Madison Raincoat
Blogger: Lacresha Lincoln
The Madison Raincoat
As the hot summer days slowly change into cool autumn nights, and rain becomes our constant companion, it is time to pull out the raincoats and jackets.
As a sewing mom to a quickly growing child, it is time for me to pull out my water resistant or waterproof fabrics and create this beautiful rain jacket from Little Lizard King’s Madison pattern using board short fabric from Carriage House Printery.
The first thing I did was choose my pattern. I love sewing coats and jackets, especially with Little Lizard King patterns. Lehi and Detroit are some of my all-time favorites, and they create beautiful outerwear, but when making a raincoat, I looked for more of a basic coat pattern.
Madison is a unisex pattern-lined vest and coat with a simple collar or hood. This pattern is beginner-friendly and is a fundamental building block toward creating a more elaborate piece. I chose the coat with the hood option and added a button placket with snap buttons, elastic in the sleeve cuffs, and inseam pockets.
The second thing I did was choose my fabric and design. For the fabric, I wanted a lightweight material that was water resistant, and I decided board short, which is 100% polyester and water resistant from Carriage House Printery.
As for the design, I choose two Indy Bloom prints. The main fabric is Golden Girl in Hocus Pocus from their fall collection, and the lining is Juliet Gingham from the basic collection. Each of these beautiful designs and more can be found on the Carriage House Printery website.
Once I gathered my material and cut my pattern pieces, I did the following to create my raincoat.
Button Placket
Retrace front pattern piece adding 1 inch to the centered cut line. This 1-inch additional piece is now considered the placket. Use the new retraced pattern piece to cut two main fabric pieces and two lining pieces for the coat front. Apply ¾ inch interfacing to the two lining pieces along the placket.
Inseam pockets
The inseam pockets will be placed in the main coat only. You can create your own inseam pockets or use pocket pieces from another LLK pattern. In this situation, I used the LLK Gibson inseam pocket pieces. Take one front or back piece; measure 1 inch from the bottom. Align the bottom edge of the pocket on this mark, and then align along the side. Pin the pocket piece to the main coat fabric at the side seam, right sides together. Align the straight edge of the pocket to the side straight edge coat piece. Sew using 3/8 seam allowance. Repeat for the three remaining pieces.
Press the seam toward the pocket. Topstitch the pocket using 1/8 seam allowance. Repeat for the remaining three pieces. From this point, you will follow the directions of the Madison pattern; when it comes time to sew the front and back side pieces, pivot to sew around pocket pieces.
Elastic in Sleeve Cuff
If you want elastic in the cuff, wait to attach sleeves. Follow the Madison pattern directions until complete. At this point, the coat should be fully formed with unfinished sleeves. Align the raw edges of sleeve and serge. Repeat for the second sleeve—forming a ½ inch casing and leaving a 1 ½ inch opening. Measure the elastic for fit. Insert the elastic into the opening, and sew two raw ends of the elastics together. Close the casing. Repeat for the second sleeve.
Done! I hope you have enjoyed this blog. Please note this is my take on how to create a raincoat. I would love to see your ideas and creations, so please share.
