Looking for a quick rain coat for your little one? I happened to be on the market for two new raincoats since my kids outgrew their ones from a couple of years ago.
I stumbled across this adorable rainbow polka dot Sunny Skies fabric by Riley Blake in cotton laminate (my favorite), and fell head over heels…
What is not to love?!
Instead of a structured rain coat, this fun and happy fabric needed a swinging style. And I was more than happy to whip something up for the youngest daughter in the house.
Making one is pretty simple. Don’t be scared off by working with laminates, it isn’t as hard as you think! I really love working with this versatile fabric. Let me show you what I did to make this poncho.
First off, I used 1.5 yards of laminate cotton for the exterior, and an additional 1.5 yards of regular cotton for the lining.
You can actually omit cutting the armholes if you don’t want to add sleeves to the poncho. I like sleeves for my kids so they can still wear their backpacks in the rainy weather.
I always make my sleeves longer than necessary, lesson I have learned throughout the years to extend the life of your kids clothing!
The great thing when you are doing all of this with the laminate is that you are working with the wrong side constantly against the sewing machine, so you don’t need to worry about the ‘sticky’ factor.
Now for the hood. Grab a pre-existing hooded sweatshirt for pattern sizing.
Be sure to add extra room around the back and top of hoodie for pattern for a nice roomy hood.
I like using this method for hemming the sleeves as it eliminates any tricky sewing with the laminate. Your machine is always on the cotton!
You will be thrilled with this poncho, and it will last for a couple of years (which in kid life is an eternity). Cotton laminate can go in the washer and dryer, or better yet – just get wiped off. How stinking cool is that?! And with all of the absolutely fantastic designs coming out now in this fabulous fabric – you just have to try working with it for yourself!!!
LOVE the coat! What a fun shape and fabric. Cotton laminate is washable?! I had no idea.
You should be able to wash it in cold (i use gentle cycle, but it doesn’t say this is necessary), and tumbly dry low.
Because of the nature in which the laminate is applied to the cotton, i reserve this for the most necessary cleaning. Opting to wipe off when possible.
What an adorable coat! I swear you’re the only sewing blog that makes things for your kids that I think, “That is way cuter than what I’ve seen in stores!” Really. Sometimes things are cute just because they are hand sewn, but yours are so far beyond that! I love the circle shape. And the fabric.
i was just saying i needed to get my 2 girls raincoats. oh and my little guy could use one too! how adorable and love the shape of it! and that fabric is fabulous!!! wish i had some to match the dresses i just made for the girls last night. once you see them you will totally see why:) the colors match perfectly!
This is so cute! I wish my daughters had already outgrown their raincoats!! I’m saving this for when they do for sure!
OMG that is soooo adorable!! I wish I had a little girl to make one for
Fantastic. I love it.
Oh this is so funny. I had almost this exact poncho planned and even sketched out, thinking I’d make it for the Project Run & Play sewalong (circle skirt remix). I never got around to it, but isn’t it crazy how that happens sometimes? Love your version, thanks for posting the tutorial! Now I definitely know it works.
that is so funny Kristin! I have had that happen to me before too. I was just thinking, how easy would it be to use a circle for a poncho…and there you go! I had to try it
. It is definitely easier if you omit the sleeves altogether.
Adorable! What a clever idea, Jessica.
Love this rain poncho. Perfect fabric to bring some fun to a rainy day. And your tutorial made it seem so easy!
That poncho is darling. I love the print you chose!
Super cute! I have a huge stash of oilcloth and maybe some cotton laminate, but I haven’t found a teflon foot that fits my machine. Maybe I wouldn’t need one with this?? I think it would be cozy with some flannel on the inside, too. Thanks for the ideas!! I bet you could sell a million of these at your craft fair!
Stef,
Be careful when using oilcloth where kids will come in contact with it. You can find this info in various places around the web. This is from Oilcloth Addict: “because oilcloth contains phthalates it is not intended for baby items or kids under 12
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Put blue painters tape on the bottom of your machines foot and trim to fit. It will work as well as a Teflon foot.
That is so cute!! I love the fabric – and it’s so great how you show to create it without a pattern!
