Monday 14 June 2010

The Psychedelic Raincoat


Pure Carnaby Street, don't you think? I'm not sure what the designer was on when s/he came up with these wavy stripes, but it was clearly powerful stuff.
I have a fairly significant stash of PUL (both solids & prints) left over from my nappying days. They were originally bought to make nappy wraps (aka nappy covers) but Laura's nappy rash precluded the use of any kind of plastic wrap. I had been wondering for a while if PUL would make a raincoat and decided, in the continuing absence of my overlocker, to give it a try.

I wouldn't say that it's the drapiest raincoat you'll ever find but by golly, you'd go far to find a brighter one! I lined it with spotty poplin, also from the stash, and you can see Laura coming from quite some way away. This, I think, is a good thing.
The pattern is Ottobre's #11 reversible coat from 01/05. It is, as you would expect, a really nice little pattern which went together beautifully. I love the retro A-line cut! It is indeed reversible, though I don't think the spotty lining will ever see the light of day.
It hasn't been tested out in the rain yet and I will update this post if it turns out to be anything less than showerproof. But if all goes well, I have enough fabric for raincoats for the next 5 years, which is a thought to keep me warm on even the dampest day.

11 comments:

KID, MD said...

Holy freaking cute!! I love it!!

Nicole said...

What a lovely raincoat! And in those bright colours you will spot your daughter from miles away :-)

Beangirl said...

Wow. KID, MD totally took the words right out of my mouth! That is ADORABLE.

mermaids said...

i think it is fantastic! love the bright wavy fabric

Sew Pretty Dresses said...

So so cute!

Millie said...

Wow...it's fab! I was only thinking the other day about using PUL for a raincoat, thanks for beating me to it! I love how bright it is, surely an advantage for spotting wandering children at the park?!

saa said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kathy said...

That is lovely! WIsh I could find some great PUL like that. Love it!

Judy Ross said...

Never underestimate the importance of high visibility! Most high-vis isn't NEARLY this cute though.

I've tagged you on my blog if you want to play.

Anonymous said...

Love the coat! Your PUL is fantastic - where did you get it? I'm UK too and have great difficulty sourcing any.

Kathryn said...

Hi Alison! I got it from a nappy-making co-op member who was de-stashing. It was a while ago now but if you join some nappy making yahoo groups then you'll hear about de-stashes as people offload. The co-ops also occasionally run Fabrite co-ops, where you send in your pretty prints and they eventually come back laminated. It's a really lengthy process and, I gather, not cheap. Alternatively, Dots & Stripes has some gorgeous waterproof cotton in at the moment, and you can get Amy Butler laminated cottons from Fabric.com. And finally, I cut up two adult raincoats to make Laura's coat last winter and that worked really well too! (I love making coats - you get such good value out of your time!)

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