DIY plastic raincoat with hood without sewing – How to easily make it from plastic bags

Now that September is approaching, many people are realizing that the end of summer is not that far away and that more and more rainy autumn days can be expected. A raincoat, rain jacket or rain poncho is a useful thing because it keeps us dry while we do our tasks and move from A to B. Is it pouring rain outside and you need to go out soon, but you don't have a raincoat? Make one yourself from simple plastic bags. We'll show you a few instructions on how to make a plastic raincoat or rain ponchowithout sewingcan do yourself.

Make your own plastic raincoat from garbage bags

Depending on how big the garbage bag is, you can make either a long raincoat or a shorter one. Because such bags are offered in different sizes, it is even possiblefor childrenmake a raincoat.

  • large trash bags
  • fireproof base (e.g. wooden board)
  • iron
  • Tape measure
  • Edding
  • Scissors
  • baking paper
  • Jacket in the appropriate size as a template

Shut upthe plastic bagapart (but solvenotthe two layers from each other!). Spread out the jacket as a template and transfer its measurements to the bag - sleeve lengths, distance from sleeve to bottom hem, distance from side seam to zipper, etc.). Then cut everything out along the outline. You should end up with two pieces for the front, one piece for the back, and two sleeves.

Now you have to weld the parts for the plastic raincoat together. As a guide, draw lines on the plastic sheet at a distance from the outer edge. Place baking paper on the foil and iron along the hem. The baking paper prevents the foil from sticking to the iron. Glue all the pieces together. For the sleeves, place a piece of baking paper inside and slide it into the opening for the sleeves in the coat. Place baking paper over it and also weld the sleeves to the coat.

If you want a raincoat with a hood, you can now add one. To do this, cut out a long piece of foil the same width as the collar and two quarters of a circle that you place on the side of the long piece. Glue these quarters to the long piece and then glue the whole thing to the coat. The plastic raincoat is ready!

Wearing a poncho in the rain – DIY idea with a plastic bag

A rain poncho is even easier to make because you don't need to make sleeves for it. You will need a plastic bag again. You choose the size of the bag depending on how long the plastic raincoat isShould be a poncho.

Spread the trash bag out so that it is rectangular in front of you. Cut out a hole for the head slightly above the intersection of the two diagonals. This hole should not be completely round. Make the side that faces the back of the poncho a little straighter. Also be careful not to make the hole too big. Therefore, it is better to cut it smaller first and then enlarge it if necessary after you have tried on the poncho.

Now you can add a collar or a hood. In the diagram above you can see which shapes you need to cut out for this purpose. The width should be the same as the circumference of the hole for the head. You determine the height by measuring your neck (where should the collar reach?) or the distance from neck to top of head and then transferring it to the film.

The following applies to the hood of a plastic raincoat or poncho: it is better to be a little larger than too small. It should fit loosely and not too tightly on the head to ensure comfort. Finally, glue the hood or collar in place with an iron. You can see how this works in the raincoat instructions above. Place the foil on a heat-resistant surface, place the hood/collar around the opening and weld the elements together.