Waxed denim coat project

[familyman]

So I've got an idea. Over at the other SF somebody asked a question about a bair of waxwd denim jeans. That got me thinking about this site which has a recipe and insrtuctions for re-waxing a jacket. http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/r...cles_368.shtml
That got me thinking about making my own pair of waxed jeans. But then I looked at my couch and imagined what it might look like if my project wasn't perfect and thought about how much I liked being married so that idea died. Then today I got to thinking about jackets again and about how I really didn't want to pay $175 for a filson jacket no matter how much I like them. This led me to http://www.pointerbrand.com/Default.asp a fairly cheap American jean manufacturer. I have a few pairs of their carpenter jeans from back in the day when I was training for a half marathon and my pants all became too big. They fit a little weird with a very high waist especially in back. Now that I'm not running my old pants fit and my pointers do not so that's a moot point. But they also make an inexpensive unwashed denim chore coat.
http://www.pointerbrand.com/ShowProd...&FeaturedItem=
So I'm thinking this might be an interesting and fairly cheap experiment. In my experience their denim is fairly light, quite soft and not very high quality, but the coat is only $28 so what do you expect? For less than $50 total I can have a unique piece to experiment with over the winter. I just might give it a try.

 

[nomovement]

cut and sew-post pics!

 

[familyman]

Will do, I'm waiting on some sizing info from Pointer to see how far I can size down and still have sleeves that are long enough. My wife even thinks it's a good idea. Not a bad idea anyway.

 

[tahitiantreat]

Originally Posted by familyman

But they also make an inexpensive unwashed denim chore coat.
http://www.pointerbrand.com/ShowProd...&FeaturedItem=

Or you can double the price on the above jacket, add a zero, and buy a ready-made pointer reworked jacket on ebay, courtesy of Junya Watanabe

http://cgi.ebay.com/BNWT-JUNYA-WATAN...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/BNWT-JUNYA-WATAN...QQcmdZViewItem

 

[familyman]

Interesting, I may have to pull out the sewing machine before I treat the coat, make myself a little extra money.

 

[mizanation]

hey familyman,

why do you want to wax or oil a denim jacket? for better weather resistance?

 

[familyman]

Nominally for the weather resistance but mostly because it's interesting. Weatherproof cotton fabrics have such a neat history as oilskins for sailors and waxed canvas for loggers and hunters and basically as the the only option for an all weather fabric right up until plastic coatings came into being. I've seen a few 50+ year old hunting garments made out of waxed canvas and it ages in a way that's unique. Canvas has always been the base material of choice for workwear done up in this way, not denim. I'm sure there's probably a reason for it but I can't for the life of me figure out what it is.
Just a denim jacket isn't that interesting to me. I had one as a kid, there's lots of them out there, even the special ones aren't that special in my eye. A waxed denim jacket on the other hand in something different, it will age differently and wear differently and be at least a little waterproof which is a bonus. Maybe it won't work out at all, I don't know, but it's only a $28 jacket and the project will entertain me for the fall. If I'm entertained then I'm not spending money and that's always a good thing.

 

[mizanation]

you know whats funny familyman? i was talking to a designer friend of mine yesterday about oiled canvas jackets. we were talking about making some new designs with this type of fabric. please let me know how your jacket goes! i'm very, very interested.

hey, how does a long oiled/waxed denim trench coat sound (with selvage, of course)????

 

[familyman]

Originally Posted by mizanation

you know whats funny familyman? i was talking to a designer friend of mine yesterday about oiled canvas jackets. we were talking about making some new designs with this type of fabric. please let me know how your jacket goes! i'm very, very interested.

hey, how does a long oiled/waxed denim trench coat sound (with selvage, of course)????

Sounds uncomfortable. Most of my experince living with waxed cloth comes from the few pieces of hunting gear I have from Filson. They don't call it tin cloth for nothin'. I really don't know how denim will react to the process and I might end up with something that's really uncomfortable. Maybe my thought process is wrong and the fabric will retain at least some measure of softness, time will tell. I'll be sure to take a bunch of pictures when I embark on this adventure. Still waiting to hear back from Pointer on sizing.

 

[mizanation]

why don't you go to the thrift store and pick up a cheap jacket to do your first test on?

 

[familyman]

Thrifting in Houston sucks, at least in my part of Houston. I don't know if culturally they don't give as much stuff away or whether it's all snapped up by e-bay flippers before I can find any of it or what but I've been constantly disappointed every time I've gone out for the 6 years I've lived here. The midwest was so much better when I lived up there. Couple that with the fact that going out means taking a 4 year old, a 3 year old and a 7 month old and it's not a very relaxing or rewarding experience. I also realy want to try this on unwashed denim to see what sort of fading happens. If I could wear a pair of waxed jeans around the house with kids climbing on me all day I'd just go to Wal Mart and get a pair of Rustlers and try it but that's not something I can do. Because of my life a jacket is the only practical item of clothing I can really experiment with. I've got a self imposed allowance of $100 a month max to spend as I wish. Right now most of that goes to clothes because that's my main hobby. This jacket will only eat half a months money which is way better than eating almost two months money like the filson would. Lets me divert more money into the cordovan boot fund.

 

[familyman]

Ok, I finally heard back from them and it seems that the sleeve length between a 38 (my suit size) and a 36 is negligable so I'm dowsizing to a 36 in the hope that I won't be absolutely swimming in it. It might be too small but I doubt it, work wear is usually sized generously enough to size down. I'll photograph the coat when I get it before I do anything to it and then it's off to gather my supplies to wax it.