Bocksten, Half Circle: what's current thoughts on cloaks?

[Elleth]

I'm finally starting to get some sewing done - and have some nice green wool on the way to do a cloak!
I can't say I've had the best experience with cloaks in the past, but if we were only after function, I guess we'd all be in goretex.

Anyhow, I've been pouring over caedmon's Bocksten writeup, and of course Greg's Modified Half Circle.

Has anyone some new experience to offer since, or is something in that general space still the conventional wisdom around these parts?

I assume pulling the neckhole significantly back from the leading face of the half circle- as Andy's watch cloak pattern does - serves to protect the front a bit more, though at the cost of needing to be tied or buttoned back when not needing that extra coverage. For those who've been experimenting a while - what's the "sweet spot" do you think of material in front?

And Greg - you say the "horeshoe" still functions as an extra blanket? That's a neat trick!

[RikJohnson]

I find that the biggest hindrance to a cloak is that people forget that we have shoulders. So a simple cloak, half-circle or shoulder cloak or wahtever simply does no hang well and slides off and bunches up.
Once you add in a gusset to compensate for shoulders, it hangs well and is very comfortable.



Note that this is a half-circle cloak, folded to show the 4 panels of which it is made.
Note the way it flares out for the shoulders then curves down.
When laid out to show the circle, you get these two ridges at the shoulders so the actual cloak does NOT lay completely flat!

Sort of like trousers.
Fold your pants and note the gusset at the crotch! Cloaks have a gusset at the shoulders.

[Greg]

Yes, it functions as a spare blanket, but not a large one. I mostly use mine as a first layer over pine needles or leaves for sleeping.

The modified shoulders Rik describes I'm sure are comfortable, but that style just doesn't follow the historical tendency for fabric conservation...2cents.

[Elleth]

Rik -
The gusset idea is interesting - thank you!
I know 18th c. men's shirts do something similar at the collar, and while I've used it there I don't think I'll be using it here. I'd like to keep to older lines I think.

Greg -
good to know! So - don't expect it to truly cover for a full sized blanket then - just a nice extra layer. Got it.

I'm still contemplating how far back to set the neckhole. I think this calls for a muslin. Onward!

[Elleth]

.. and the wool is CUT!

I loved the look of the Caedmon's hood attachment, historicity be darned! And I wanted at least a bit of the upper chest coverage his design implied.



I ended up then using MOSTLY caedmon's modified Bocksten design with a touch of Andy's watch cloak.

After tinkering with the muslin a fair amount, I finally found a design I liked: essentially an off-center full circle cloak. The drape is quite nice, and moving the closure to the upper part of the chest not only should prevent a fair amount of the "Marilyn Monroe on the steam grate" problem in windy conditions, it also takes some tension off the the throat and should alleviate the choking problem.

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I don't NEED to complete the full circle, but I think I will be doing so, so I cut out the pieces for it.
The extra weight and bulk is neglible, but if they prove too much bother, I can always take them off and re-hem.

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After weeks of sewing projects every night, I really need to give my fingers a rest.
But in the lull right after Christmas I can pick the project back up again: I think it'll turn out well!

[Kortoso]

I made a video on one type of cloak. I pray that it amuses thee.

[Greg]

Pattern looks good! Looks like it'll stay up off the ground nicely, and that's half the battle. Cool!

[Elleth]

Kortoso - I'm sorry, I had meant to reply to this - I DO like the idea of an uncut length of cloth as a cloak. In fact, I have one: a very nice length of wool a vendor tossed in with another order *mumbledy mumble* years ago that's been my favorite shawl ever since! And it's been to the woods more than a few times.

Given pre-industrial cultures and the expense of cloth, I think the uncut cloak/blanket makes a LOT of sense.
Hrmm.. come to think of it, I wonder if a more tailored (or in ME/late real world era, hooded) cloak might mark one as someone who traveled / was outside a fair amount?

It's a more dedicated possession than a simple blanket-length of cloth pinned to the shoulder, and I can imagine then not everyone would go to the expense of acquiring one. Heck - they might even have the same sort of cultural connotation a drover's coat or nice gortex does today. Everyone has an overgarment of some kind... but the guy in the muddy hooded cloak has been meaning to be outside.

Probably for some fell reason or another, these dark days.

(OTOH, perhaps they're the fashion.)

[Manveruon]

Heck, I think that theory makes a lot of sense! The exception seems to be the hobbits, as nearly all of them are sort of the "stay-at-home" types, yet they're pretty much all described as having cloaks, if I recall correctly. Perhaps it's just a fashion in the Shire because of all the visiting-of-pubs-and-neighbors that goes on there? Plus, they seem to be a little more technologically advanced in some ways, and wear later-period fashions in general, so dedicated hooded cloaks being more common might make sense in that respect.