So cute and so perfect.
Where on earth does a person get laminated cotton? All I ever see is oilcloth. Is laminated cotton the same thing as PUL fabric like what is used for cloth diapers?
Google laminated cotton and a bunch of places will come up that you can buy it from!
My Sponsor Fabric Envy has some you can choose from!
WOW! They sure do! Bookmarked. Thank you!
Really fun tutorial! Thanks for sharing. I’ve been wanting to make a dressy cape/poncho for Baby Girl, so know I know how to make a lovely one for church and a fun one for when it rains. We live in the Pacific NW, so the rain poncho will get LOTS of use.
Very cute. Thanks for sharing the how to.
love it…thank you!!!
Oh wow. Perfect for rainy Vancouver. This is on my to do list! Adorable!
I’ve had some laminate in my stash for awhile now. I think I finally know what I am going to do with it!
so awesome!!! thank you!
I wanna make one for my 2 1/2 yo granddaughter but I could use a little more info on how to determine the curve portion of the sleeve top. I know it’s not just random cutting. �� Same for the base of the hood. Tips?
Follow the curve of your armsleeve from the shirt you are using for pattern size. Do the same when cutting your sleeve curve, this way they will be the same size. You will need to do a little finagling when it comes to pinning the sleeve into the circle, as it is not your typical sleeve opening, more circular than arced. But it still works. Hope this helps!
Lovely rain coat and great tutorial.
It doesn’t rain much where I live, but this darling rain coat makes me wish it did!
I would love to have an excuse to make one. Great work!
Oh my word! That is one of the most adorable things I have ever seen!!! Pinning this and maybe someday I’ll get around to making one too.
That is so cute. Thank you for sharing how you made it.
You need to start a company and sell those- how absolutely adorable!!! For moms who can’t see a button- like me! ADORABLE!!
I’m hoping to start this project today! Thanks for the tutorial. Also, I recently read about putting scotch tape on your pressure foot to help with sewing vinyl. It works great, and maybe it would help with the laminate, too. Here’s the link: http://roseycornercreations.blogspot.com/2011/05/too-cute-card-keeper-with-clear-vinyl.html
I love this and the raincoat… but where can I find the laminated cotton to do the coat or poncho… I live in a very rural area… all I can do is order on line.. but where…?????????????
You can find it on-line, I order cotton laminates from fabric.com as they have great prices! Hope this helps
Thank you so very much. This is so adorable!!!!!!
Just made this from dark denim with flannel lining as a (non-waterproof, obv) jacket – it turned out really well! Thanks!
crazy lovely! i’ll try to make one for me!!! thank you so much!!!!!!!
I cut all the pieces today (I have very limited time to do things around here with three kids – haha) and tomorrow will be sewing them together. I wonder what it would look like if I made this out of a black wool material, but omit the sleeves? I bet it would be super cute with a long sleeve white top underneath and a little black pencil skirt with sparkle tights (on my little one of course!). She would look like Audrey Hepburn! I am going to do that next!
So…..I tried to make this with some normal fabric (hot pink cotton) and it didn’t turn out all that well. The sleeves were not right…..I think I need an actual pattern for sleeves lol. But without sleeves it was nicer so I am making a poncho for her without sleeves on it in hot pink, but will have to find an actual pattern to figure out one for myself….oh well haha.
I love this, thank you!
I have been wanting to make my 3yr old daughter a pncho since she refuses to wear a coat. I want to make it thick to keep her warm was thinking fleece, what do you think?
I would try a nice thick wool or felt. You can find some great ones here:
http://www.feltorama.com/
Skip lining it!
Hope this helps, and thank you so much!
I’m attempting to make it adult sized! Any suggestions?
Hello Shelly – Thanks so much for asking! I can honestly say, I wouldn’t recommend this tutorial for adult sizes. Women’s shoulder span are much greater than a child’s, and I don’t believe this would fit / fall the way you want it to.
What I do recommend is a pattern that my good friend Andrea recently came out with – a cape for adults that is fantastic – http://gotopatterns.com/products/go_to_cape_for_women/
Hope this helps, and thank you!
- Jessica