Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Or you can coat a wool blanket with lanolin. The old wool cloaks were basicl raw wool that had never been processed so the natureal oils/lanolin were in them.

Kind of cheating, but most army blankets are 100% wool composites(sheep alpaca and llama or such) with gun oil in them. I made a cloak(waaay too heavy for hiking) out of three US army blankets and the gun oil smell is long gone, but they are still rediculiously water proof. BLankets are generally 30USD each at most army surplus stores, but compared to buying that thickness of wool at a fabric store its an amazing steal. TO do cloaks with maximum fabric use from army blankets, either make it a square cloak or cut the blankets into triangles and make an octagonal cloak.

I know this is an old thread, but I can't help but share this:

My sister is insane.

She raises sheep, angora rabbits and Llamas and Alpacas and shears them, spins the wool into thread and then weaves it into fabric and makes stuff with it, and then sells the stuff. (Yeah, it ain't cheap!)

(well maybe not so much this year with her health issues, but that is her passion and she has been doing it for 20 years or more.)

But the amazing thing is that I don't break out when I wear her wool. She says it is the chemicals they use in commercial manufacturing to remove the lanolin that I am allergic to - not the wool.

Still, I don't see how she has the patience for all that spinning and weaving - crazy...

Brandy... that is my problem with wool.. I can't wear it because it is processed. Now if I take raw wool and rub it all over my arms and such.. no problem.. but I can't have commercial, processed wool of anykind touching my skin for very long. If I want a wool cloak.. I HAVE to line the underside with linen and even the collar/hood as well so that it won't touch my neck or face. So, I have a 'dressy' cloak made with an almost cotton duck black side and the other side is a pale blue/grey suede fabric.. the lady who made it for me in Germany made it so you can were it either side showing. I also have a brown cloak made of heavy cotton with a hood that Erich made me, that I would call it my everyday cloak hehe and it works well as a ranger cloak. And it does keep me pretty warm as it is thick but not stiff. I still may line it with a cotton felt lining just to add a lil bit of insulation.

I can't wear wool hats, gloves, scarves, cloaks, shirts, pants, tunics or anything that touches my skin. My sister in law gave me a really pretty dk grey wool sweater on year for xmas.. and I think I still have it.. but I HAVE to wear something under it no matter though.. and it's so soft too.

So when one can't afford wool or linen.. then buy cotton duck and then line it with a cotton or cotton/poly felt or use a cotton/linen blend or a cotton 'linen look' fabric.

Oh and how the average person got his hands on cotton clothing in medieval times? Same way he got his hands on armour... TOOK IT OFF THE DEAD KNIGHTS!! So you let the rich ones buy the cotton.. kill them in battle.. and take it for yourself!!

I still would like to get some hemp fabric and make some garb with it. Been looking at stuff on Hemptraders.com at their fabric area http://www.hemptraders.com/index.php?cPath=21

Awesome! Thanks for the link to the hemp stuff!

Kiriana wrote:I still would like to get some hemp fabric and make some garb with it. Been looking at stuff on Hemptraders.com at their fabric area http://www.hemptraders.com/index.php?cPath=21

I've used hemp/cotton twill as a shell for a padded gambeson/coat. Natural cotton batting for the padding.
It wore very well, wicked sweat well, and regulated temperature. It didn't work as well as wool, imo, but it worked well and looked smart. I'm sure it could be padded using wool batting too.

See if you can find Merino wool. It is supposed to be much less irritating. Smartwool uses Merino wool, and in fact the cloaks in LOTR were made from NZ Merino wool. So there's that.

Could a cheap blend emergency blankets be acquired and the lanolin creme from a drugstore re-applied?

People who have issue with sheep wool tend to have no problem with Alpaca wool. Not to mention Alpaca wool is softer, warmer, weighs less, and since warmer tends to be less bulky.

I got some thin wool fabric on clearance, used it to make a cloak which I lined with cheap cotton. When I washed the fabric, it took a while to get wet, even after submersing it in the bathtub - the water didn't want to soak into the fabric. It's gotten a bit less water-repellent since then, but still bounces rain reasonably well. Not bad for a cloak that was pretty much just going to be a costume piece.

For whatever it's worth Harris Tweed from Scotland is INCREDIBLE stuff. It's completely naturally dyed so you can't beat the color for authenticity, but I've worn my Harris Tweed in the pouring rain for hours on end and never got wet through it. It's light, soft, warm and just wonderful stuff. It's also in a tweed pattern which dates back before the rise of Rome. While Melton wools don't appear until the 1820/30's. Just FYI for those of you who might be sticklers for fabric weaves.

I included a picture of me out in the pouring rain (might be hard to see) here. But they offer solid colors as well as tartans.

http://www.harristweedisleofharris.co.u ... ort=normal

http://www.harristweedisleofharris.co.u ... ort=normal

http://www.harristweedisleofharris.co.u ... ort=normal