James’ Jacket Make Over
Jun 22, 2011 by Violet
James needed a coat for winter because it’s quite a bit colder this year and his other jackets aren’t cutting it.
(*James edit* he does have a jacket that is really warm, a military jacket with some patina, but Violet say it makes him look destitute.)
(*Violet edit* That’s not what I said at all! I said that it probably wasn’t appropriate to wear a 40yr old military jacket that your Russian teacher wore in an actual war and I’ve had to repair so many times because it’s falling apart to dinner!)
(*James edit* Nuhuh! It’s a perfectly fine jacket. The holes give it more character! Military jacket for the win!)
(*Violet edit* You’re a stupid military jacket)
(*James edit* Your face is a military jacket)
(*Violet edit* I’ll military jacket you. Sigh -_-’)
Anyway he didn’t want to buy one so last time we were in Brisbane his Dad gave us one of his old wool/cashmere jackets from Russia. It didn’t fit him but was super warm so he asked me to rework it to make it fit him.
| Before and after.
 
Nowhere near perfect but it’s definitely an improvement!
First thing I did was pin it up to the length he wanted it.
I pinned the whole bottom edge…
Cut it along the fold…
Bam, shorter jacket.
I put it back on him and pinned up the back so it was fitted. It was double breasted but that didn’t look so good so we decided to change it to single. I pinned it shut where I was planning to move the buttons.
To give it shape and definition and decided to take in the 3 back seams…
After I took it off of him I fixed the pinned seams to make them straight. Most people do this step with the item of clothing inside out so the can sew straight from there but I don’t like sewing with pins in and I find it easier to see the finished product when it’s right way out.
So I snipped the extra fabric from the seams…
I cut straight up the back seam and two darts up the sides and into the sleeves. Next I overlocked the back seam and tacked the sides in place so he could try it on before I sewed properly.
The darts and bottom needed a bit more fitting before the final sewing. Definitely an improvement though!
Re-cutting and re-pinning the darts!
Stitch stitch stitch…
   
Snipped off all of the buttons and restitched them in place. We decided rather than to redesign the front he liked it with off centre buttons. I added a snap closure at the top button to avoid having to make another button hole XD I think looking at the photos I will probably move the bottom button to the right side and make it decoration too because he never bothers to close it.
I still want to make a lot of adjustments to make it better but as a quick fit I think this went down pretty well. At least he won’t be cold anymore and he likes it so that’s the important part!
 
What time is it? Sexy time! Oh that’s right XD
Finally crossed something off my to-craft list, yay! |
I hope my boyfriend never sees this and expects me to do the same! GOOD ON YOU for taking the challenge and redoing it entirely! It looks amazingly well done considering what it was before! I love it when it’s unbuttoned, definitely looks good.
P.S. You two are adorable. Lets double date XD
xoxxx
Haha I would love to double date!! Ugh I’m not looking forward to tackling part two of this project but at least it’s wearable now!
Nicely done!
Thanks Tia, once he gives it back to finish it fingers crossed it will be better!
Wow, your handiwork is super amazing.
I hope I never have that task, i don’t think I could manage haha,
you did very well! Looks superb from the before & after picture ^^
Haha thanks Jennifer, one day he’ll stand still long enough and I can make it better!
Hahaha I know a boyfriend who’d NEVER let me touch his clothes!! He doesn’t even accept when I say him his shirts are too big for him:
(him)Whut? Never!
(me) WTF? Look at the shoulder seam! It’s 15 cm below your ACTUAL shoulder
(him) But it’s not my fault, I lost some weight!
(me) Does it prevent you from buying your size?
(him) grunt…
(me) grunt…
But I think you did a good job. It would have been a pity you threw away this perfectly good jacket (and military coats ROCKS). Considering the fact I can’t sew, I’m not the best person ever to give you advice, but maybe it would have looked better if you had left the double breast, because that’s how the jacket have been cut, and it’d have been warmer, but well, as I said I’m not a seamstress.
