I left the store and considered my alternatives. Finally, after a couple more stops, I headed home and dug out my sewing machine and old pattern for pajama pants.
The most important part of rain pants is to have a waterproof layer, so for this I used a vinyl shower curtain liner (Unfortunately, it still came from halfway around the world - there doesn't seem to be much option with shower curtain liners). It is important to make sure that the shower curtain or liner that you buy says "waterproof"; not all shower curtains are actually waterproof.
If your shower curtain liner is thin, the vinyl might rip along the stitch line when strained. To prevent this, I lined the pants with fabric, which provided the strength/support to keep the vinyl from ripping. From the thrift store I bought a sheet (70% polyester, 30% cotton - I read the care tags to look for the smallest cotton content I could find).
I cut the identical pants pattern out from both the vinyl and the sheet. Then, I paired up each vinyl piece with its matching polyester/cotton piece and sewed the pants together. I hemmed the bottoms. The only step left is to add elastic for the waist.
Total project cost: $3.50.
Next time, I will make them a couple sizes bigger so that they can fit over another pair of pants. Also, when I cut the vinyl, I will omit the side seams of the pattern by pinning the front and back pattern pieces together before I cut; this will limit the number of seams and make the pants more waterproof (I got this and other helpful ideas for sewing rain gear from this website).
I later learned my idea was not completely original - check out these sites for more ideas on making rain gear. These website give instructions if you don't have a pattern.
How to Make a Rain Poncho Out of a Shower Curtain
Do Your Own Rain Poncho
How To Create Your Own College Rainwear
1 comments:
Betsy, cool project. How do they work in the field?
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