---

Kit list

For dancers

Crook provides some items of kit, which are indicated.

Beth keeps most of the Crook kit items, and can help with advice on preparation and making up. You are responsible for everything else.

• Hat — a straw hat, decorated to your taste.
• Shirt — a white, collarless long-sleeved shirt. It must be long enough to tuck in and stay tucked in when dancing. Sleeves can be rolled up or worn down as you prefer.
• Britches — must be black and of cotton, wool, or similar fabric. The legs should be cut off to mid-calf length and finished so that they fit securely below the knee. They must not ride up when dancing. Long trousers tucked into socks are unacceptable.
• Shoes — plain black, leather, or synthetic, but not suede. If you wear trainers, any non-black flashes or markings must be blacked out with a marker pen.
• Neckerchief — this is optional.
• Baldricks — crossed green and maroon bands, with a medallion front and back at the crossover. The side provides the fabric, you make them up. The front medallion has the Crook logo; we provide the size and the emblem template. The back medallion is the same size, but the design is your choice. The baldricks need to be crossed so that they do not slip off the shoulder or ride up or down when dancing, and crossed on the hip with the front band crossing the back. They should look “smooth” and symmetrical. Beth will help you to achieve this.
• Socks — we wear a maroon sock on our left leg, and a green sock on our right. The side provides these. They must be long enough to be worn above the knee and must not be folded or rolled over. They must not fall down to expose the knees when dancing. Britches/trousers must not be tucked into socks.
• Bell pads — the side provides your bells, and we currently also have leather for the actual bell pads. You make the pads, fix the bells, and provide the straps and fixings. We have found that leather dog collars make good straps below the knee, and leather or fabric laces are good to fix the bells and provide the bottom tie for the bell pad. Straps and lacings must be dark in colour.
• Rag jacket — You make this. A dark coloured, lightweight cotton shirt or pyjama jacket makes a good base but needs to be strong enough to support the tatters. The jacket must have at least ¾ length sleeves. Tatters should be between 8-12” long, and fairly narrow, so that they swirl when dancing. Rag jackets should NOT be pressed or look “neat”.
• Rag hood — The side provides the base netting; you make the hood. You need a small panel so that you can see, but your head needs to be fully obscured. Tatters should again be long enough to “swirl” when dancing. Rag costumes look best if the hood and jacket use the same tatters.
• Sticks — The side provides 2 long and 2 short sticks each. You will need them for practice and for each dance-out, and it is your responsibility to make sure that you have them. If you mark your own sticks, do so on the end, so it is not visible to the public when you are dancing. Most members of Crook have a stick bag for easy transportation of sticks, but it is your own responsibility to make/provide a bag if you want one. A leg from an old pair of jeans works well.
• Handkerchiefs — The side provides these. They are white and are larger than normal hankies so that they stand out when dancing. You will need these at all practices and dance-outs.

For rapper dancers

Rapper dancers usually wear the basic Crook kit of black britches, white shirt, and one red and one green sock. They remove baldricks, bell pads, hats and neckerchiefs. They must wear black, hard-soled shoes that they provide themselves. They wear sashes made from green velour with a trim of maroon ribbon placed a ribbon’s length away from each end of the sash. The sashes are worn at hip height and are of a length to wrap twice around the body with the free ends extending to just above the knee.

For musicians

Musicians provide all their own clothing.

• Shirt — a white collarless shirt.
• Trousers — plain black trousers.
• Waistcoat — a dark waistcoat, decorated to your own taste.
• Shoes — plain black shoes as for the dancers.
• Neckerchief — optional.

In cold and wet weather, coats, jackets, hats, scarves, and gloves are all acceptable, but must be either black or in Crook colours (maroon and green).