Monday, March 30, 2009

Venturing into the unknown: Water/wind-proof coat


It's time to replace my 16-year-old Gortex jacket. Not only is it faded, it left me wet during a rainstorm at Disneyland in February. Fortunately, it's still 'winter' here so I've a bit of time before I need the new one (we just got 48 cm of snow on the weekend) But time is running out. I'd purchased 2 metres of red Gortex at Textile Outfitters' closing sale last summer. Thought that would be plenty but it's not for the BWOF coat (01-2008-126). So I ordered another 1.5 yards of royal blue Gortex and navy blue nylon lining from Peak Fabrics. I telephoned to work out what would be the best combination. They were a great help. The red will be the main colour for the body with the royal blue on the lower sleeves, pocket edge, zipper flap and hood. I've never sewn with Gortex nor tried a three-dot Burda so this will be a challenge! Apparently Gortex is slippery so I've my Sewing machine walking foot ready. Although I think I'll look up how one can cheaply transform a regular foot into a teflon one. I cut out the various pieces last night and learned the Royal blue is particularly tough on pins -- and tried to remember to keep pin marks within seam allowances.

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