I think it's perfectly possible to make a Bockston-style cloak that can be turned either way: just leave off the dart and cut the neck opening fairly wide. It wouldn't sit quite as smooth as one tailored to one position or the other, but it should be perfectly serviceable. (play with a muslin first ...

Oh yeah - my first leather sewing tools were just like that - my dad's carpentry hammer, my mom's heavy sewing needles, a flattened fork for spacing, and a nail for punching holes. You can go a long way with improvisation. Peter - I wish I'd known about that "leather pad on the hammer face"...

The ever-true, ever-frustrating answer to your question is "it depends." You can sew up a T-tunic from cheap cotton broadcloth for well under $20 still, throw it on over regular trousers, and find an old too-large belt at the thrift store. Done. You can also spend thousands of dollars over...

I really loved this article - it's got me thinking I'm probably going to just start over with my cloak. The more artwork I look at - historical and good Tolkien inspired alike - the more unhappy I am with the choice I made creating a rounded hemline. This one's still perfectly serviceable and *almos...

caedmon has seen this already, but I thought I'd preview a decorative element I'm using as an experiment. The flowers are loosely drawn from elvish heraldic designs and - of course - The Carpet; at the same time hopefully with a feel that wouldn't look too out of place in a NW European medieval cont...

oh, I'm absolutely in the same boat. I can think of a couple things though.... ... the Faithful linguistically evidently turned away from latter Adunaic to Sindarin in horror at what the late Numenoreans had done. I can only think their artistic sensibilities were similarly affected. ... at the same...

psssst...

Budget Authenticity: Pattern/Instruction Nockert type 1

caedmon's got some awesome tutorials in this very forum.
He also has some stitchery articles in the newsletters.

But doing what you're doing at 60 means that you'll likely be doing it, albeit a bit slower, at 80, and not in a motorized chair at the seniors' center.

Well there's some needed encouragement to stick with it!

You're an inspiration E.

Goodness.. while bigger than I was thinking, that's still quite small. I've been wondering about total population, and what that implies for division of labor. I mean, we see in the Shire and Bree both glassware, pottery, metals, coins, fabrics, leathers, paper - while some of those no doubt come fr...

After Greg's recent article on his new Ranger cloak, I've been looking into the Bocksten cloak a bit more. Turns out the tailoring is a little sophisticated that the usual drawings: OrPbq0-laFM .. I suspect the details around the neck - the different shape front and back and the dart on opposite sho...

double layer - thanks for clearing that up! I'd read about the technique in K&S, but must have missed the part about relative commonality. I'd been assuming it was a resource availability issue, glad to be corrected. I certainly like the single layer technique: much easier. :) Cushman knife - oh...

I think when you're just getting started, a complete kit from a mass-market house like Jas. Townsend makes sense: http://jas-townsend.com/classic-fire-starting-p-365.html It's not period-perfect, especially for us, but it's a fairly budget way to get started reliably - all the pieces are a known qua...

OHMYGOSHTHISISAWESOME!!! Greg, I've been looking forward to seeing what you were alluding to with that cloak for MONTHS now - what wonderful simplicity! Did you piece your cloak Bockston-style? Or just use a large piece? About knee length/half circle fullness? And might I ask about how far down the ...

Andy was the guy who really got the whole "Middle Earth Ranger reenacting" thing going some years back - I believe while he was on deployment in Germany in the early-mid 00's. He had a little site back in the day that's (I believe) long gone, but the content is archived on the wiki http://...

Oh congratulations!

Many of the best men I've ever met have been Eagle Scouts. You're off to a grand start.