I'm planning to make a cloak from Simplicity 5794. I'm thinking I will use the B style, but without the tassel. Is that the best, as far as comfort/warmth/HA? I'm going to use a nice closure, not tie it. My biggest question, though, is what sort of fabric should I use? I don't want it to be overly heavy, but I do want something that would be warm. I would like something that is good for rainy situations, too, but I don't know if that just comes in some sort of treatment of the fabric?
So any help? Wool, linen, velvet, other? What's best?
Wool is naturally water repellant, especially if you give it a good hot wash and dry before cutting.
I've done view B in wool with flannel lining (button and loop closure) and view C in velvet with satin lining (ties). The wool holds up very well in difficult weather, is very warm, and isn't heavy at all. The velvet hangs heavier near the hem, which may have had something to do with the slipping (because of the satin). It kept the wind off, but I wouldn't wear the velvet in inclement weather.
I cannot comment on the pattern's HA, but my vote would definitely be wool as an all-purpose piece.
Thanks! I've never made anything with wool before - is there anything special I have to know about working with it? I've heard it has special prewashing instructions, too, right?
Wool comes in all kinds of qualities and weaves, so my comments will have to be very general. I'm not an expert on the field either... But: choose a fabric with a tight weave, maybe a twill ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twill ), as it will give you an endurable cloak. As others I would recommend to pre-wash the fabric as well.
Contrary to modern beliefs, wool handles wash rather well. What wool DOESN'T handle is rapid temperature changes in the water. Most modern washing machines wash in warm water and rinse in cold or luke-warm water. This will cause wool (especially knitted items) to shrink... a LOT. If you have a wool program on your machine, it will give you an even temperature all the way - much recommended.
You might find a wool weave to get a bit "tighter" after wash, but for a cloak I think that will be a plus. It will make the fabric warmer and a bit more water repellent. :)
Wool cloak fabric needed? Why not check out your local army surplus store? Military wool blankets come in a couple shades of green and grey. Great wool fabric and have probably already been washed washed and more washed.
That's what I used. Love it.
I just bought that pattern! Keep us updated.
Hardware stores also carry wool blankets, like Harbor Freight or TSC.
I made my cloak from that pattern. I used a heavy-weight suiting fabric for the outside, and strech velvet for the lining. I also used a frog for the closure, rather than ties. I have no idea what the actual fabric content of the stuff I used for the outside is, because I made it years ago. I am very happy with it, though. It's quite water resistant (I've had the fabric get damp, but it has yet to soak through), is quite warm, and has no signs of wear after about 6 years of going to faires and being worn as a rain coat.
One problem I had with it, though, is that the hood never stayed on my head. It's big and cool looking, but it is a kite. Even the slight bit of wind from me walking was enough to blow it off. I fixed that by sewing little metal leaf-shaped beads along the edge of the hood. That gave it enough weight to stay on, and it looks cool.
I have no idea how historically accurate my cloak is, but I love it.
Well I struck out at Hancocks and Joanns. Hancocks had one wool twill in a light green, but I'm not sure it would have been the right green, and it was $7.99/yd. And Joanns had a bunch of thicker wools, but they were all plaids (and my bodice is already a different plaid), and they were onsale for $13/yd. I'll try the army surplus store later, but in case I can't find wool, is there an alternative fabric that would still work? And one that would be cheap? (Like onsale for less than $5/yd, preferably)
Also, do you guys all recommend flannel for the lining, or should I be looking at something else?
As far as H/A goes, for the Renaissance, coats would have been far more common (lovely coat pattern in Tudor Tailor, and Margo Anderson has a loose gown pattern that also makes a nice coat.). But who doesn't love a good cloak?
