My children were getting cloak ideas from this video (which has a recap of the different styles discussed, in the last three minutes), and requested ruana-style cloaks.
The ruana cloak is a simply a long rectangle, slit up the front to the place where it will sit on the back of the neck. Some people cut out a neck-sized circle at that point, see here for example. I prefer the look of a straight edge coming down in front.
In use, the front of the ruana can just hang down, or one side can be thrown over the shoulder. It looks much more elegant than it ought to.
I found enough large pieces of fabric to outfit all the children who wanted one. It helped that a relative unloaded a bin of linens on us while we were on vacation.
So far this has been all no-sew, but the children all want hoods on their cloaks, and will also need the ends of the slits reinforced.
Are properly made cloaks, say made of wool warm? I have seen them worn, but never gave much thought to them. Are they practical? It would seem if used by Rangers of yore that if having to draw a weapon or a tool would it be hampered like a coat would?
ReplyDeleteThey are warm, although in winter you would want additional layers. Wool is known for being effective at keeping you warm even when the fibers are wet. Wool also has some resistance to microbes -- so it doesn't rot right on the sheep -- and some companies make anti-odor wool T-shirts.
ReplyDeleteA cloak will hamper your arm movements, but being able to throw one side of the ruana cloak over the shoulder and out of the way helps a lot with that, and they tend to be shorter and narrower than most other cloaks.