Cloak Finished!

It is done, or nearly done.

I ended up not putting on the shoulder cape at all. I also hand stitched black twill tape around the front edge to prevent it from unraveling. I may also add it around the bottom if it looks like it needs it.

The clasp is inaccurate for the time, it was meant to be for a sweater, but I can't find any ribbons in town and needed this done to wear next week to a special event. So I added the clasp. Since there is so much that is inaccurate with this cloak and since the clasp looks good I may just leave it.

It does appear to be very warm and I will be interested to see if it works as a winter coat this coming year.

Cloak in Process

With the comments, help on Ravelry and from various e-mail lists and via phone I finally decided how to sew the cloak fabric together. I used a figure 8 stitch while holding the fabric right sides together. Then I flattened the seams and pressed them.



These 2 pictures show how I am sewing the seams.

Here it is partially done. The first seam is finished and I've got the second piece pinned in place ready to sew it.

These are the rest of the pieces ready to cut out. I decided to cut the center, then the 2 sides and sew those before cutting the outermost edges.


Here are the 3 middle pieces all finished.

Cloak Problems, Need Suggestions

Today I started laying out the cloak pattern. Because my fabric is so much narrower than normal I cut a long piece of muslin to 24 inches to match my fabric and then pieced together the cloak pattern out of that. I cut the muslin and laid it out on my Black Welsh fabric.


First big problem, my weaving is uneven. While the piece of fabric is 24 inches wide on one edge it is only 22 inches long for most of the length. I figured out a way to get the cloak body and shoulder cape out of my main piece of fabric and while not quite perfect it is close to a half circle. I can cut the hood out of the sample piece I wove so I think I can actually make it from the fabric I have with nothing to spare.


Next problem is how to sew the pieces together. The original was much finer fabric and sewn in contrasting thread with a 1/8 inch seam allowance. To test my sewing I cut a small piece from my sample fabric and have been playing with various edge treatments. This is the sample I've been sewing on with both thick hemp thread and thinner linen thread. The original was with silk thread but I don't have any.

The bottom left edge is like the original. It is a pair of running seams with about a 1/8 inch seam allowance. This one makes a rather large welt because my fabric is so thick. I don't think it will work as the welts will make the cloak uncomfortable to wear. Next over is a whip stitch. Same problems as the first one and hard for me to keep even. The middle seam is like a baseball, butt end the raw edges and sew them in a herringbone style. This lies flat and seems sturdy enough although it is pulling because the weave is too loose. I am concerned that my seams will pull out my threads and fall apart. It is also totally inaccurate from a historical standpoint. The slantwise seam to the right is almost the same thing but behind it I sewed some twill tape with a running seam on both sides to strengthen the seam and provide more stability. The twill tape solves the stability problem but it also suffers from being totally inaccurate. Above that is a seam you cannot see. It is another version of the original seam along a selvedge edge. This almost works because I wove a double warp on the selvedge and I can sew just beyond that warp. For seams along a selvedge I may do this. Along the top I sewed a piece of the twill tape to encase the raw edge and then tried to sew it to itself as in the original. As you can see I took it out because it made such a huge lump. However, for the raw edges along the bottom and sides of the cloak I think this will work to bind them.

So I have a lot of questions for anyone who hand sews stuff.

Are there any other ways to attach two thick pieces of fabric together that I've missed?

What do you think of the various options I have?

Which should I use and why?

Should I stick with accurate contrasting thread and inaccurate stitching or try to hide the inaccurate stitches by using black thread?

I tried machine sewing and that really doesn't work. My fabric is too loosely woven and too thick for my machine to work with it.

Any and all suggestions welcomed. Please comment!

The Cloak - Pattern Testing

The whole reason I have Black Welsh Mountain Sheep is because I wanted a traditional medieval Black Welsh cloak. While most folks would go buy a cloak or at best buy fabric and make one I did things a bit differently.

I bought the sheep, bought a spinning wheel, learned to spin, bought a loom, learned to weave and learned to sew. The idea was I would make my cloak from scratch. That was 12 years ago. I am only just now good enough at spinning to spin fine enough for historically accurate fabric. However, soon after we first got the sheep I had a mill spin some coarse 2-ply yarn from our fleeces. I used this yarn to weave my initial fabric.

