Contemporary Browncoat - Waterproofing

[kneave]

Howdo,

Long time fan of the site, first time posting!

So the story goes that my Mother has offered to make me a coat as she's taken to sewing in quite a big way. She has asked if there is any style I'd like and a Browncoat, a la Firefly, immediately sprung to mind along with Doc Brown's duster from BTTF3.

Rather than being for cosplay this is going to be coat I wear all the time so in researching materials I'd like it to be breathable and waterproof, but still retain the look of the costume items. I was thinking of suggesting a cotton outer with a goretex (or similar) technical fabric on the inside to make it weatherproof.

Does this sound a reasonable mix of materials or would the waterproofing not work under another fabric? I know this isn't going to be exactly a replica but heavily inspired by a costume so hopefully ok to ask about here.

Any tips would be greatly received as I'm well out of my depth here, coding an blinkenlights are more my thing!

Thanks,
Keegan

 

[division 6]

You could wax it.

 

[Wimismith]

Yea, using beeswax is a method a lot of people use to weatherproof fabric, you could also consider coating the interior of the fabric in something like flex seal, but that would make it much stiffer. As for fabric, I'd recommend duckcloth for your outer layer, it's a good fabric for coats and such, and is similar to canvas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kneave]

I've a waxed cotton jacket at the minute and was hoping for something lighter and more breathable, waxing is definitely an option but I'd prefer it as a plan B to be honest. Duckcloth I'll bare in mind if I go down that route too so thanks for the pointer.

I'll carry on researching to see if there is a goretex inner option available, it doesn't seem a common construction method so tricky to find information on.

 

[SimplyTim]

Please forgive me if this seams to come from left field as it's just a thought, but if I'm not mistaken aren't both of those coats made of leather/suede? Couldn't one simply use the same treatment used to water proof leather/suede boots? I believe it comes in spray cans...