The Jacket Brigade

It all started with a paper round that very soon we will no longer have, and a ridiculously wet March and April.  Callum was struggling to stay dry while delivering his papers so Courteney suggested she could make a raincoat using some of my extensive Goretex stash.  We downloaded a men's jacket pattern using Callum's measurements off the Lekala site.  It quickly became apparent however, that this pattern was completely unsuitable due to sleeve width and overall cut so we quickly discarded it in favour of the much used Jalie 2795 Jacket pattern.

Courteney had the for sight to redraft the pattern onto paper which turned out to be quite fortuitous.  She left off as many seams as possible to avoid compromising the waterproof properties of the fabric.  She then added a front placket to cover the zip.   Zips were also added to the pockets behind the pocket plackets.  The resulting jacket is a perfect fit and a fantastic weight to scrunch into a back pack.

Fast forward a week or two to a football (soccer) match Courteney played in a cyclone.  Doesn't everybody do that?  It was an unpleasant experience for players and spectators alike.  It certainly wasn't a day for inadequate raincoats and this was exactly what her boyfriend was wearing.  The game was no sooner over and she set to work with my stash once again and her fortuitously made pattern.  She up sized it some more to fit her tall friend and started work on version two.  This time she used laminated Goretex which required lining.

I had picked up some mesh lining for $2 at the op shop which proved perfect for the lining of the body of the jacket.    There were a couple of improvements on version two. Courteney added eyelets and bungy cords to the hood and a zip to enable it to be removed. She then added zipper pull tags to the zips.  Her own Kathmandu jacket was her guide as to what she wanted to achieve.  Instead of elasticated cuffs in this version she used tabs and velcro. 

Courteney is extremely happy with the way this turned out and although her boyfriend has no idea of the work and technical difficulty involved, the fact that he wears it regularly speaks for itself.  

I took photos before Courteney gave it to M because I had an inkling that a photo of said jacket in situ was unlikely, and guess what?  I was right!

Now, you would think that by this point Courteney would be all rain coated out, and yes, to some degree you would be right, but young J was now making noises about one for himself.  You see, he considered it grossly unfair that he was wearing a handmedown inherited from his siblings and a handmedown he considered girly.

Young J picked some burgundy red unlaminated Goretex and wasn't concerned about a removeable hood, after all, isn't that the point of a raincoat?  This made the job considerably easier!  Once again Courteney added eyelets and bungy cord to the hood and rope pulls to the zippers.

Young J was more than happy to pose for a photograph in his new raincoat.  Long may it continue!