(re-post from March 19 2012)
It passed the 'spit test' in the thrift store so the fabric trotted home with a happy me and soonest got made into this rain coat: the Dragonfly design, an architectural garment which houses the body, allows for freedom of movement, utilizes our natural heating and cooling systems. (People living in very hot and very cold countries understand this and I have been influenced by their practical and common sense approach to clothing.)
This coat also 'speaks' as it is being worn – it swishes and crackles and murmurs, sort of like old timey snowsuits but more exuberantly.
I am sure there are others intrigued by and curious about the sounds/music/noise some fabric gives to clothing – and our reaction to it. I would very much like to talk with such people.
This material may have been meant for industrial use of some sort; it seems to be nylon but denser.
The button on the front is a wire bracelet crocheted with strips I cut from the fabric. I did not attempt a button hole but pinned the button to both fronts for closure. The coat slips easily over head for on and off.
Other clothing has been of the speaking sort but this is the most vocal. I much enjoy the coat's conversations. Since it is worn in rain and in wind the sounds it makes go well with the symphony of wind and rain.
I also have a pair of shoes that squeak loudly when I walk in our local library – and only that library, only that building. I have to tiptoe to quiet them; it feels (and looks!) odd to do so.
(up-date: it proved NOT to be waterproof and I have made raincoats since then that are – but this garment continues to delight me – and it is wonderfully wind-resistant)