I’ve been doing a lot of remakes from my old clothes lately. It’s more fun turning something old into something new!

This is the story of how I made this suit vest…

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…out of this ill-fitting suit jacket! My Mum was throwing it away so I figured I might as well have a play with it and see what I could come up with!

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I used:

  • A suit jacket
  • Sewing machine/needle and thread
  • Scissors

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First thing I did was cut off the sleeves. I cut them very close to the collar so the shape was more vest-ish than just jacket-with-no-sleeves 😉

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See what I mean?

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Next I tried it on and pinned so it was fitted under the arm holes. I also started playing with the shape at the bottom to make the edges a lot more pointed.

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The back started off plain like this:

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But as the waist was far too loose I pinned it in a box pleat.

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After trying it on and adjusting the fit I started securing it all together. I stitched the box pleat first.

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Then the dart under the arm hole.

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Then I stitched the pointed ends at the front. While doing this I folded so far that the bottom button was off to the side to open it more up.

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Lastly I re-hemmed the arm holes.

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The result was much more fitted!

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I didn’t like the top of the box pleat sitting slightly bunched so I stitched it down a little more. I left the bottom to flare out so it created a slight bussle effect.

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And there you have it!

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The back puffes out and looks great with a ruffly skirt but I’m thinking of adding some snap closures so I can decide if I want it to be puffy or not depending on outfit.

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It’s not something that I would wear every day but I like the shape and it fills a gap in my wardrobe!

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Have you guys done any fun modifications lately?