Self Drafted Raincoat

 

My style inspiration comes from different sources but my main source is street style.  The idea for my latest make was conceived a year ago now, on a trip to the supermarket.  It was a miserable wet day, a day when everyone was bundled up in raincoats.  Now raincoats are not usually something that catches my eye because for the most part they are practical and not at all stylish.  One customer though, was wearing this gorgeous floral raincoat that just brightened up the dismal day.

It was about this time that The Fabric Store advertised this stunning floral raincoat fabric.  All the stars just aligned for me because not in a million years did I think I was going to be able to source floral raincoat fabric.  I went straight down to my local store and bought myself 3 metres.  It has taken an entire year to get the raincoat made up because I just couldn't find a pattern to match my inspiration.

It was my daughter that convinced me to draft my own pattern.  Being made redundant from my job recently gave me the time to put my drafting hat on and get this raincoat made up.  My first version was made in an old sheet and the changes to my pattern were then translated onto the paper pattern before being made up in my raincoat fabric.

I wasn't 100% convinced that my raincoat fabric was waterproof and not just shower proof.  I really wanted this coat to do the job properly so I purchased some iron on seam sealing tape from Aliexpress and had to wait for it to arrive from China which took longer than anticipated due to COVID postage taking longer.  I also ordered my waterproof zips from Aliexpress because as far as I am aware they are not available in New Zealand.  To make sure my jacket was completely waterproof I cut my lining from a piece of Gortex lining from my stash that I had picked up from a manufacturer when my kids were small (now that was a while ago).  As a last minute decision I decided to insert reflective tape into the yoke seam because I found I could source this from Toms Emporium in Christchurch.  This place is a treasure trove for all sorts of crafty bits and pieces including sewing notions.

This was by no means a quick sew.  The seam sealing was quite time consuming and I had to be extremely careful not to touch my coat with the actual iron.  Every seam was pressed with baking paper between the iron and the fabric and all the seams were sealed with my sealing tape.  The armhole opening was only sealed at the top of the shoulder because I was concerned that it wouldn't adhere properly.

To finish my coat I added sleeve tabs which I attached snaps to using my Kam snap press.  This press was bought 17 years ago now when I was making nappies for sale but has been used for many different projects since.  

My raincoat has been finished now for over a month and it hasn't rained much since so I haven't had the opportunity to try it out.  I am not complaining though, because it is autumn so I am sure it will get put through its paces soon.  As the above photos can attest, it works extremely well as a wind breaker.  These photos were taken on Lake Wanaka a few weeks ago during a particularly cold weekend when my husband was supposed to do the Motatapu mountain bike ride through from Wanaka to Arrowtown.  Unfortunately COVID cancelled it but in hindsight, it was so cold that day, it probably was not a bad thing.