The main attraction of this design was the hood. I have a few raincoats at home but never use them because they have no hood. Because I'm usually wearing my glasses, I need a hood or umbrella to keep the drips off them, it is a serious pet peeve, I HATE getting my glasses wet.
I've made mine in a black rainwear fabric with a mocha polyester lining, which is visible in the hood. I'm not done yet, I still need to insert sleeves and sew up and insert the lining, but I've decided to put this away for a few months. I've gotten a bit bored with it, but also want to focus on some winter clothing now. I'll pick it up again closer to Spring, so that I can wear it when I need it.
I had a few problems while sewing it up, basically caused by my left/right confusion. When the instructions and pattern refer to left and right I get confused as I'm never sure if it's my left and right as I'm wearing it or laid flat in front of me. I should've just read through the instructions better as I could've figured it out with the diagram for later instructions. I also figured what's the difference anyway? WRONG!!! Big difference, yes the opening flap is facing the other non-conventional side..but my problem was the zipper which is then reversed and is either on the wrong side or upside down. I eventually fixed it somewhat by removing the top zipper stop and sliding the pull onto the others side. The zipper still isn't perfect, it keeps wanting to curl around, but it works and its hidden by the front flap. The snaps under the flap, keep everything in place and no one but me is any the wiser.
On the subject of snaps - this was my first experience at inserting no-sew snaps, I used the brass snaps and needed to practice a bit, but they turned out fine. I think that was on my sewing goals list (in my head), I'm always thinking about doing new things.
I'm making some progress on my sewing to-do list. This raincoat was officially planned in January 2009 for the SWAP contest at Stitcher's Guild. I then revisited it in September 2009 for the Autumn 6pac at Stitcher's Guild. I finally cut out and started it in November this year, when I was just sick of not having a proper raincoat. So although it's not finished, I'm thrilled to have the major work done.
I'm holding the sleeves that haven't been sewn in, they're not weird wing attachments or something.
Next up I'm clearing the sewing space and making up two patterns I picked up today at a Thrift shop, both from the 90's it seems. I'm making a long black denim skirt and a casual matching top and jacket. I need some "mindless" sewing while I'm waiting for my fabric to arrive for my tailored jacket.
Hey its looking good. It bugs me too that the coats don't have hoods, as it means I have to carry an umbrella as well.
ReplyDeleteLooking real good so far, can't wait to see teh finished product.
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