Are cloaks practical?

This free pattern from Mood might do the trick.  https://www.moodfabrics.com/blog/the-winterberry-cape-free-sewing-pattern/

It's got fitted shoulder but not great instructions.  

Jenny Wright wrote:

Thekla McDaniels wrote:And we haven’t mentioned capes and cloaks children’s pretend games!  Hours and hours of cape wearing play is very practical!

Oh yes! My kids have some specially made dress up capes but they have access to tablecloths and sheets to make costumes and a cape is probably the most popular design choice! 😁 Necessary for any fashionable wizard, knight, royal person, or child heading off on a walk through wolf-infested woods.

My daughter recently requested an "Elsa cape." So, we went to the thrift store and she picked out this icy blue cotton sheet. I folded it in half and drew a half-circle, cut the half-circle, sliced up one one side to the middle and made a tiny circle there for the neck.

here is the fabric unfolded, with the slit for the front already made

I hemmed everything, and folded the neckline over so I could thread some ribbon through it. The ribbon looks nice, but it resulted in the cape all flopping behind her neck and choking her.

you can see all of the cape is behind her, leaving the neckline ribbon to choke her.

the ribbon pullin on her neck didn't stop her from playing, though!

I thought there must be a better way, and lots of people we talking about clasps. So I grabbed an old pin that was my mom's. This worked!

The clasp redistributed the weight much nicer.

Now perfect for epic spinning! (And, yes, I used the left-over fabric to make her a matching skirt)

So dramatic! So fun! Now I want one...but I don't think I'll find wool fabric wide enough to make it this way for an adult!

I'm worried about the cloak choking me.  I can't stand a high neck on any clothing.  This is part of the reason why I'm thinking of going with a fitted shoulder cloak instead of a circle.

Found this kicking about the internet.  Not sure if the original site is still up.  I tried to type it in, but either the site is gone or my dyslexia got in the way.  

I typed the web address and it changed to https://www.deviantart.com/nenesta, and it said the account has been deactivated. I've known quite a few people who deactivated their deviant art account, so this is probably another instance of that.

I'm so glad I stumbled on this thread when I had the time to read it.  It's got my fall feels all in a tizzy.  

Great inspiration for my fall equinox textiles project!

Anyone want to deep dive into the difference between cloaks and capes with me?

I always thought it was knee length that made the difference, but now I'm wondering if capes don't close at the front and cloaks are made such that they can overlap at the front if they want... but that doesn't seem right either.

Both words come into English through the Norman invasion, according to the OED.  

Cloak coming from words meaning 'bell shaped'
Cape coming from words relating to coverage of the head and shoulders

According to this site, the difference is primarily - and quite definitively- about whether it's purpose is purely forstyle (the cape), or for protection from the weather (cloak): https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-cloak-and-vs-cape/

English is a language that allows words to evolve, be repurposed, and blended, and made up out of whimsy!

To try to get a definitive designation that distinguishes the differences between the two, and an identity for each might be more trouble than I want to take on😊

I do consider the OED the definitive resource, and it does have extensive etiology, but what I have is a 1949 edition of Websters Collegiate.  It’s just one glimpse into the past, of how a given population was using the words, as interpreted by a given group of lexicographers

It says cloak refers to a bell like shape , (coming to us through old French )

as a noun , cloak is simply a loose outer garment…. or #2, something that conceals,

as a verb, both are more related to the second definition, covering or concealing.

Meanwhile, also through French, a cape is said to be a sleeveless garment or part of a garment, hanging from the neck over the back, arms and shoulders.

So, according to post war, mid century Webster, in the USA, I guess something could be both a cape and a cloak, but that some capes are not cloaks.

I love languages, words and usages so much that at 17, I considered becoming a linguist.  Then I read Silent Spring

Back in the day when I was a student nurse in England, we still wore the old fashioned uniforms, dress, apron, cap and cape. The student nurses wore short red capes and the qualified staff wore longer navy capes. Many a cape was used for fancy dress parties, going as Batman and Robin. Ahh, those were the days.

It looks like I'm about to find out as I dropped all my other plans for winter garb and gave into peer pressure.  

I'm not entirely certain this is wise, but... it does mean I probably get a cloak out of it.  


a link to the video

And in celebration, here's a thread about the project https://permies.com/t/190703/fiber-arts/Folly-fantastic-growing-cloak-CAPEtember

Interesting take on the cloak and other draped garments.

Here's the second video in my homegrown cloak series.



a link to the video

Here is a fun cloak idea.

r ranson wrote:Here is a fun cloak idea.

Thanks for the video!  He’s quite a character, isn’t he?  and the cloak he makes is a wonderfully easy process.  And his waterproofing method is worth remembering.

I loved the white thing and watched it to the end!

Cloaks were good

Don't know if we got this one yet where he talks about various cloak styles and the pros and cons of each.

r ranson wrote:Cloaks were good

Really? Or is the real truth that tightly woven wool is good? Many of the things he says may be more about the "wool" than the shape it is.

I finally answer the question that's been plaguing me, they aren't and they are.  Well, I talk about it more in this video (plus there are lambs near the end)