Need help making a cloak/cape.

[LordDraco3]

I'm going to a RenFaire this weekend and I'm in need of a fast cloak (It decided to rain and cool down recently:?). I found some black fabric up in my stash of stuff, and plenty of it, that I could use for one but once I found it I really had no idea how to make one. I am trying to make one that looks very full, and more like a cape than a cloak so that I can't use my arms without opening it up. A pattern/tutorial with a hood would be nice, but isn't something that I absolutely must have.
The only decent referances I can find are these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Heavy-Black-Wool-Cl ... dZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLACK-HOODED-CAPE-C ... dZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLACK-HOODED-CLOAK- ... dZViewItem

The problem is that none of those seem to bellow out enough, but I suppose that depends more on the rigidity of the fabric than the pattern itself?
A small sketch or drawing would be nice, just something that I could look at and apply to a larger surface.
I hope to make a more permanent one eventually though, and would probably need a bit more than a pattern...but that's for another day, and once I find a more suitable fabric.

[Jehan de Pelham]

Jebus, what is it, sticky-note day? First, I have to draw an A-Dress pattern for Mad Matt, now a cloak for you?

Cut yourself two yards of fabric. Draw the pattern that's on my sticky-note diagram on it--center the neck hole. If you want it thick, double up the fabric--two layers, you know--and cut along the line. Pin the edges with straight pins, sew all around it about three quarters of an inch from the edge, leaving a little bit at the end. Turn it inside out through that hole you left, iron the edges flat, and finish up the last little bit.

Boom. FAAAAAST CLOAK.

Bonus: You may find that you're short enough that you can make the circle go all the way around...remember, you want the cloak to go from shoulder to well below your knee. The fuller the circle, the better. I hope you're stumpy, because if you are, you can have a fuller cloak.

Have fun at the fair, cloak dude. Try not to choke on ye turkeye legge, or get bamboozled into buying a Kit Rae POS.

John
Jehan de Pelham, esquire and servant of Sir Vitus
www.mron.org

[LordDraco3]

Thank you! This is exactly what I needed, and thank you for the additional info on *how* to make it.

[Jehan de Pelham]

And, it really is that simple, too. Cloaks without hoods are the easiest thing in the world.

John
Jehan de Pelham, esquire and servant of Sir Vitus
www.mron.org

[Oswyn_de_Wulferton]

If you really want to get tricky, cut out two half circles and sew them together. The neckhole is at the center of the circle. Cut it smaller than you think you need , and then widen if need be.

[RedHandArmoury]

Only two yards of fabric? That doesn't seem like enough for a cloak. I've found a better design for a simple half circle cloak. Its the same style as the elvish cloaks in LOTR. I've made one and its great. For this you'll need about 4.5 yards of 60" wide fabric.

heres a link to the page with instructions.

http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Thi ... attern.htm

Good luck

[Jehan de Pelham]

Did I screw up my math? Dang.

Come to think of it, I screwed up my concepts...no sleep has got to stop.

Yeah, LordDraco3, you're going to need enough fabric that the cloak goes all the way from your shoulder to where-ever you want it to end on your leg.

Lay out your fabric. Double it up if your fabric is too thin. It needs to be at about four yards per layer--so most cloaks made of thinner fabric will need eight yards to get any bulk.

Measure from the bone that sticks out at the back of your neck, to your ankle.

From the edge of the fabric to a point that is that distance, mark a dot.

Trace a circle on the fabric, centered on that dot, that has as a radius the distance from neck to ankle.

Trace a circle on the fabric, centered on that same dot, that is a little smaller than needed for your neck.

Cut out the fabric, then sew the two layers together as said before, then turn it inside out, iron it, and finish...

I think. (must not sleep the clowns will get me...)

John
Jehan de Pelham, esquire and servant of Sir Vitus
www.mron.org