Any Experience Making Your Own Cloaks?

[ThreadJack]

Long story short, I have a bunch of clothes I should be able to cobble together into a sort of Sith or Dark Jedi costume, just need the right accessories and lightsaber.

I was thinking of saving a bit of money by making my own cloak, or possibly a hooded cape, as it doesn't seem like it would be too hard. Follow a Jedi cloak pattern(of which there are many online) and use black fabric. My questions are:

A) Is it really as easy as it seems? I don't have access to a sewing machine, so will need to hand sew.

B) Is it really that economical?

C) What fabrics are good for this? Wool? Cotton? Polyester blend stuff? Clothing weight? Blanket weight?

[Therion Jinn]

I had one made from a blanket with an angled stitch to create a hood many many moons ago.
Only complaint was that it was heavy.
Doubled as a summer-weight sleeping bag, though

[Rapine]

I got a hooded cape for the last con I went to.  Easier to move around, and cooler (thermally).

I'd perhaps avoid wool or cotton for that very reason.  They'd be hot as heck.

The only thing about a cape, is ensuring that you have a good, strong clasp, since it won't stay on like a cloak.  They "flow" - like capes are want to do.

Otherwise the sewing shouldn't be too hard.  By hand might up the difficulty though...

[ThreadJack]

I had one made from a blanket with an angled stitch to create a hood many many moons ago.
Only complaint was that it was heavy.
Doubled as a summer-weight sleeping bag, though

Sounds great for a winter cloak, especially if you're trooping outdoors!

I got a hooded cape for the last con I went to.  Easier to move around, and cooler (thermally).

I'd perhaps avoid wool or cotton for that very reason.  They'd be hot as heck.

The only thing about a cape, is ensuring that you have a good, strong clasp, since it won't stay on like a cloak.  They "flow" - like capes are want to do.

Otherwise the sewing shouldn't be too hard.  By hand might up the difficulty though...

Wool would probably be more of a winter cloak, I agree. And yeah I'd imagine having to hand sew would throw a cramp into things, but still should be fine.