its cold outside so.....

[dutchy kilted]

I wear an 18th century greatcoat with a cape. The funny part is that it hangs down a little past the bottom of my kilt, so all people see are my legs sticking out from underneath. I wonder how many people think I am a flasher?

[Ryan Ross]

Short of an Inverness Cape or any other sort of overcoat, the real key to staying warm is to have your head covered with a nice woollen cap or bonnet.

I've recently realized just how true that is; a LOT of body heat is lost from the head.

At any rate, when it's cold, one of these does the trick; they're made from Peruvian highland wool:



...and when it's so cold that you're worried about losing the tips of your ears, a watchcap is just the thing. I designed this simple one recently, and it really does a good job; I've knit three of them in the last week for Christmas presents. They're deceptively warm, and you can practically go into the cold in shirtsleeves, so long as you're wearing one; this one's made from 60% merino, 40% angora (which is warmer than wool, I believe):



Never underestimate the power of a good wool hat, when your goal is to stay comfortable in the freezing weather. Also, I might add that I can be seen wearing either of the above hats, wether kilted or in p@nts.

[auld argonian]

Awright...crabby old me is gonna pull this one out again:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...humanbehaviour

The heat loss through the head thing is a myth. Please don't think that a super duper hat is gonna make everything else immaterial.

Best

AA

[Ryan Ross]

Awright...crabby old me is gonna pull this one out again:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...humanbehaviour

The heat loss through the head thing is a myth. Please don't think that a super duper hat is gonna make everything else immaterial.

Best

AA

Hey- Wether it's the power of suggestion, or more likely, that the tender skin of the ears forehead and scalp feel the cold more keenly, I feel one heck of a lot more comfortable with a hat than without. I also know that I am by no means alone in this.

Also, you'll note that the article does confirm that around 10% of lost body heat is lost from the neck up. That's a sizeable ammount, so far as I'm concerned, when you consider that the average man may weigh 160-180+ pounds, and the average head only 7-10 pounds. As I said, a LOT of heat is lost through the head.

[kennethrmc]

I maybe going off on a rabbit track with this thread, but our town is at 7,000 foot elevation and I've gone kilted in real cold a lot and I would affirm the "heat lost through extremities" concern (whatever the study claims). Very warm and waterproof hat, scarf, gloves and boots makes a huge difference in kilted winter attire.

[Pleater]

Woe is me.

I just consigned my traditional Englishwoman's red cloak to the dustbin.

Having been laid low with a variety of ailments for a while I have not been out walking, but I knew - having had to set traps for them, that a couple of mice had been in the house. I found that they had taken up residence in my cloak, which had been left near the radiator in the kitchen and so was all nice and warm, and they had eaten huge holes through it.

An ankle length cloak with a hood is so warm, movement of air around the body is reduced both when standing and walking.

Oh well - I'll just have to make another one. Finding a good deep red fabric which is heavy and closely woven is not easy these days - most heavy fabrics are intended for upholstery and so are rather coarse.

If a sturdy plaid is not to your liking then a cloak, in some manly colour with an additional cape for the worst weather is a handy garment. Just don't leave it lying around too long.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[OftKilted]

You have a pattern for that?
My wife can sew and made my PC and Argyle jackets.

Currently I have a black full cirlce cape I wore when I worked ren faires. I wasn't a kilted character though.

S

There is a pattern available from Harietts for a 19th C. version of the coat here: http://www.harriets.com/victmens.htm

Pumpkiny has a blog post referencing a cutter's guide for making an Inverness cape: http://thirddoctorcostume.blogspot.c...ing-block.html

He's using a bespoke cutting guide PDF which is hosted here: http://files.me.com/stevericks/j69siv

An alternate bespoke version is available here in GoogleBooks:
"Coats: How to Cut and Try them On" by T.H. Holding
http://books.google.com/books?id=yfc...20cape&f=false

The plate is on page 20 and 21.

[edit] I found an interesting version referencing young men, youth and juvenile garments that talks about the cutting information as well. http://www.costumes.org/history/100p...ersguide1c.htm (Making your own patterns can be challenging if you haven't done it before.)

Some of the references actually appeared in another article on making an Inverness Cape from a Greatcoat here on X Marks previously: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...eatcoat-23926/ [/edit]

Hope that helps!