Cloak Me
January 14, 2022 10:04 AM Subscribe
Help me find a sewing pattern for a full-length cloak.
My husband wants me to make him a floor length lined cloak (like a handmaid, is what he said). I'm not really finding what I want online, but surely there must be people selling patterns like this. I'm not good at pattern making from scratch but I can alter an existing pattern (like if I want to add/delete a hood or change a side panel shape, etc.) so it doesn't have to be exactly what I want in the pattern. I've looked at some LARP sites that do costuming but it all looks, well costumey.
He wants people to see him and think he was transported ahead in time as he stepped out on his way to the opera.
My husband wants me to make him a floor length lined cloak (like a handmaid, is what he said). I'm not really finding what I want online, but surely there must be people selling patterns like this. I'm not good at pattern making from scratch but I can alter an existing pattern (like if I want to add/delete a hood or change a side panel shape, etc.) so it doesn't have to be exactly what I want in the pattern. I've looked at some LARP sites that do costuming but it all looks, well costumey.
He wants people to see him and think he was transported ahead in time as he stepped out on his way to the opera.
I wonder if a choir robe pattern with an added hood might get you the right silhouette?
Edited to add, here's another that's a 'religious robe'.
posted by hydra77 at 10:35 AM on January 14, 2022
Edited to add, here's another that's a 'religious robe'.
posted by hydra77 at 10:35 AM on January 14, 2022
Best answer: Maybe the Kinsale Cloak at Folkwear Patterns?
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:37 AM on January 14, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:37 AM on January 14, 2022 [5 favorites]
He wants people to see him and think he was transported ahead in time as he stepped out on his way to the opera.
I recommend an Inverness cape in black wool and silk, then. Here's a blog post about the process. And here's a commercial pattern; you will probably need to extend the hem to a formal length, but that's pretty straightforward.
posted by jedicus at 10:55 AM on January 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
I recommend an Inverness cape in black wool and silk, then. Here's a blog post about the process. And here's a commercial pattern; you will probably need to extend the hem to a formal length, but that's pretty straightforward.
posted by jedicus at 10:55 AM on January 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
The Kinsale cloak won't much look like he was going to the opera. That's a rural/workingclass garment. (Obvs a lot of people will just see "cape" instead of details of locale or era or formality, but the people who care will care, and you're putting a lot of material into this.)
First you have to ask him which opera house, although it sounds like it's "London, as late as plausible" rather than "Venice, in 1678!". Assuming that, the Inverness would be great, plus I've used a Reconstructing History pattern and it went together. Nb: especially with all that material, the quality of the fabric makes an enormous difference to whether the result looks costumey. You want something heavy but extremely fluid.
Other lightly-informed search results, in case: in PatternReview, mixed reviews of Simplicity 4482, mild approval of McCall's 4550, both "Phantom of the Opera" tie-ins. A collection of fairly historical outerwear patterns labeled by era and location , which might be useful for recognizing what he wants instead of knowing the names.
posted by clew at 11:56 AM on January 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
First you have to ask him which opera house, although it sounds like it's "London, as late as plausible" rather than "Venice, in 1678!". Assuming that, the Inverness would be great, plus I've used a Reconstructing History pattern and it went together. Nb: especially with all that material, the quality of the fabric makes an enormous difference to whether the result looks costumey. You want something heavy but extremely fluid.
Other lightly-informed search results, in case: in PatternReview, mixed reviews of Simplicity 4482, mild approval of McCall's 4550, both "Phantom of the Opera" tie-ins. A collection of fairly historical outerwear patterns labeled by era and location , which might be useful for recognizing what he wants instead of knowing the names.
posted by clew at 11:56 AM on January 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh yes -- check ebay! Actual vintage, theater costumes sold off, costume makers.
posted by clew at 12:38 PM on January 14, 2022
posted by clew at 12:38 PM on January 14, 2022
FDR wore boat cloaks and this one from Brooks Brothers
posted by brujita at 1:53 PM on January 14, 2022
posted by brujita at 1:53 PM on January 14, 2022
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posted by Melismata at 10:09 AM on January 14, 2022