Kelly II, Part One: Taslan

I’m finally making a second Kelly anorak – now with new, actual functionality!! I’ve pulled on my existing Kelly, my one hooded coat, on enough rainy days, to then walk home in fully saturated cotton twill, to know my top priority was water resistance. Not water *proof* – I wasn’t ready to commit to seam tape etcetera! – but just not, like, instantly wet and very heavy. I also didn’t want to overengineer this thing, since my main use case is city walking. Taslan (brand name) seem to have my desired qualities, plus a reasonable price point – I read about it here, as a windbreaker, and here as hiking pants.

But despite having many years to think this project over I went about it a bit back-asswards. I might have found a suitable fabric in general, but I definitely didn’t choose the fabric to suit the pattern, even though I had the pattern first. A few things mentioned in those posts: Taslan frays. It’s synthetic. You can’t attach iron-on interfacing, because it can’t handle heat. The Kelly pattern has all these interfaced pieces plus it’s intended to be finished with flat-felled seams.

BUT DID I LISTEN?!

It wasn’t until I was holding my 3 yards of 4-oz olive Taslan in my hands that I got uneasy. But I could see that while it might not hold a press, it could certainly wrinkle, so that got me hopeful about maybe a little judicious iron use. I prewashed the yardage (no turning back!) and cut myself a 3 x 3 square for what was essentially a series of material tests. I hit it with various heats, worried the edges to check fraying, and tried to pull it out of shape. And I was actually happy with the results! It didn’t hold a crisp press, but it wasn’t slippery like rayon or springy like polyester. I could use medium heat on my iron with no ill effects (the “wool” setting, supposedly), and while that wouldn’t be enough to attach interfacing, I didn’t have to worry about melting the nylon during normal use. I tried a clapper; it did help, but unfortunately when I used enough steam to make the clapper worthwhile, the fabric also got a little ripple-y, so that was out. But I didn’t find the fraying to be too bad, and it was crisp, light, and stable to handle. Also, if it has a wrong side, I couldn’t tell the difference. Time to launch.

Funnily, when I went to trace my pattern, I realized I’d missed one test – marking tools. Nothing really showed up on the Taslan! Not chalk, not pen, not charcoal. Weird! I ended up using a plain mechanical pencil and while it wasn’t perfect, it was legible.

Cutting this was a bear (though not a The Bear – I didn’t stare hollowly at an ossobuco). At a certain angle, the fabric seemed to turn aside my scissors. It’s got a minute horizontal wale (as opposed to a grid, like ripstop) and cutting with the wale was a lot easier than across. There’s also a lot of pieces, but I think it was the fabric itself that left me feeling that cutting session from my wrist to my elbow! Yowzah. I cut view B, with the drawstring and the stand collar.

I waited a couple days and let my arm get back to normal before cutting my “interfacing”, scrap cotton lawn I then sewed-in, using a Microtex needle. The lawn is strong, light, and matches the Taslan’s hand. I had to piece it in a couple places, but I think it was the right choice.

By the way, just for fun, the entire weight of this jacket before sewing and hardware: 336 grams, or about ¾ of a pound. Meanwhile, the hardware kit weighs 321 grams!

At this point we had a rainy day and I wore my old Kelly and in its deep gusseted pockets I found DOUBTS. Was it foolish to make a rain-resistant version without the hood, even though I don’t like the hood? Were the sleeves in fact a little shorter than I liked? I hated the seam finishes I did on this one. Would I hate my next seam finishes too???

I couldn’t answer all those questions, though I’m thinking of attaching the cuffs with a skosh less seam allowance, to extend the sleeves ¼” to 3/8”, anyway. But I could do more tests. I cut up a few more scraps and sewed ’em back together. We’ve got: flat-felled, French seams, and bias-bound.

Flat-felled pros include: it’s how the coat is drafted. It’s sturdy and yeah, you know, flat. It looks good from both sides. Its cons: I couldn’t find a perfectly-matched thread, so the stitching is a little higher-contrast than I prefer. Since I couldn’t use an iron to define the fold, I had to use my fingers, and if I couldn’t finger-fold it perfectly evenly across 4 inches, how would I do on a longer seam?

French seam pros: it’s pretty. I can apply it easily to any seam, including an armscye. It uses the pattern’s existing seam allowances. Cons: it’s a little bulky, though not too bad in this thin fabric. The finished seam doesn’t lie as flat.

Bias-bound pros: I’d get to choose a fun coordinating fabric (not this one, this was just a handy scrap). I actually like hand-finishing the second edge of bias binding. It’s a very strong and enduring finish. Cons: it’s very stiff and bulky. I’d have to go buy that coordinating fabric. There’s a *smidgen* of rippling on the ride side, probably from my meditative but uneven hand-sewing.

And the winner: French seams, I guess? It’s a combined risk/reward assessment, but I think that’s the right choice. And what about the hood?? I’m still leaning towards “no”! If you disagree speak up quickly, because I’m hoping to find the time to start constructing today!

One vote for the hood…