Finding raincoat fabric in cool prints isn’t always the easiest, so I conducted an experiment to see if I could make a waterproof raincoat using board short fabric… Spoiler alert, it worked beautifully!!
Raspberry Creek Fabrics sponsored my sewing for the Project Smooth Sorbet collection with Project Run & Play. Because of that, I didn’t want to shop around at other sites for rain gear specific fabrics to use for the David Rain Jacket by Bobbins ‘N Buttons. I knew there were materials available to treat fabrics, so I did some research and found products that would work for me.
I found these two products from Seattle Fabrics: ReviveX Wash-in Water Repellent and 7/8″ wide Melco Iron on Seam Tape. I did some quick Googling and found out that the wash-in repellant should be applied to the finished garment and not the yardage to prevent any effect on the machine from the coating it deposits on the fabric.
I prepped my pattern pieces, and applied the seam tape to the seams on the top of the coat: the raglan sleeves, the hood and neckline. I didn’t apply the seam tape to the underarm and side seams as that didn’t seem necessary. The tutorial for the David Rain Jacket has many of the internal seams bound by bias tape, but I sewed them as usual, just trimming the seam allowances a little so they would be trapped underneath the tape. Applying the tape is as simple as pressing the seams open, placing it over the seam allowances and pressing securely in place with a pressing cloth.
Once the rain coat was finished, all that was left was to wash it using the water repellant treatment. That’s as simple as it sounds – toss the rain coat into the machine and put the treatment in as you would detergent.
Does it work?
Yes it does!! I tested the treated fabric along with some of the untreated fabric using a small spray bottle. On the treated coat the water beads up and stays on top of the fabric. On the untreated fabric it spreads out and begins to penetrate the fabric. The board short material on it’s own would probably keep you fairly dry in a light sprinkle. We haven’t put the treated fabric to the test, but I bet it would keep the rain off for short periods in a steady rainfall. I doubt that it would keep a person completely dry in an extended heavy rainstorm. Treated or untreated this polyester microfiber should dry really quickly.
This lovely striped board short fabric is available at Raspberry Creek Fabrics* (affiliate link), and the David Rain Jacket pattern by Bobbins ‘N Buttons is in the Project Run & Play pattern shop.
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