I’ve long harbored this fantasy that I would travel to a foreign country, meet a brilliant man with an amazing accent and kind soul. We would instantly fall in love and begin a torrid affair. We would get married, pledge to make it work by splitting our time between two countries and our painfully cute children would have dual citizenship and speak at least three languages.
I can’t say that these fireman yellow rain pants will help me attract said brilliant man next month while biking through the Netherlands. But, at least I’ll be dry!! This project has taught me that there is a reason rain pants are sold in black and navy, LOL!
I’ve been warned that it will be windy and rainy for the Netherlands cycle tour. So, rainpants are in order. For this project, I used Gore-tex from FabricMart Fabrics. It’s waterproof and breathable. I bought almost 10 yards during a 50 percent off sale. I’m so glad I stocked up because the first pair I made were SO TIGHT. The pattern is based on my pajama pants from the 11-2009-126 Burda pattern. The Goretex has *zero* give. Plus, my legs are just big. So, I made a full thigh alteration a la Els from the SEwing Divas. Fitting that the alteration came from Dutch Els 
That extra inch gave me the ease I needed to fit these over my bike shorts and yoga pants.
I cannot tell you how much easier using a roller or teflon foot on this material is! Under my regular presser foot the material bunched up badly.
My second alteration was to add a six inch gusset. Umm, note to self: wash off the big fat red X on the crotch.
I tried on several pairs of RTW rain pants because I didn’t want to be bothered to make them. But, I quickly discovered that they had no rise at center back. I figured someone was already going to have to ride behind me for a solid week. There was no need to also expose them to crack. So I to altered to raise the center back by almost two inches.
I articulated the knee by adding pleats in the knee area for cycling.
The pants are also four inches longer so they won’t ride up when I’m on a bike.
The inside seams are finished with a sealant tape.
I’ve also lined them with tricot nylon and did an elastic cuff at the bottom. The tricot makes them easier to slip on and off and provide some protection from wear and tear.
Sexy, right? I purchased this jacket over the summer at LL Bean. It’s their version of Gore-tex. It had a zipper that opens from the top and bottom so I can open it up around the legs for biking.
So, I’ve got three weeks to sew for the Netherlands and I’m leaving town Tuesday to see my parents for a few days (the first time in over a year!!) in Tampa. Unlike China, I’ve put very little thought into my wardrobe. Heh. It’ll all work out.
