Honestly, some of my best days at the renaissance fair came with a slight drizzle. I love an overcast fair day; it really sets the medieval mood. Dark, dreary, dramatic. Added bonus: the fair is never crowded on a cloudy day and interactions are only with the dedicated time travelers. Another bonus: you can pack on the layers of garb without sweating your ass off!
In the hopes of attending more of these chilly and dark fair days I have made myself a heavyweight traveling cloak out of some beautiful brocade which I plan to weatherize with a spray-on water-repellent. This fabric used to be a tablecloth for my booths when I used to vend. With no plans to vend at a fair in the near future, (as I enjoy attending as a patron so much more) I couldn’t let the fabric sit folded in a bin forever.
So I decided to make it into some outerwear. I actually do not have that many cloaks. I have two old black polyester ones that I primarily lend out to friends, Jake has a nice one, I have a kaftan but that’s very different, and I also recently made myself a very bright cape. But that about sums it up for fair outerwear if you don’t count furs. This cloak was a bit of a challenge because I had to go and make things complicated with fitted shoulders and interesting panels. The cloak is made up on 6 panels. Two in the back, two on the sides which act kind of as sleeves, and two in the front. There is a deep slit between the front and side panels in addition to the opening in the front. These slits allow great range of motion and dexterity in the arms while keeping my front covered. The front panels can also be thrown over the shoulder to open up the front of the cloak more.
The hood is over-sized–like really over-sized, to accommodate any possible hat, wig, snood or crown that I may sport under it. It should have no problem keeping the rain off my face. A simple metal clasp holds the front closed, but because of the way I tailored the shoulders, the clasp is not bearing the weight of the cloak. The weight all sits in the shoulders where it’s comfortable. No one likes being choked by a heavy cloak that is carried entirely by a single fastener at the neck!