By the way, I repeat it, you did a good job, because man clothing is a really tough work, I saw a guy who made a costume, and the jacket has no less than… 76 parts!
Haha you and your boyfriend sound adorable XD Thank you! I love most military coats too though I prefer the officer coats to the every day ones. Anything with shiny buttons haha! Thanks so much for your advice, it was a bit unfortunate about the double breasted part but I think double breasted items look good when you have a certain body shape which James doesn’t have, single suits him so much more. Once he stands still enough for me to work on it again I’m going to add red bias binding all over it to give it the feel of a frock coat to suit the cut more. I suppose this is the half finished version so he at least doesn’t freeze XD Wow 76 pieces? That reminds me of when I used to sew 1600′s re-enactment clothing, so may pieces!!
hey I can’t wait to see the final results! (you and james sound cute too)
Yeah 76 pieces but that’s for luxury jackets. Oh re-enactment clothing? Awwww I’d love to do some, Infortunately I think I’m not really skilled for that kind of things. When I’m cutting and sewig things my mum’s always saying “When I see how you cut it’s not obvious you’re the artist of the family!”
Awww!! XD I’m sure they can’t be that bad!
“…one of his old wool-cashmere jackets from Russia..” ..wow! Score! A vintage mens coat in beautiful shape, it looks like…sweet Vi, O I wish you done yo man a fave an just gone to a tailor this time, gurrrl. I kno you got a good heart and the best intentions (see: road to hell *haha!) but, serio, which was more important…you getting your craft on one more time, or Jimmy gettin’ a serious coat? I think the coat was more important this time, cool that everyone’s a good sport, but man, that jacket’s a mess. Do not take this personally. You’re used to sewing fer girlies, you’re not really a tailor (this coat deserved one!)li’l kawaii kewpie-doll, your skills lie elsewhere. Hair and makeup..? Social networking? You rocket.
But I feel sorry for that coat, bb. Do not be afraid to NOT SEW.
It was smart of you to see that it could be more serviceable if it was shorter…but if it was that much shorter, it would simply have been a different coat…follow? See what happened to the buttons an stuff?(Imagine Tim Gunn’s gentle voice here)
Well I just had to say something…your ambition and vision here are admirable…sometimes it is best to recognize and honor the garment for what it is!! Look at those lines in the “before” pic..! Wow! Sharp, clean, long & lean…a tailor or clothier could’ve helped you preserve that in proportion to yer fella with a professional alteration…cashmere must be so fine to work with…and check your sleeves…the rolling hills of Iowa come to mind…what happened, grrlfriend?
* ; )
I think you’re fantastic, and I myself have tried more than once to achieve “Hime Hair” ~ alas! ~ no success yet. Believe me, there will be photos when that happens!!! I loved your hint about making a “supplemental hairpiece” for underneath…
I’ll send along a blog invite in case you’d like one ~ mine is private.
Thanks for such a long comment Catnip! The point of this project wasn’t so much about me “getting my craft on” it was so James didn’t freeze to death in a coat that didn’t remotely fit him XD There was no way he would wear the original version out so he asked for it to be shortened, tightened and the cut to be made more modern. I think my main aim was to get him something he could be comfortable in. While I’m not saying that the result is in any way the best outcome (it’s not even the best of my skills due to the 90min time constraint) I do see this as an improvement for James’ shape on the original. While in it’s past life it may have been a fashionable jacket for James’ father, my opinion is it’s better to have a beautiful piece reworked into something new and useful to it’s owner than to be gathering dust in a closet unused ^_^ From here, to suit it’s new shape being more reminiscent to a buttoned frock coat I may add contrast bias binding details, rework the sleeves to match and adjust the line of the collar to cross more severely to match. It’s in no way finished but what project this size could be in such a short time? Yes it is definitely a different jacket to the one it began as but the man who’s wearing it is very different too :)
Yes, I definitely agree, in a perfect world I would have just taken this to a tailor for alterations but if I’d had the money I probably would have just gotten him a new coat to start with and left this in the cupboard XD In this situation he didn’t want to spend money so he asked me to “make it work” and as long as he’s happy and warm I achieved my goal ;) Thanks so much for taking so much time to comment, feel free to send me that invite to your blog and good luck with the hime hair! Have a great afternoon <3
she “did her man a fav” by giving him the coat he asked for ;)
Very clever! But what did you do with the cut-off wool/cashmere? Knowing you, there’s bound to be a project in the pipeline!