As for fabric, my walking cape (http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL417/1033223/4707019/184092796.jpg) is made from DWR (durable water-repellant) microfiber, the same fabric that those wonderful mundane raincoats are made of. It has a lovely hand, and it looks like a very heavy silk. It's lightweight enough for warm days, and the water just *rolls* off it. I ordered the fabric from Rose City Textiles (http://www.rosecitytextiles.com/), who were *wonderful* to work with (it took *months* to find the fabric I was looking for, since it's not usually available to the retail market for some insane reason!). I'm actually going to use the rest of my blue microfiber to make the Margo Anderson loose gown. :)
For wools, I love Renaissance Fabrics, (http://www.renaissancefabrics.net/cgi-bin/showAll.cgi?section=W) but I don't know what would make a good waterproof cloak fabric (I love their flannel, but haven't gotten it wet to see how it handles). Another good source for wools is Fashion Fabrics Club (http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/search/search.aspx?source=searchbox&keywords=wool), but their stock is huge and they don't do free swatches, so it can be hard to figure out what you're looking at there.
See I am on a heck of a budget so I have made all of my cloaks out of polar fleece. They are noce and warm and they wick water off fairly well. They just dont like HEAVY rain.
You dont have to line it and if you are feeling particulary lazy you really dont even have to hem it..
If you want water repellent wool, look for a closely woven GABARDINE - the original rain coat fabric. It won't be cheap... If you want to make it more water resistant and repellent, you can treat it with the appropriate Nikwax product. Put your fabric through your usual gentle wool cycle and then shove some Polarproof in the final rinse. Hang to dry and press on the wrong side in the usual manner. That will also deal with any shrinkage issues...
Line with something reasonably smooth, or it will stick to you and bind you up! For a good wool gabardine, which is going to cost, it's worth shelling out for silk. If you don't want it super slippery, use Habotai or taffeta rather than satin. If you can't quite run to silk on top (or under, really! ;) ) the wool, go for something like bremsilk, which is viscose and smooth without being too slick or slithery.
If you want it for warmth, I've been warned about lining with sysntetic satins, as not only will the thing slide badly, but the lining will almost always feel cold to the skin. I haven't experiences this myself ( my cloak is mid-weight coat wool, lined with flannel, and warm enough I've worn it in the snow). But keep in mind too the amount of weight that much fabric can have as you choose your shell and lining. It can add up pretty quick.
Don't forget Harbor Freight! They have cheap wool moving blankets. I think I have a thread here that talked about using them for a hunters shirt with links etc. I'll look for it...
Edit: http://www.renaissancefestival.com/forums/index.php?topic=5161.0
Jon.
I went the Army Surplus blanket route. For mine, I made it out of 2 of the larger British Army wool blankets that they had. I'm thinking they were around $21 each. They were also completely white. I looked at the dark ones that they had (all sorts of colors in there, really) but didn't know if I could color them well and completely enough to make them a uniform color. So, I went with the completely white ones.
Hand washed and rinsed them in warm water. Then dyed them in a concentrated walnut dye I made myself. I continued to dye them a few times until I got the color I wanted. Drained them as best I could and hung them to dry completely. Then cut them and sewed them myself.
That cloak is HEAVY ... and I'm not a frail man ... my daily activities involve lugging tree logs around. But, it certainly is warm! I just pull the hood all the way down over my face/neck and wrap it around me. I had it out in zero degree weather this past winter and it was actually a bit too warm for me. Had to pull the hood off a bit and vent. While it does shed the snow smartly and the light rain quite well, when it does get good and wet ... it's about unbearably heavy for me. Even then, it's warm.
I went to Hancocks again today, to see if there were any good alternates to wool, and I found a nice Oatmeal-colored woven fabric, and a nice burgundy flannel for the lining. There was enough of the lining, but the pattern calls for about 7 yds of fabric, and there was 6 1/8yds of the oatmeal. I think I'm going to go back and get it later tonight (I put it on hold), because after I laid out the pattern on the floor, it seems like I only need about 6 yds anyway (I hate it when patterns tell you you need more than you do!). And if it's not quite long enough, I guess I won't have a floor length robe.
On the plus side, both the lining and the outer are only $3.99/yd, and I have a 40% off coupon.
