what to have made?

[jeremy yax]

my aunt, an accomplished seamstress, has generously offered to make me some custom clothing/items. all i have to do is get the pattern and the material.
i don't want to take advantage of her generosity, so i'm trying to decide on just two items that would be the best choice to have custom made for myself.
i'm tall and skinny, (6'6" and 155lbs) so finding clothing is difficult. i am also currently borrowing a 4 pound backpack from my brother. so, i'm thinking of having a backpack made, or some rain gear (maybe waterproof gortex pants), since raingear tends to be expensive and never in my size.
any suggestions on what the best material for a backpack or rain pants would be?
what would your choice of items be, if you had access to someone who would custom sew it together for free be? pants, shirts, other gear?
in other words, what item would offer the best bang for the buck, if made from scratch?
thanks for the suggestions.

[Dave T]

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[Roger Caffin]

There are a number of patterns for clothing etc available in the members-only articles.

Cheers

[Taylor Ginther]

I'd get her to do something difficult. Make the most of it!

[Jared Cook]

tarp and bivy is where I'd have her start. Otherwise a down vest.

[Tim Marshall]

pack and shelter are the real money savers. Clothes can be found cheap eventually (even for harder to size folk) You'll never find new packs and shelters (other than flat tarps) for the kind of deals you can on clothes.

I'd say a MLD styled pack and a 1 or 2 person mid shelter would be a nice way to use this gift.

-Tim
P.S.
Take the opportunity to sit with her while she does it so you can learn, it is so much easier than people think. You will get 2 nice pieces of custom gear and skills that can make so many more.

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