DIY Ranger's Apprentice cloak

Interested in making your own DIY Ranger’s Apprentice cloak? Well, you’ve come to the right place.

This easy tutorial will give you step-by-step instructions to creating your own Ranger’s cloak – which is arguably the most important piece of a Ranger’s garb.

If you have a sharp mind (and a sharp needle and thread) this costume is fairly straightforward. Just make sure to ask for parental assistance if you don’t have sewing experience. Let’s get started!

DIY Ranger’s Apprentice Cloak

What you need

• Fabric or an old woollen blanket, 60-90 centimetres longer than you and as wide as your arm span. Bonus points if you can find a mottled green and grey blanket or fabric!
• Marker
• Thick cord
• Needle (make sure it is big enough to fit the cord)
• Scissors

What to do

1. Prepare your materials and read all the instructions through once before you begin.
2. Lay the blanket on the floor, line the bottoms of your feet up with the bottom of the blanket and mark where your shoulders end. This is for the neckline.
3. Along the line do a running stitch (video here, it should look like this – – – – – –), with a thick cord.
4. Pull the end of the cord so that the blanket is forced to scrunch up like a curtain. Make sure it feels good around your neck then knot the cord in place.
5. Now here’s where it gets a little tricky. Fold the blanket in half LONG sides together, straighten it, and then cut down the fold of the smaller square, or your soon-to-be ‘hood’, to just above the neckline. Starting from the newly cut edge, round the back point of the ‘hood’.  
6. Sew the cut ends back together so that it creates a nice, rounded shape for the hood. And you’re almost done! (Psst . . . You may want to try step 4 and 5 with a piece of paper first so you can get the feel for it without taking a chance on your cloak.)
7. Fold the outside edges of the hood under around 5–7 centimetres to form a hem. Then sew it in place.
8. The only thing left to do is round the corners of the bottom of your cloak if you wish. It’s best to have a family member or friend help cut around the bottom of the cloak while you wear it. And you’re done!

What to wear with your Ranger’s Cloak

Boots:

A Ranger’s light-weight, soft-soled leather boots are pretty easy to find in an online store, or you can wear any boots you already have at home (brown shoes work well here too).

Pants:

Black sweatpants are good for beginners. Sometimes even hardcore cosplayers will wear them.

Tunic:

Just remember you should always go for something that may be a size or two bigger than you normally wear.

Extras:

These include arm guards, belts, pouches, quivers, bows and of course a double knife holster. (Don’t forget to observe any rules about weapons at school or cosplay events). If you’re dressing up for book week, don’t forget to bring your favourite Ranger’s Apprentice book with you too!

This post was originally published in May 2016 and has since been updated with new formatting and imagery.