Keeping warm

Back when I was an undergraduate, I spent a lot of time hanging out with goths. (Not Goths.) My mother, awesome person that she is, made me a floor-length black wool hooded cloak, complete with lavender satin lining. It was the Coolest Thing Ever.

Fast forward mumblety-mumble years and I'm still wearing that cloak to SCA events despite the lining, because hey, it's warm, and you mostly can't see the lining if it's wrapped around me properly. Replacing it with something a little more appropriate has been on the agenda for a while now, but there have always been other projects that took priority.

Last weekend I was tidying up my stash, because fiber falling on one's head is annoying if not actually dangerous. In the process I found some fur. Rabbit fur, to be precise, sewn together to look like vair. And as it happens, there are three blankets of the stuff. I'd been toying with the idea of turning them into a fur-lined cloak, but never gotten around to buying fabric.

Then I had a brainwave. I could disassemble the Coolest Cloak Ever and repurpose the wool into a new, improved, Even Cooler Cloak, No Really It Is. Goodness knows there's enough wool there. I could even sew up the wee holes from bonfire sparks and moths. It'll go well with the apron-dress, and perhaps it'll keep me from freezing at a future tournament!

Now, where did I put that seam ripper...