by Sorcha I recommend getting fabric that is the width you want, the length of the cloak to be plus at least 6 inches. I have used queen sized fleece blankets to make cloaks; they are very warm, and are safe for those with wool allergies. The other nice thing about the fleece blankets is that you can usually find them somewhere on sale for $9.99, and there's enough to make an adult and a child's cloak out of it. Instructions: 1 - For the Cloak: Measure collar size for inner circle, A . Center on edge of fabric. Measure length you want it, B . Draw outer circle. Cut out.  2+3 - For the Hood: Measure from top of shoulder, up over head, to top of other shoulder, C . Center on edge of fabric. Measure top of head for length of hood; make longer if you want it to come partially down over face, D . Cut out. Fold 2 in half so both D sides are together, and sew up one of the C sides to create the hood, 3 . Sew the D side of the hood to the A side of the cloak. 
For closures, you can use a pin, sew strings on it to tie, sew frogs on it,  or anything else you would think appropriate. For kids I would say the frogs, since they would be easiest to work with and safer than pins.You can find more patterns, as well as other SCA related things, at my All things SCA Website. courtesy of  | ||||