precipitation

That is to say, it's raining in Seattle. It does this a lot. Coming from a water-starved nation like Australia it's quite a welcome change. And just in time I finished the little red raincoat.

































Just a quick recap - this is made from an Old Navy raincoat that I bought at Value Village using a Golden Hands pattern. It was my first attempt to incorporate the already existing features of a full-size adult garment into a children's garment.

So, clockwise from top left:

- The finished product: I put in a zip, added a pocket and decorated it using some cutouts from my pvc tablecloth.
- Underarm eyelets because, I don't know, that's what other raincoats have.
- The hood with some pvc appliqué decoration. This one is so placed because there was actually a bit of damage to the fabric where I removed the buttons. I also had to sew two pieces of fabric together to have enough fabric for the hood and I managed to not get that seam to meet - design feature.
- Decorative appliqué on the front of the raincoat and the cord threaded through the hood. I put ... what would you call them? ... the bits on the ends of the cords to prevent it from getting lost through the eyelets and stuffed them with a bit of cotton flannel to give some body.

I haven't actually got baby bear to try it on yet but am delighted to have finished it. Last quick note on the eyelets. Again, here is something that I was at first totally resistant to, did not believe that you could get a good professional-looking eyelet at home, and lo and behold - I'm a convert. This Dritz large eyelet kit is great. Don't be put off by the seeming simplicity of it - it gives terrific results. The black disk acts as an anvil, you place the eyelet halves into the fabric (through a little hole that you cut), position them over the anvil, insert the tool and give a good whack with a hammer. Highly recommended.