Well I finished weaving this first cloak fabric December 2006. It took 6 years and I used the commercially spun yarn from our own flock of sheep. The fabric has been sitting waiting for me to do something with it. Actually, it was waiting for me to get the courage to cut it since it took so long to make.

Along the way I learned that what I had in my mind as a traditional medieval Welsh cloak was not accurate for medieval times but was closer to 18th century styles. So I did nothing.

Well Kass at Reconstructing History makes historically accurate patterns. And she now has a pattern for an 18th Century Women's Hooded cloak. This pattern matches what I originally had in mind as a medieval cloak.

Well I've decided that I really need to get a cloak made, whether it is accurate for medieval times and with appropriate fabric or not. And that I can always work on more accurate fabric for another one later. However, because I am such a novice at sewing I decided to use some commercial fabric first.

Today I made the first revision of the cloak using commercial brown wool fabric.


Here are all the pattern pieces cut out and ready. I cut out for the waistcoat option but I don't think I'll use it.


This is the hood back showing the pleats.


Here is the cloak neckline where it is gathered.

For this test I used a contrasting thread and machine stitched the whole thing.


I am missing the ribbons to tie it closed but here it is all finished.

I learned several things making the pattern that I will have to adjust when doing it with my Black Welsh fabric.

First off my fabric is not as wide as commercial fabric so I will use more pieces to make the cloak body. I've already asked Kass and the suggestion is to make the center back from the full width and then piece to the sides to get the entire cloak body made.

I am not sure the waistcoat looks good on me so I think I'll leave it off. It can easily be added later anyway.

My fabric was woven then fulled but it's still too coarse and will unravel at the edges. So I am going to use a black cotton tape binding on all the edges unlike the extant cloaks that have no hems or binding. The original did not have the seams pressed open or finished but I think I will need to do some pressing and tacking down of the seams because the fabric is so thick. I'll have to see how it fits and feels once it's done.

Next step is to press the Black Welsh fabric and figure out how to lay out the pattern pieces on my narrow fabric.

Sheep Maternity Wear

Ovine Fashion icon OogieM held her spring fashion show with her line of maternity coats for the well dressed ewe.

Last years' patchwork has given way to this years new bright red color. Contrasting black stitching is a nice detail. Coats are being made in the larger sizes for the well endowed with a new line of wide and fat options in 34W, 34F and 32W sizes. There are plans for an extra fat size for the particularly chubby.

Tail tuck tailoring needs work and it was evident that some coats were not fitted as well as in years past.

Fabrics this year are all 500 denier Cordura from Seattle Fabrics. Although it is a coated fabric the coating is minimal and so far is not causing any felted fleeces. Updated size and construction info can be found here.

Duct Tape Double

OKI've been shamed into it by Kass here. I too got to spend part of a weekend, actually last weekend, being wrapped in duct tape. Red Green would be proud!

Ken got the hanger attached to the fabric tube for a stand this afternoon. I'm planning on starting stuffing this afternoon or tomorrow.

I hope to have it finished by the middle of the week so I can start making some clothes now that it's winter and my time to do inside stuff.

First up will be a 15th Century Kirtle based on this pattern.

Then I'm planing a test run of a cloak out of a brown wool I have before finally cutting and making my Black Welsh cloak from my hand woven material from our sheep's wool.

I'm also planning on doing a duct tape double of my lower leg for sizing some cloth hose.

Ovine Haute Couture Part 2

Models relaxing after the sheep sweep show held over several days in western Colorado.

Ewes raved at the latest designs from Oogie M at the final showing of the new fall collection of Ovine Barn Wear this week. With over 100 pieces in the new collection there was something for every sheep. Colorful patchwork was a highlight of the show as old coats were refreshed with new purple edging and contrasting patches on the sides and neck.

It took nearly the entire flock to show all the new styles but there was much duplication with only minor variations in the detailing around the tail tucks, neck lines and leg straps. However a surprise was the prominent sizes written on each and every coat. No modesty for ewes this year, if they wear a 34W everyone will know.

A model displays the latest in patchwork coats for the fashionable ewe.


