Sunday, January 25, 2015

Sunday Sew-Day: Restoration

My father-in-law has had this corduroy jacket for years now. It's been very well-loved, and as a result, its lining was worn and tattered, coming apart at the seams and the edges. My mother-in-law asked if I could possibly repair it for his birthday last month.

Re-lining a Vintage JacketRe-lining a Vintage Jacket

As I snipped out the damaged lining, I was able to see just how many times it had already been patched - at least three. While I was dis-assembling, I also salvaged the original tag, thinking I would reattach it, but I ended up going a different direction. You'll see.

Re-lining a Vintage Jacket

I carefully cut apart the panels of the lining, labelling each piece as I went. Then I used those as a pattern to cut my new fabric (adding seam allowances, of course) and then reassembled the whole thing.

Re-lining a Vintage JacketRe-lining a Vintage Jacket

Instead of reattaching the original tag, I decided to give it a bit more of a personal touch. My FIL calls this his "Mr. McGregor" jacket because it reminds him of Mr. McGregor from the Peter Rabbit books he used to read to his children when they were little. I knew just what to do! I grabbed a scrap of fabric and an embroider hoop and penciled on my text. Then I used my matching sewing thread, doubled, and traced the letters with a chain stitch.

Re-lining a Vintage JacketRe-lining a Vintage Jacket

Since recreating the interior pocket would have been a bit more involved, and since it was still in pretty good shape, I decided to simply attach my new lining around the pocket. I laid the piece of original lining on top of my new fabric and snipped out where the pocket would be. Then I hand-stitched on my new label just below the pocket slit.

Re-lining a Vintage JacketRe-lining a Vintage Jacket

Now I could finally attach the new lining to the outer corduroy fabric. First, I machine-sewed along the bottom edge. Then I flipped the lining upward, inserted the sleeve lining into the sleeves and pinned around all the edges.

Re-lining a Vintage JacketRe-lining a Vintage Jacket

Then I hand-stitched it all together, trying to make my stitches as even and invisible as possible.

Re-lining a Vintage JacketRe-lining a Vintage Jacket

I hear he likes his new-old jacket very much, especially the personalized label. So glad I could make this special birthday gift for him!

22 comments:

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    1. Thanks! I was pretty proud of how it turned out, especially for never having lined a jacket before.

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  2. Cool! I love it when people mend instead of buy new :) The personalized tag is great!

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    1. Definitely! I can't even remember the last time I bought any new clothing (other than underwear of course).

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  3. Oh my gosh, it's perfect! I've never done (or heard of) a chain stitch but I totally want to learn now! Great work restoring this!

    Miche from Buttons and Birdcages

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    1. Thanks, Miche! I don't know much about hand embroidery, so I did a lot of googling beforehand to figure out which stitch might work best for lettering. And I think this would fit the bill nicely!

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  4. Very Nice, Carissa ! So much of your heart put into the hand stitching all around and on the lining !
    I have enjoyed your Thursday photography. You are doing quite well with the camera settings and the posing !

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    1. Thank you, Linda! It was worth all that effort to bring his favorite jacket back to life!
      I'm really having fun with the photography too! I didn't even mind so much getting funny looks from strangers this weekend when I went out to snap some pics of this Thursday's outfit. :)

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  5. From the MIL: Carissa did a beautiful job with the coat lining. He LOVES the personalized tag and once again it is his "go to" coat. He wore this coat in high school and is just drawing SS this year, so the coat has a lot of years on it. It is so funny, sometimes he will put his hands in his pockets a certain way so he can show off the tag.

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    1. Aw, thanks! I'm so glad he likes it!!! :D

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  6. Bravo ! I love this new label !!! A great restauration.

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    1. Merci! The label was definitely my favorite part of the final product.

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  7. Out of all your remakes, this is my favorite and a gift to boot. Talent and sharing...doesn't get any better than this!

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    1. Thanks, Donna! It feels good to wear one of your own creations with pride, but even better when someone else does!

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  8. How absolutely awesome that (1) you were able to do this for your MIL for her DH and (2) that the corduroy has stood up all these years and look so great and (3) that your FIL likes to show off the label - hah!

    Great job! My heart would be bursting with pride if I did something this lovely for a loved one.

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    1. Thanks, Jenny! I'm definitely happy with how it turned out, and I'm so glad my FIL is too!

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  9. I'm pretty sure this is the best "refashion" EVER!!! I just loooooooove that your FIL calls this his Mr McGregor coat! So cool!!!

    It was great seeing a lining replaced as this is something I've considered doing, but hadn't worked up my nerve to actually do yet.

    JJ
    www.dressupnotdown.blogspot.com

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    1. This was a new one for me too. It definitely helped to be able to use the old lining as a pattern.

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