How to - Make a wizard's or monk's outfit

How to make a Wizard or Monk's outfit

Wizard!

This outfit consists of three parts - an undertunic, a long circular cloak, and a circular mantle. Make it in soft wool or similar for a cosy, easy costume - it takes a lot of fabric, so if your budget is tight, look for a wool/synthetic blend - this stuff was £2 per metre, and looks and handles just like wool.

You will need

• 6m of fabric which is 60 inches wide for the long cloak, 2m for the mantle and 21/2 metres for the undertunic - 10 1/2 metres will be expensive if you don't shop carefully, so do look around. A quick ebay search brought up grey and black for £2.99 per metre - you might do better - try searching for "wool blend suiting".
• Thread in a matching or darker colour. (TIP: if you think you might dye the garment later, get cotton or silk thread. Normal sewing thread won't dye and you'll end up with visible stitching. Coats cotton thread is very good. Guterman quilting cotton thread is too coarse.)
• Bias binding
• 2 fasteners or brooches

Tunic

Make one of these: http://empire.crew.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/How_To_-_Make_a_T_-_Tunic

Overcloak

1.Cut a circle with a diameter of about 14 inches for a generous, elbow-length cape. It's easier if you fold your fabric into quarters and just mark out a quarter, cutting through all four pieces at the same time.
2.Cut a tiny neck-hole. If folded in quarters your neckhole radius should be about 2 inches.
3.Cut from one edge in a straight line to the neck hole.
4.Hem or bias-tape all edges.
5. Put a fastener or brooch at the neck edge.

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Long Undercloak

Do exactly as you did for the short cloak, but use a circle whose radius is the full width of the fabric. To achieve this, you'll need to cut two semicircles, like this:

Two semicircles

Then cut your neck hole, and sew one to the other down one long straight edge to make a whole circle when you lay it out flat on the floor.

Put your cloak on, and fasten it at the neck. Get a friend to position the cloak so that the centre back seam runs right down the middle of your back. With pins or chalk, mark a point on your arm just below your shoulder on both sides, and your elbow height with your arms hanging by your side. Connect these two points in a straight vertical line, one on each side.

Take your cloak off and cut a slash along these lines - this lets your arms poke out. Adjust for comfort. Hem or bind the slashes.

You can tack the neck edges of your cloak and overcloak together, keep them separate or sew them together, whatever you like. Keeping them separate means you can put a tabard in between though, which is nice if you want to.You don't really need a pattern for a tabard, but here's one anyway:

http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/really-simple-costume-1

Wizard!

What else can I do with this pattern?

• Want to save fabric? Make a semicircular cloak rather than a full circle and save 3m. Make the cloak from this one but leave off the fur:

http://empire.crew.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/How_to_-_Make_an_awesome_furry_mantle

• Ignore the full length cloak, and lengthen the T tunic to ankle length for a different look.
• Add a matching hood, tabard or cowl.