How Do You Construct An Inverness Cape/Cloak?
One distinctive item of Scottish Highland dress is the Inverness cape, or Inverness cloak, that members of Scottish pipe bands are apt to wear as rain-gear. They employ this style of outerwear because they also tend to wear full-dress uniforms whose expensive materials are so difficult to care for that conventional raincoats would ruin them. The Inverness cape, also called the Inverness cloak, is essentially a sleeveless overcoat; the coat proper will be called the “frock.” The frock has large armholes, in lieu of sleeves, to allow freedom of motion of the arms. It also has at least one if not two deep front pockets to hold pipes, drumsticks, or other needful gear. Secured between the frock’s neckline and its collar is a rather short capelet, to cover the wearer’s arms and avoid ruining the materials of his or her uniform. Both the frock and the capelet have snaps, rather than buttons, in front so that they can be fastened quickly. Two of the capelet’s snaps hold its corners out of the
