Christine Sews

This red jacket was a thrift store find.  It was large, and had definitely been washed  several times.  It cost seven dollars.  And as I was checking out I discovered a paint spot on the shoulder and showed it to the cashier.  (Total serendipity!)  She sold it to me for five dollars.

In real life, the jacket is not this wrinkly.  It is canvas , and too soft to hold that much wrinkle.  Once again, my apologies to you for my mediocre photography skills.   (Above is the after shot.)

The paint spot is right at the shoulder seam, which is perfect, because the jacket was too wide across the shoulders, and large at the waist.  So spot or not, that area is going to be cut away.

I put the jacket on, marked the new shoulder points with washable marker and nipped in the high waist with clothes pins.  Clothes pins stay in over thick, multiple layers where sewing pins do not.  The waist, surprisingly, is represented pretty well by the photograph and quite high, beginning about two inches below the sleeve, and tapering out before the second point on the pocket.  Being 5′4″ tall and short-waisted, this jacket is thigh length on me.

Pay attention, this alteration is so easy, you might miss it.

How to Take In the Shoulders and High Waist:

1. Turn the body only of the jacket wrong side out, so you are looking at the inside seam of the armscye. Sew a basting stitch all the way around. You can adjust so more fabric is coming away from the sleeve, or the body of the garment.  I pulled more away from the body.
2. Baste stitch down the side.
3. Try on the jacket and make any adjustments you need.
4. Sew permanently.
5. Trim.

Sewing Tips and Notes:

• This fabric is thick, not unlike sewing with denim .  And there are two layers.  I used an 80/12 all purpose needle.
• Use a slightly longer stitch.  I used 4, instead of 3.5.
• If you’re sewing something casual and inexpensive, just sew through the lining and the fashion fabric at once.  For a nicer garment, sew the layers separately.
• This method shortens the sleeve.  If you’re not tall, you can get away without replacing the cuff.  If you’re tall, plan on replacing the cuff with a longer one.

Perfect.  I now have a jacket for the park, gardening, all that messy stuff.  (All of my other jackets are kind of dressy, things I had worn to the office.)

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