No fear of too thin models being banned from the runway in Colorado. All the models in the show were plump and fluffy. A few delicate lambs sported specially tailored coats to accentuate their diminutive features. Many ewes are in the smaller sizes now but are expected to be wearing the new maternity line soon. In addition to the nearly 100 coats displayed on models an additional 58 coats were made for the show but not displayed.

And in an unexpected move Oogie M has declared that she will be introducing a mid winter line of coats based on the same styles but in different colors. "I'm not sure what colors to use yet. Dark ones do not show the sizes well and our stable of models is always growing so we need to have a variety of coats in all sizes for them to wear." She is planning a trip to the fabric store during the fall sale in November.


"Our ewes are very concerned about pricing so taking advantage of discount fabrics is important to our line. Fashion doesn't have to be expensive but it does have to be well made. As you can see from this collection a well made sheep coat is a staple of the ewes wardrobe for several years. A few of our older models are sporting coats they have had since lambhood."

All in all it was a successful show.

For information on how to adapt Oogie M patterns for your own flock please see her simple directions here

Back From Taos

I had a lovely time in Taos, didn't come back with more wool than I took so that is good. I did find a pair of patterns for knitted dragons and bought 2 types of roving to make a knitted dragon like our logo and sign. My test sample looks pretty good so I'll continue to spin it and hopefully manage to get the dragon knitted this winter.

Several people, Patricia, Suzanne and Erika, all helped me figure out the double knitting for the Monmouth cap and I finished rev 2 while I was there. It came out much better and much closer to the original. As soon as I finish weaving in the ends and fulling it a bit I'll post pictures. I'm still not happy with the increases at the top after finding some more pictures of the original and also the increases to set up for double knitting but I am getting there.

Erika showed me the first couple of stitches for naalbinding. I can see it as being a really great way to make very flexible but warm mittens and hats for winter. It may also work for socks, the ones she had were very nice but they looked rather difficult. Now I have to spin some appropriate singles yarn for that technique.

When I got back I had to start sewing on sheep coats again. I have about a dozen more to finish and we can pull the rest of the ladies in off pasture. I should finish those this week and then I can clean up the sheep coat mess from the living room.

I need to get the ram lambs sorted and evaluated but it's not likely to happen this week. They are looking good so it will be difficult to pick out the top dozen or so to keep as potential breeding animals.

Skirting of fleeces continues. I have about 7 more to get up on our web site under the wool for sale section. I still have quite a few to skirt. Hope to finish that project this month as well.

Ovine Haute Couture

It's fall and time once again for the latest in ovine fashions to be unveiled prior to coming in off pasture and into the corrals for winter hay feeding. Fashionable sheep will be sporting the latest in ovine coats for the winter as designer and manufacturer Oogie M is feverishly working on her new line to debut later this week. All the best ewes will be wearing coats this season to protect their valuable wool from contamination.

This season the watchword is patchwork. Last season's mid range coats are being refreshed with a variety of colorful patches across the body especially prevalent along the sides and around the neckline. Many are made even more eye catching with the addition of contrasting overstitching in black, white and brilliant purple. New this year is the addition of taupe overstitching to highlight some of the more colorful patches. While there are still a few styles with gathers at neck and tail the most stylish coats now sport attractive tail darts instead. Mid range sizes include darts at the girth for a better fit along the forequarters and shorter body hugging leg straps.

Young ewes are forgoing the girth darts in favor of a lean look with only a single pair of tail tucks. Their main colors this year are black and red with white and black stitching visible along all the seams and edges. A few edgy ewes have opted for purple edges making a classic statement against the snow and hay. Leg straps can be in many colors with purple and khaki most common this season in addition to the standard red and black.

We haven't forgotten our plus size ewes with a new line of maternity wear. Styled like their younger sisters' coats these new pieces include ample belly room and discrete darts at the girth to prevent unsightly gaping. The same short leg straps are in evidence but large sizes now sport two pairs of tail tucks. A few of the styles include additional girth darts that can be easily let out as needed.

Fabrics this year are durable, rugged and easy care. Designed to survive harsh Colorado winters they are sunlight and manure resistant. 120 denier nylon Oxford weave is the standard for this Fall collection. Machine washable and built to survive the rigors of fences, this season's new line of sheep coats is sure to be a big hit with all the ewes.