Cloak chokes and fashion failures (12/14)

[Talen]

In two panels, today's comic shows why Talen Doesn't Wear Cloaks.

(Half Moon coats and mantles. Mmm, wooly gawdlike warmth that blizzards bounce off of.)

That being said, it's a good warning. Long, flowing cloaks look good, but have this amazing tendency to be stepped on, hook on a pricker bush, or in general catch at JUST the right time to yank, strangle, or gag you on your own costume. Especially during fights.

(One of these days, I swear I'm going to make a "Boffer LARPing for dummies" book, and it'll be full of Jennie drawings.)

[Travellar]

I'd say to take a lesson from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. As the Jedis were preparing for battle near the end, the first thing they all did was remove all of thier cloaks and robe. (awsome prep scene, even if the battle that followed had a few... shortcomings.)

[Sehson]

Yea, some people learn these thing from simple practicality...

My cloak... is not something to wear in combat, but somehting you use as a net. My cloak was made by my step mother and was supposed to be the same size as my wifes cloak(made at same time) this would be ankle length for wife and knee length for me. Our cloaks are wool. we found wool on clearance sale at Jo-anns years ago for $1/yd. the only problem was the colors. one bolt was pepto bismal pink the other was mouse shit grey.

Ritt dye to the rescue. Now they are a nice blue and grey.

Well my step mother decided to size mine on my brother... he's a bit smaller then me.... but not quite what she thought... the cloak is tooooo big for my 6' 8" 400lb friend. It will keep 8 people nicely warm...I'm not jokeing we've had 8 people under it before. unfortunately more then 1 was under the age of 12...

so with this cloak simple walking with it can cause it to shift and choke me...
as it drags on the ground.

[Travellar]

I just finished my cloak about an hour ago. It drapes over the left shoulder to come across the front, with a brooch in on the right shoulder. I cut it long enough to look good, and keep me warm, but it's short enough I shouldn't be getting caught in the underbrush or choking. A really good fit should help there, too. I'll get some pics up once I get them.

[Plunder Down-Under]

I would wear a cloak and do the jedi thing and take it off before any fight or any intense bush walking

[Travellar]

I suppose if I need to take it off in a hurry, all I've gotta do is yank the pin on the brooch. while test fitting it to make sure I got everything right, I came to the conclusion that setting the brooch is by far the hardest part.

[wolfie]

For just walking around, pinning the cloak just below your collarbone works well.

[Travellar]

yeah, that's where the brooch is. (right shoulder, just below the collarbone.)

[Plunder Down-Under]

Or you could have one that is attatched to your shoulders, that wouldnt choke you

[Travellar]

Wouldn't that be a cape?

What I really wanted was a psudo-viking look. So my refrence was Hurstwic (http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/clothing.htm). Granted, there are certain comprimises I've had to make. For example, Barbarians in Nero are supposed to use few textiles, and an abundance of fur. Norsemen had access to plenty of textiles, and I don't recall seeing any refrences to furs. So I've used Norse patterns, with modern textiles, designed to look like fur or skins.

[Travellar]

IT WORKED!

Man, with all the crashing through underbrush and tearing through thorns I did, you'd think something would've caught. Never underestimate good furs in well fitting patterns. Even when I crashed straight through a pile of thorns to recover someone's hair, nothing penetrated to hurt me, nor caught in the brush. I always had both hands free, even with the cloak fitting tightly around me! (It also tended to hide my second axe completely, and obscure my long axe.)