On the down side, because of this sale, I also spent $60 on about 19 yds of remnant fabric. But it was so pretty, I couldn't resist!
Not to get off topic but we always seem to see wool come back around...
For the last few years we've moved towards high priced modern materials in our heavy winter hunting gear. This past year I was in a tree stand with our oldest daughter in sub zero weather. She was a real trooper but she finally got to the point where she was so cold she couldn't function. So, she pulled off her heavy gear, wrapped up in a wool blanket and in a few short minutes she was warm as could be again. And yes, even though wool is heavy when wet it still retains it's thermal properties and will keep you nice and warm...
Jon.
I wound up not buying it. I don't know if I'm going to regret that or not. But the color wasn't ideal.
And I think I'm going to try finding another army surplus place tomorrow. I tried to go to one today, but either I just didn't see it, or it wasn't where it was supposed to be!
I found wool. I went to a sort of Asian fabric wherehouse place, where none of the fabrics were organized, marked as to what they were, or marked as to what price they were. But when I asked, it turned out the olive green wool they had was $3. And who can pass that up?
On the downside, it's olive green, so while it doesn't clash, it means I have a 3rd green in my garb. Oh dear...
Olive green is good. And cloaks don't have to match everything.
Keep us posted on this one... :D
The cloaks I have made are also from Simplicity 5794, and I concur with the comments made by Elennare because the hood is very huge. There is so much fullness, I tend to fold it back at the front, exposing 10 to 12 inches of lining, in order to keep the weight forward and keep the hood from falling back off the head.
But I love my pink tassell!
The design of these cloaks seem to have a train at the back hem. I altered the length to only and inch or so train, and as I'm a truly short person ant 5'1", had enough fabric left over to make a complete waist length cape for my rogue. He chose the smallest hood, and it still plenty full.
Have those of you who have made this pattern found that it tells you to buy way too much fabric? I extended the length and shoulder width a couple inches from what the pattern said, so I decided to buy 7 yds instead of the 6 5/8 that I believe it originally required. But after cutting my pieces out, I wound up with 2 whole yards that I didn't use. Good thing it was only $3/yd!
I'm leaving in a little bit to go to Hancocks for lining. I'm hoping I might be able to have the whole thing together by tonight, minus the frogs. Where is a good place to find metal frogs?
I had a bunch of fabric left from this pattern with both cloaks. I thought it was because I had to hem so much to avoid tripping, but I still have enough from both cloaks to make a couple of bodices with accessories. Yay, matching pieces!
You can get metal frogs at Hancocks (sometimes) and JoAnn's (they're with the buttons at mine), or from various stores online like twinrosedesigns.com and buttondrawer.com
Quote from: Lady Rebecca on June 07, 2009, 03:09:43 PM
Have those of you who have made this pattern found that it tells you to buy way too much fabric? I extended the length and shoulder width a couple inches from what the pattern said, so I decided to buy 7 yds instead of the 6 5/8 that I believe it originally required. But after cutting my pieces out, I wound up with 2 whole yards that I didn't use. Good thing it was only $3/yd!
Now that you mention it, yeah. I did have a bunch of material left over.
The cloak is finished, other than the clasp. I was going to do a little embroidery around the hood, too, but my machine is being tempermental, so that might not happen. I should have a picture up later today or tomorrow.
If the olive is not your color you can get a darker green dye for it.
Here are the pictures! I added a clasp.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/bgirl781/P1080512.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/bgirl781/P1080513.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/bgirl781/P1080511.jpg)
Huzzah, Lady R, that looks fabulous! (I actually just typed "that looks fabric" ??? LOL!)
What did you line it with? I love the rose-and-olive contrast.
It was marked as flannel, but it doesn't feel like flannel. It's lightweight and soft and sort of stretchy. It makes me think of a sort of thermal knit.
And thank you!
Fantastic work!!! I also LOVE the rose lining. Huzzah!
The colors look very nice on you. Great job!
Whatever it is, it look great! Nice fast work, too. :D