Bocksten 'Ranger' Cloak - From EotW Winter 16-17
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 9:14 pm
Well, I've gotten around to finishing the cloak, and I'm very pleased. The fabric, as I mentioned in the thread on my article (see: Middle Earth Reenactment Society Sub-Forum), arrived a few days late, but certainly not a dollar short. It matches the numerous descriptions of DARK grey that are found throughout the text, and fits the bill for a 3-4 season cloak. It's actually lighter than I anticipated (though not too thin as a fabric.) I honestly feel like the weight difference I'm feeling between this cloak, which is barely thinner as a material [but has darned near twice the square footage of my last cloak] can be chalked up to the brilliance in weight distribution inherent in the Bocksten design. MAN it's comfy.
For comparison, here's a replica of the original in the museum that houses the Bocksten find: I chose to stay in my tree work clothing from a side job today to give a sharp contrast between my under-layers and the cloak. Helps to see the pattern a little better.
In this first image, we see it hanging fully downwards, with no folding or tucking. Kinda poncho-like, but definitely functional, and definitely warm. For those who are strictly in this for costuming purposes, I doubt there'd be an appreciation for this cloak, because at first glance, this really doesn't fit what most people have in mind for a Ranger. However, in the text, we find that a cloak that can cover a sword is used (and perhaps even invaluable!) so here we have it. Certainly works well as a built-in over-under blanket as well...I napped in it today, in fact. The second image shows the leading edge of the cloak tucked inside to open things up just a touch. Might call this the "tavern tuck"...like unbuttoning an outer layer, or unzipping your sweatshirt. Sword still concealed, but lets some air in and out, and the hands are plenty free to deal with eating, etc.
Down here, we start looking more familiar...more of that profile we're used to seeing. Here, I've quickly (literally...this took two seconds to accomplish, with no "dressing" done) gathered the front from the right (open) edge across towards my left, and thrown the whole mess over my shoulder. In the photo attached to my article, the folds were somewhat "stacked" on the shoulder, which wasn't as comfortable as throwing it across and back. This spreads out the weight and creates a natural layer of padding beneath the bedroll strap that would be placed atop all of that. Everybody wins.
I'll toss up some more photos showing the seams a little later, which were stitched with a gorgeous silvery-grey linen thread I found on ebay. The left shoulder seam was fairly heavily darted, which drew the much-longer-than-the-original cloak up off the ground a bit, and then the neck-hole followed by the right shoulder were tailored in turn. The half-circle was also progressively tailored a bit, so that the front half (in poncho-mode) is actually a few inches shorter by the time you get to the end. I used the string jig I used to draw the original half-circle on the fabric, but moved it along the straight edge about 6", so the new line gradually curved up sharper than the original, and lifted up the front a hair.
I did not piece it together like the original for the sake of ease of patterning, etc. Now that it's finished, I'm considering whether or not I'd like to cut it apart in the appropriate areas and re-stitch it to form that patchwork construction. It wasn't necessary for mine, though, because the fabric came in at 60" wide already.
Now, on to making the hood, and then we'll start doing some pics with the whole shebang starting to come together.
For comparison, here's a replica of the original in the museum that houses the Bocksten find: I chose to stay in my tree work clothing from a side job today to give a sharp contrast between my under-layers and the cloak. Helps to see the pattern a little better.
In this first image, we see it hanging fully downwards, with no folding or tucking. Kinda poncho-like, but definitely functional, and definitely warm. For those who are strictly in this for costuming purposes, I doubt there'd be an appreciation for this cloak, because at first glance, this really doesn't fit what most people have in mind for a Ranger. However, in the text, we find that a cloak that can cover a sword is used (and perhaps even invaluable!) so here we have it. Certainly works well as a built-in over-under blanket as well...I napped in it today, in fact. The second image shows the leading edge of the cloak tucked inside to open things up just a touch. Might call this the "tavern tuck"...like unbuttoning an outer layer, or unzipping your sweatshirt. Sword still concealed, but lets some air in and out, and the hands are plenty free to deal with eating, etc.
Down here, we start looking more familiar...more of that profile we're used to seeing. Here, I've quickly (literally...this took two seconds to accomplish, with no "dressing" done) gathered the front from the right (open) edge across towards my left, and thrown the whole mess over my shoulder. In the photo attached to my article, the folds were somewhat "stacked" on the shoulder, which wasn't as comfortable as throwing it across and back. This spreads out the weight and creates a natural layer of padding beneath the bedroll strap that would be placed atop all of that. Everybody wins.
I'll toss up some more photos showing the seams a little later, which were stitched with a gorgeous silvery-grey linen thread I found on ebay. The left shoulder seam was fairly heavily darted, which drew the much-longer-than-the-original cloak up off the ground a bit, and then the neck-hole followed by the right shoulder were tailored in turn. The half-circle was also progressively tailored a bit, so that the front half (in poncho-mode) is actually a few inches shorter by the time you get to the end. I used the string jig I used to draw the original half-circle on the fabric, but moved it along the straight edge about 6", so the new line gradually curved up sharper than the original, and lifted up the front a hair.
I did not piece it together like the original for the sake of ease of patterning, etc. Now that it's finished, I'm considering whether or not I'd like to cut it apart in the appropriate areas and re-stitch it to form that patchwork construction. It wasn't necessary for mine, though, because the fabric came in at 60" wide already.
Now, on to making the hood, and then we'll start doing some pics with the whole shebang starting to come together.