A Norfolk Jacket for Cycling

Back in April, late one night I decided I needed a cycling jacket--I started doing most of my commuting and errands on two wheels back at the beginning of December, and having to wear a Carhart jacket for warmth was just killing me.  Not a look I like, and not designed for cycling, either.  I also had issues in that it was way too warm for anything above 20*F, never mind rainy weather--I would get soaked both from sweat and the precipitation.

More photos of it being worn towards the bottom
of the post.
And safety first, even when just getting photos!

A Jacket for Cycling, A Project Journal for April

A couple of weeks ago, at around 10pm, I got a wild hair to start on a new project...I could feel cold and wet in the air (we got 4-5 inches of wet snow that night), so I had a rain jacket on the brain.  Again.  I do every time it rains, go look at commercial examples and discard them because they don't meet my standards of fit and durability--as well as invariably having hoods, which I detest wearing.

Taken this very morning, in fact, as I double checked the sleeve fit.

 So, I went out, found a few yards of medium brown bull denim, and off white wool in my stash--both of which were from the thrift store--and started drafting, first on paper.  Just a rough sketch of the design idea and proportions.