
Next, dye remaining fabric by adding fabric dye to a large stainless steel pot with warm water and some salt. Once the salt is dissolved, add the fabric and allow to soak, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Squeeze out excess dye, and wash in the washer. Rinse with cold water, and then hang to dry. I didn't want to put it into the dryer at this point because you can get a lot of frayed edges.
Press dyed fabrics flat.Fold the main piece of the pattern in half and cut, angling the shoulders and cutting a slight curve from the shoulder to the waist. Use that as the template to cut the other main piece.