On Sun, 21 Feb 2016 15:02:19 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:
If I were to design and make an item of clothing, I think it would be a
lightweight windbreaker. I'd like an array of certain special pockets
opening in certain ways, a built-in concealable hood, hidden sleeve
extensions to act as sort-of-mittens when needed, some reflectivity,
plenty of sweat vents, self-storage in a built-in pocket or pouch, etc.
I've never found one on the market that provides exactly what I'd like.
All I wanted in a windbreaker was pockets that opened by pulling the
zipper down, so that I wouldn't have to use both hands to open the
pocket, and so the inevitable leak would be at the top of the pocket
where a pencil couldn't worm its way out. I'd have also liked to be
able to stuff the windbreaker into one of the pockets, but that wasn't
a dealbreaker the way preventing me from getting at my handkerchief
was.
The market refused to provide.
When it came time to design my own windbreaker, I had the additional
problem of allowing access to my jersey pockets.
When my ratty old wind shell got too small around the hips -- it was,
of course, designed to fit a man, and in addition didn't allow for
carrying stuff in jersey pockets, so it was pretty tight to begin with
and getting too small to use didn't take much weight gain -- I opened
the side seams and hemmed them. The slits in the sides didn't harm
the function in the least, and when I wanted my Halt or my
handkerchief, I could just slide the appropriate hand back and it
would slide under the back apron straight into the pocket.
So I figured that when I got around to making a new windbreaker, I'd
design it with side slits. This took so long that I bought yellow
nylon for it twice, having forgotten that I had already bought some
the second time that I stumbled across suitable fabric. Which meant
that twenty or thirty years ago, after I catered a night fire dressed
all in black, I could make myself a yellow poncho without giving up
hope of making a windbreaker. I've long since left the Auxiliary, but
still carry the yellow poncho, which folds down to nothing, among the
emergency supplies in the back seat of the car.
But when I finally got around to making the windbreaker, I had a
better idea:
http://wlweather.net/PAGESEW/BLOG2XVI/BAC93_6h.JPG
same shot at absurd resolution:
http://wlweather.net/PAGESEW/BLOG2XVI/BACK_93.JPG
This was partly because it was a beta for my wool overjersey.
http://wlweather.net/PAGESEW/BLOG1XVI/SL9VE_6h.JPG
The beta failed to reveal that the waist was three inches too low. So
now I'm keeping an eye out for yellow flannel; I could use a second
overjersey of lighter weight.
--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.