Waterproofing a cloak.

[MarcusNorwood]

Can anyone point me to some directions on how to waterproof a cloak?

Many thanks,
Marcus

[Graham Sumner]

Hello Marcus

It has been suggested that the reason so many Roman cloaks are depicted in Roman art as yellow brown is that the cloaks would have been left a natural wool colour. This means the cloaks would have retained their natural lanolins giving a degree of waterproofing.

Graham.

[Caballo]

Graham is quite right. And I also have a small bottle of lanolin from Cheyenne ( Claire) which can add back the lanolin very easily and works well.
Cheers

[caiusbeerquitius]

Lanolin spray is available via several online shops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNo4aGOf15U

[Nathan Ross]

the cloaks would have retained their natural lanolins

Do these 'natural' cloaks have quite a strong smell? I've always assumed they would pong a bit, especially when damp...

[Vindex]

My beautiful sagum made by Claire (Cheyenne) came ready "proofed" with lanolin and doesn't smell when wet. It also survived an afternoon on a hillside watching a sheep dog trial and therefore passed it's own trial :wink:

[M. Demetrius]

I've always assumed they would pong a bit, especially when damp...

Don't forget that "good" and "bad" smells are cultural. I might think lanolin on a wet day smelled a little rancid, but a Roman might smile and shake the water off his cloak, being quite dry inside, and never notice the smell at all. They did launder their clothing in stale urine--enough said.

I suspect they just said, "That's what a good cloak smells like." Much like people acquainted with a cattle auction hardly notice the manure/cow urine smell. But I'm just prattling, never mind me. :-|

[Joze Noriker]

All of my cloaks (celtic and roman sagum&paenula) are made by natural wool, but they don't smell. They have only natural woolen aroma (smell). They aren't water proof, because the woolen fabrics arent water-proof enough. Here helps the lanolin, sure. I hang them often on the fresh air and put some eteric oils/lavande in to them. It is good to have for rainy days more cloaks with you or leather cape.
For better water-proof preparation you can cook your fabrics items (good before working on the finish clothes because they will became smaller) and walk/felt them as well - they became more compact and using the lanolin as well.

Joze

[Flavivs Aetivs]

I think the roman probably smelled worse than the cloak anyways.

[M. Demetrius]

Usually, the lanolin in wool is removed before weaving. Simply putting lanolin back on the woven goods is not the same as not taking it out in the first place. Personally, I've never woven with wool "in the grease" (not having lanolin removed), but some who have say it is more difficult, yet more waterproof. Lanolin is not exactly water clear, though. It has a slight yellowish tint, and unbleached wool is not bright white, but also a little more ivory colored.

We have some raw wool here, and it is a slight yellowish color. I can't say that our wool is like their wool, since the species of sheep is not the same, but to me, at least, it seems reasonable that natural wool with lanolin not removed, and tightly woven would be much more waterproof than wool with lanolin re-added. I suspect that any aroma attached to the cloth would just be ignored.

Maybe that's why paenulae are often shown in Roman art with a yellowish color.

[Crispvs]

I have been led to believe that the Ancient Greeks were fond of soaking their cloaks in olive oil. If the Romans had done that too, the oil too, might imbue it with a yellowish hue. I am not sure what shade naturally brown or grey wool would take on when soaked in oil.

Crispvs

[66kbm]

I used a whole bottle of Claires "sheepish grins" gear on a Sagum and was told i had invented "Roman Gortex".
PS It does not smell.
Kevin

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Yeah, I use it to keep my paenula water resistant.
It's good stuff.

[Joze Noriker]

The white wool wich i am using, is here on our ALAUNI's foto:

http://www.alauni.at/gallery-event/2012....k/27.shtml

http://www.alauni.at/gallery-event/2012....k/26.shtml etc ...

remember - i opened here in RAT the topic with a question: How white was the wool in Roman/pre.roman time?

But don't use to much of lanolin: i have used them once much, ab. 200 gr and the coat was during the cold weather hard as cube - i washed after the lanolin out again.

Joze

[Primvs Pavlvs]

There is no such thing as " waterproof" in a period context, just "less wet".