Thanks again everybody! It's great to get such a wonderful reception!Haradir wrote:Mae Govannen! Welcome to the forum!
Your Ranger (and pirate) outfits looks outstanding! I especially love the way your mantle looks. I been meaning to make one of my own for a while now. Would you happen to have a pattern or any tips for a fellow Ranger?
As for the hood, I drafted the pattern myself. It was honestly about the easiest thing in the world to do, believe it or not. It's loosely based on several period examples, but I did take a good deal of artistic liberty. I wanted it to somewhat resemble the suede hood Russel Crowe wears in the new Robin Hood (a highly underrated movie in my opinion, but I digress), because I liked the splits in the front and over the arms, but I wanted mine to be cloth instead of leather. I also made the pattern somewhat square in shape, instead of rounded at the bottom, because I liked the more angular look it gave. I left the bottom edges unhemmed and instead just did a blanket stitch around the whole thing. I think this gave it a nicely rustic look.
Beyond that it was just a matter of measuring myself, and a lot of trial and error. I just made a pattern on some brown paper and then went to town. It was actually my first 100% independent sewing project ever, and I think it turned out very well. Nearly all visible seams are hand-stitched, except the hem on the hood, and the hem on the very front vent, but I may take out the machine stitching and re-do it by hand for a more authentic look.
Since doing the hood I've sewn an under-tunic and a supertunic (seen in the pictures), and all visible seams on those really are hand-stitched. I find it oddly satisfying, heh.
