Kids, cloaks and campfires :D

[Toddy]

At the Moot last year we ended up with half the children running around like extras from Lord of the Rings I thought it might be a good time to drop clanging great hints to parents about the cloaks the children wore, and a note about safety.

The cloaks are warm and comfortable, the kids love wearing them and they do double duty as an extra blanket for camping, as well as being really snug to sit around in near the family fires at night.
I know at least some of them were used again come Hallowe'en too

My only concern is for the children near fires if their cloaks aren't made of wool.
Wool blankets can be bought cheaply, if in limited colours, but pure wool cloth can be bought from the reenactors suppliers very reasonably priced too. It comes ready dyed in good natural dye colours.

Cotton, nylon, fleece fabric are all comfortable, but none are really safe near the open fires we have at virtually every pitch at the Moot.

I's also ask, more for the very little ones, please make the fastenings easy to come undone should the child get snagged wandering through the trees or undergrowth.

I know that, so far, none have, but the children have such a brilliant time wandering, better safe than sorry.
Velcro's awfully useful for tinies I have loads in white if anyone's in need.

If you want to have a go making cloaks or capes, birrus or yoked hoods (think medieval) I'll draw out patterns that can be posted as photos, but I might pester Eric Methven notworthy: the man is so good at transfering designs to something rational and computer printable ) to have a shot at making downloads for the straightforward ones. I'll also see about posting photos.

I also have loads of small offcuts of wool that would make leaves or other design elements to personalise the cloaks.

Children's cloaks are pretty easy they don't need to be tailored, and if you use fulled wool (basically stuff that's partially felted through washing or wear) it shouldn't even need hemmed
Hidden pockets and handwarmer pouches are at Mum or Dad's discretion

cheers,
M

 

[benjy]

I completely agree, people need to be far more aware than they are around fires. Too many times, as a scout and guide leader, I see people with fleece ponchos sat near a fire on camp. Everyone seems to thing I'm scaremongering, and the risk is minimal, but it can be devastating. When I was younger, I saw a buddy of mine burn his leg quite badly due to an errant spark hitting his synthetic trouser. The material from his mid thigh to the floor went up, and luckily most of it fell away but some stuck to his skin giving leaving scars he still has 10 years later.

I'd be very interested in any designs you may have for cloaks and similar things, as I've just purchased a Merino wool blanket from a charity shop for £3 and I'm looking at making a cloak/poncho design that can become a project for My Ranger unit (14+ in Guiding). If they make wool cloaks, atleast they can't give me excuses as to why they would need use a fleece one!

 

[ex member coconino]

Wise words.

 

[Toddy]

Benjy have a look at the birrus Britanicus for the easiest to make and practical cloak

cheers,
M

 

[Graham_S]

For the closures of kids cloaks, what about lanyards from ID badges?
Cut them off and sew the tape with the plastic tab at the neck as a closure.
They should be strong enough to keep the cloak closed plus they will break away if the cloak snags.
They are cheap enough to source too.

 

[luckylee]

hi grahem, i have made toddy some posh ones, i made them out of leather.

 

[Melonfish]

Another option if you can't get blankets is wool twill, i've found that some local haberdashers sell it in 60" widths by the yard. you can't half make some nice thin but warm cloaks from that. check your local for the stuff.

i'm liking your idea about badge lanyards there graham, would indeed pop clean off when snagged rather then strangle.

 

[Toddy]

I'm waiting for the leather ones from Lee for the children's cloaks we were aiming for something that little fingers can manage easily and no jaggy pins. Something in natural materials that suited the good wools

I hadn't thought about the lanyard clips....will they hold the cloak weight though ? You know what the kids were like running with the cloaks flying Neat idea however.

cheers,
M

 

[sandbender]

"...Hidden pockets and handwarmer pouches are at Mum or Dad's discretion ..."

Wool and natural materials are definitely the way to go and hidden pockets are a must.

More images and ideas from the truly excellent blog 'Earth and Living' links here, here and here.