raindrops are not falling on my head...

... but rather on the new rainhat that our plucky heroine made yesterday (to replace the one I lost).

My kind friend E ran me over to Rose City Textiles yesterday, our local, awesome, source for technical fabrics of all varieties. Goretex is not my favorite thing to run through the sewing machine, but it is doable, and a rain hat is a need, not a want, in a Portland winter, at least for anyone who spends a lot of time on foot out in the weather... I used my TNT hat pattern, (which is actually intended as a rainhat), and tried two new things with this project.

The pattern calls for using a double layer of Cordura nylon as the "interfacing", for which I have always substituted Timtex, but this time I went with the Cordura. It definitely makes the hat lighter, and is more flexible to manipulate through the sewing machine, but it is also much more difficult to get the slippery outer fabric to lay smoothly over the slippery "interfacing". The two layers do, surprisingly, give the brim enough stiffness. I think that for any other kind of hat project the Cordura would be much easier to deal with; the "not sewing through the carefully applied seam sealer or the expensive breathable/waterproof fabric" aspect of this project is rather challenging. The results, though, are just right for this climate.

The other thing I tried was using kitchen parchment paper* as a release when applying the seam sealing tape. That process is never easy on a curved surface, and balancing my hat in process on the big ham**, and carefully holding a piece of paper over where I am ironing was kind of a challenge, but the parchment worked much better than the fabric press cloth I used on my last hat two years ago; it is easy to see through the paper to what you are doing.

I added in six small attachment loops around the seam where the crown of the hat joins the brim. They are not really visible, but will allow me to add decorations to the hat without compromising the waterproof function. I added a loop and hook to the chin strap, so as to be able to add a "hat leash" as my friend R suggested. No more leaving technical rainhats on transit for this gal...


*"parchment paper" is a silicone surfaced paper used in the kitchen for various tasks, and easy to find in the paper/foil/plastic wrap isle in the grocery store.

**moonlighting in the photo as a hat holder, it more usually acts as a pressing aid,