Garbing Up for Winter - The Importance of the Cloak

Winter is finally on us here in Missouri, and that means it’s time to scrape ice off of the cars in the morning, make sure our foam isn’t frozen before fighting, and put on our cloaks. It is important to keep a fighter warm when they’re out fighting. Sure we’ll all get hot and sweaty while we’re on the field, but the moment stop, we’re just out in the cold and wet. We need to make sure we always have something nice and warm nearby to throw on.

Sure, real jackets and coats work, and should be used if you have nothing else,  but we all try to maintain the illusion, right? Luckily there is a solution that not only keeps us warm when it’s cold, but also makes us look like a mysterious bad ass when we stand on a muddy path.

Let’s hear it for the Cloak

Once you have the basics of your garb covered, the cloak is the next step to looking cool, intimidating and better than everyone else. The cloak is actually a really simple beginners sewing project, and a basic cloak should be able to be finished in about an hour with under $20 in materials. It’s basically 5-6 yards of fabric depending on how tall, or fancy you want to get.

There are literally thousands of websites on Google that will show you how to make a cloak of your own, and probably thousands more willing to sell you one premade, so I’m not going to spend too much time fussing about that. I do have a few ideas that you might want to keep in mind when you are making decisions, though.

1. Your cloak is the center piece of your winter garb. Your priority here is to have a piece that keeps you very warm. A good cloak will keep you warm both around the camp fire and away from it. It should be heavy enough to keep the chill off of you, and soft enough that you can curl up in it to sleep. What it looks like is secondary to that.
2. The ultimate cloak material is felted wool, which is both waterproof and crazy warm. It is also insanely expensive ($15+ per yard, easily) and almost always dry clean only. If you can afford to get a wool cloak, I highly recommend it, as it will not only be period, but will keep you warm and dry. However, be aware that it will cost more to have cleaned, not that you’ll need to wash it more than a couple of times per year.
3. The two best alternatives to wool are Flannel or Polar Fleece. They are both soft materials that stay warm, without costing an arm and a leg. They are also both machine washable. I recommend fleece over flannel because it has a bit more water resistance to it. Either way, though, you should be able to find it in whatever colors you want, and still have a perfectly functional cloak. For extra warmth, double down and line your fleece with flannel. It will be the coziest cloak ever.
4. AVOID RIBBON TIES. Most cloak patterns, and even a lot of the mass produced cloaks out there, seem to think that you’ll be fine tying a couple of pieces of ribbon together at the throat and going. This is horrible. Spring for buttons or clasps and thank me later. At the very least use some wooden or cloth toggles. All the ribbon ties are going to do is get knotted, and eventually cut off when it starts to choke you anyway.

There you go, keep those things in mind when you’re making the decisions on your cloak, and you’ll be the warm huddle in no time. One more thing, make sure you get a cloak with a nice hood. It’ll keep your head warm, and it really does add to the level of mysteriousness you have as a character.

You might also want to invest in a light weight cloak for summer. Historically they were called “travel” or “dust'” cloaks, and they were made of extremely light weight material, just enough to keep the dust off your clothes while you travelled. They won’t keep you warm, and you’re not too worried about getting dirty, but it definitely adds a level of bad ass to your character, so keep that in mind, too.