Cloak

Object/Artifact

Saco Museum

Name/Title

Cloak

Entry/Object ID

1967.6.1

Description

Red wool broadcloth cloak with 3" taffeta facing at opening has 5" scalloped cape/collar with 2" raised collar band. All seams sews with brown silk thread in a running backstitch. Collar and cape have a fine red silk braid sewn to the outer edges. Center back seam. Front openings are lined with silk, width approx. 1 1/2" at top to 6" at bottom. Silk panel pieced together about halfway down. Silk of two colors--orangish-brown and now pinkish red, original color uncertain. Hand-sewn to cloak exterior with yellow, probably silk thread. Silk is shattering; mostly gone from the upper area near the collar. All seams appear to be the same yellow thread. Stitching does not come through to the front of the fabric. Stand up 2" high collar of two pieces, sewn together at center back with double running stitch. Seam pressed open. Attached scalloped shoulder cape, 6" deep at center back point. Cape also of two pieces of fabric, seamed together at the back. Upper edge of stand up collar, outer edge of shoulder cape, and center front all edged with a fine red twisted braid or piping, which is whip stitched to the edge with yellow silk thread. Body of cloak gathered at the neckline with running stitches with most of the gathers concentrated at the back. Upper edges of gathers attached to the collar with whip stitches. There seem to be the remains of a silk tape or some sort of binding material that may have originally covered this seam.

Made/Created

Date made

1780 - 1800

Dimensions

Length

50 in

Dimension Notes

shoulder 16"

Material

wool broadcloth

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

This cloak is made of wool broadcloth, which was woven on a wide 60” loom. After weaving, the cloth was fulled, or deliberately shrunk, napped to make the surface fuzzy, and then shorn close to the surface to create a dense, almost waterproof fabric. Broadcloth's compact nature also meant that it would not ravel when cut, making it unnecessary to finish edges. Although many cloaks had attached hoods, this one has a separate hood made of the same fabric. The lower edge of the hood is unbound, unlike the edges of the shoulder cape, perhaps indicating that it was designed to be worn tucked under the stand-up collar of the cloak. The diameter of the hood is also on the small side, especially when compared to the size of the black silk cloak of the same date, so it is also possible that the hood was made later.