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Wednesday 7 March 2012

Special raincoat and swimming thru Blogger...

OK, it has been a long time since I first started this blog.  I have been refashioning quite a few things but have not had much time to figure out how to post stuff.  So here goes...

I have met a wonderful lady in Toronto last year at the Creativ Festival.  Her name is Linda McPhee  (MacPhee Workshop) and if you know her, you know what I mean.  If you don't, well you should meet her !  Anywho, I digress...

She is very original and creative and right up my alley:  What I like to do is stand out in color !!! So when I met her, she had a really cool project with those pesky plastic bags: a raincoat !!!  How fun!  Well, being the ecological self that I am, I DO NOT OWN any plastic bags... :(  So I had to call upon my work community to get some plastic bags.

I did not photograph the process of making the coat because I did not know how it would turn out, but here is the gist of it:

1- The plastic bags should be fairly thick and non wrinkled (Do NOT use an iron...)
2- Choose the images and logos that you want and cut them out
3- Choose a lining fabric (I used a donated sheet)
4- Cut out the pieces of the bags and serge them around to the pieces of lining fabric
5- Place the pieces together to make a nice pattern
6- Sew the pieces, right sides together, to make the raincoat fabric
7- Cut out the coat pattern pieces
8- Sew the raincoat according to the instructions. (you can purchase the pattern and a DVD explaining the process of her site)

So here is the final product:


These platic bags come from my colleagues at school.  I really like the colors.  

Here is what I learned:

- I like bright colors but not well known logos
- You need a LOT of time in front of you because it is VERY TIME CONSUMING
- Linda installs some gromets under the arm to let the air out
- In the next one, I will install some cording to the hood

Here is the coat on me:

Don't worry about the firefly on my head... it is not real ; )


So that is it for this post.  I will come back soon with more creations as I am making a fashion show collection (well, if you can call it a collection...)

Ciao for now !!!

Claudia

11 comments:

  1. This is fabulous! I wish I had the sewing skills to take on this project.

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    1. Wow ! My first comment ! Thank you ! To make this coat, you specifically need a serger but the skill level needed is not that high. Linda MacPhee's patterns are very simple.

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  2. I notice that you said that you need a serger, which I don't have. I've been able to accomplish quite a bit of serger-like tasks using the good old zig-zag stitch. Do you think that would work with this project? I won't hold you to it if you say yes and it doesn't work, just seeking some wisdom before embarking on my own raincoat adventure.

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    Replies
    1. Hi,

      Well, I would try it on with a tight zig zag. The serging stitch is very encompassing and that solidifies the "fabric" edge and keeps it from unraveling. (It also cuts the fabric as it sews which is wonderful !) But I would surely try it with a zig zag stitch, tight and wide. You may even sew a straight stitch on the side to imitate the serging stitch... Try it on small pieces and then sew them together to see how they hold. It helps to glue the plastic bag to the fabric first. But if you want to continue down this route, I highly recommend a serger. You will get hooked, I assure you ! (the latest issue of Threads has a good article on sergers).

      Good luck and show me the results if you succeed !

      Claudia

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  3. It is true that fabric technologies play a big role in making rainwear comfortable to wear during vigorous activity, but so do other factors: use of vents, individual metabolisms, humidity, temperature, the clothing worn underneath rainwear, and more.

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    Replies
    1. Linda MacPhee, in her tutorial, uses grommets under the arms to make vents to prevent overheating.

      Thanks for commenting

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  4. That's taking recycling to a new level!!! A colourful, fun raincoat that essentially cost you nothing. Have you seen the ongoing Refashioning link party over at 'Creating My Way to Success'?. I think you'd be very interested. It's where I link up my refashioned projects.
    http://jembellish.blogspot.com.au/p/clothes-upcycling-projects.html
    Thanks for linking up @Threading My Way, Claudia. I look forward to seeing more of your refashioning creativity...

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    1. Hi Pam,

      Thanks for the link !!! And I LOVE your party because it is easy to find specific things. I am going to post a lot more until school begins because I am on a roll !

      Delete
  5. Wow, this is wonderful!

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    ReplyDelete