It’s still sitting in my off cuts pile at the moment, I can’t decide what to do because I’m running out of space XD
I am sooo impressed. You did a great job and your fella looks sharp in this jacket. Lucky guy that he has such a creative lady.
Aww thanks Leslie, not my best work but at least he’s happy!
Sharp like a tack! The only draw back is that I can’t wear this coat in jumping castles or around kids balloon parties for fear of ruining them.
Haha When I saw this at first, I thought that you were going to “violetize” it like your previous jacket! xD (I know that definitely wouldn’t happen, but it was a funny thought). Speaking of funny, I seriously love the conversation going on between you and James at the beginning of the post. :) Comedy worthy. Must be nice that James was your temporary model, but that’s a given considering it’s his jacket.
Hahaha I think James would never wear it if I Violetize it XD
wow!! now thats talent!!!! i cant believe u did that! he must be stoked! xx
He’s definitely much warmer now XD
hey right ON!! A personal reply!! Thanx Vi, that next-to-never happens
* : )
& I did not realize you were working under a 90 minute time constraint here ~ dang, why is that? You were competing in a contest? James doesn’t own any other coats to wear while you were working on this project? You promised someone he would wear your handiwork at some festivity or PR event or something? Well anyway…I re-read your other comments and saw that you’d mentioned a couple of times that the coat isn’t really finished…so, I spoke too soon, didn’t I. I retract my judgement until the final garment is revealed. Howzabout that. *haha!
~ ^^ ~
I’ll admit my bias (no pun *heehee!) toward vintage garments in their original condition…but if you didn’t have time or money for a tailor, and wanted instead to frankenstein that coat yourself, it is none of my business. The important thing is that you’re having fun, Violet. Really.
And James, it is chivalrous and right that you toss in your two American cents so I know that you’ve heard me as well, all the way over there. You stay warm, buddy.
I do reply to all the comments here, it usually just takes me longer XD The 90min time limit was because we were going out that night and it’s damn cold here atm. As I mentioned in the post the whole reason for this project is because James only owns 1 other coat (a 1970′s army jacket) which is not in a condition to be worn to events (or really anywhere with a dress code) nor is particularly warm anymore after 40years of constant use. He asked for it that night because we were going to be outside a lot and he didn’t want to freeze to death XD I completely understand wanting to keep vintage garments in their original conditions and I definitely agree but I also think that sometimes function has to come first ^_^ That and I don’t know if I would call the 80′s vintage yet because it makes me feel old hahaha! When he finally gives it back for me to finish and I have time to do it I will post the results :) Thanks again for your input and for taking the time to come back and comment <3 Hope you had a good weekend!
That’s some amazing work right there!
P.S. Will there be a 2012 James calendar coming out? ^_~
Mwahahaha ok I’m totally going to force him to do a pinup calendar for our enjoyment XD
You did a great job, as always. It does look much better now! I love the hillarious back and forth between you and James at the beginning (“your face is a military jacket!” haha!)
Hahaha the sad part is that’s how we actually talk XD
Very dapper. I liked the coat in it’s original form, but you’ve improved it greatly.
I’d love to see James’ other coat. It sounds awesome. I have a sheepskin coat that was my mothers’ and it’s rather battle-scarred.
I don’t know if that one is fit for the internet XD I’ll have to see if he will pose in it for me haha!