16th Century Master of Defense Cappotto (Sleeved Cloak) 

When my spouse and I joined the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), we had an agreement: I was not going to sew for him by default. His primary pursuits were poetry and fencing, but he learned to sew and became an accomplished tailor in his own right (you can check out his various works on his website). So nearly a decade in to playing in this organization, when I was approached about him becoming a Master of Defense (MoD), I had never made him a garment. 

Induction into the MoD, typically comes with regalia which includes a cloak. This was a wonderful opportunity to make him something spectacular. So I got to work, looking for a cloak fitting for a fencing master and settled on a lovely cappotto (sleeved cloak) design out of wool.

The Process:

I started from Ishmael's own doublet pattern. I used the shape for the neck opening, shoulders, and armscyes but modified the body to be large and semi-circular, the sleeves to open at the front, and the neck to extra tall. 

I cut the body out of the lining material (a navy silk shantung from SilkBaron) to test the shape and fit. Once I was satisfied, I cut the body pieces out of the wool exterior material. It wasn't quite wide enough to accommodate the width of the body pieces so I had to piece two corners. Ishmael is particularly fond of the phrase "piecing is Period!" so this was not a problem. Plus the piecing is barely noticeable from the outside and even less so when the trim goes on. 

Before putting the lining into the garment, I attached the trim. I started by pressing and herringbone stitching the hem and slit seams into place. Then I measured the trim placement from those finished edges and basted the trim into place. Finally, I went back and used very small whip stitches to permanently attach the trim. 

Some areas were particularly tricky such as the decorative outlining of the slits at the sides and back of the cloak. It was fiddly, but a satisfying challenge. 

With all the trim on, I basted the silk lining into place at the shoulders, back, and slide seams. Then I hung the whole thing on a dressform and turned and pinned the lining hem to cover the raw edge of the wool I'd previously turned up and secured. I did not manage to get a photo of this step as it was awkward, physically tiring, and I forgot. Before finally securing the lining to the wool exterior with felling stitches, I checked that the pinned hem did not pull the lining in any awkward way. Basting teh shoulders and long seams should help prevent that, but it's always good to check by moving the garment around, trying it on, and looking for pulling.

Then it was on to the sleeves! They were finished in a similar manner to the body. 

1. Cut the exterior and lining fabric

2. Fold over and herringbone stitch in place the edges of the wool

3. Attach the trim

4. Tack in the lining 

5. Folder over, check the fit of, and then felling stitch the lining in

I chose to cut and sew the button holes on both sleeves and the body before sewing them to each other. This allowed me to have much more portable parts to work on. I had about 60 button holes to sew in  total and being able to take a single sleeve with me to work on helped a lot. As usual for 16th century button holes, I used Mathew Gnagy's method in the Modern Maker. 

With the button holes complete, I attached the sleeves to the body of the garment. After sewing them in place, I trimmed the seam allowances and bound them using double folded silk tape. This technique is tracible to the 16th century and a really clean way to enclose the raw seams without interfering with the function of the armscye. 

The final step was to attach all the buttons. The Master of Defense was Ishmael's second peerage within the SCA so I alternated pewter MoD and Laurel buttons from Billy & Charlie to represent both awards. 

Finished Garment:

I am proud of many of the things I've made, but this garment may be the best one yet. It incorporates almost a decade of knowledge and skill development in historical tailoring and techniques. It is also some of the best detail work I have ever done. The button holes came out regular, the trim even, the stitches small and tidy. Every time Ishmael wears this cloak I am proud of the work I did on it.