Christine Sews

I stumbled upon the coolest deal at the thrift store, a too large trench coat.  It had worn cuffs, collar and hemline, but was otherwise serviceable.  I knew I had to refashion it.

[Trench Coat After]

Here it is before, very well loved.

[Trench Coat Before]

I removed the collar with a seam ripper, sliced an inch off the sleeves, and two from the hem.  Then I removed the tab and buttons from the sleeve.

[Old Cuff]

[Old Collar]

I traced the shape of the original collar and tabs onto butcher paper, then cut out two collar pieces, and four tab pieces from brown microfiber.

I restitched the hem with a sewing machine straight stitch, trimming it at the front to compensate for the stretching that the fabric had experienced during wear, and reduce bulk.  The cut edge is slip stitched .

I had originally tried to use a blind hem .  But the stretched fabric and the lining made that messy, and impractical.

[Straight Stitch Hem]

The sleeves are hemmed by hand for the same reason.

[Hemmed Cuffs]

Reattaching the collar took some doing.  I taped it in place with water soluble tape.  Then stitched it to the back collar stand, then to the front collar stand.  Then I went back and hand stitched any imperfections.

[Microfiber Collar]

The new tabs were more difficult to turn than ordinary fabric.  But not impossible, like pleather.

[Microfiber Tab]

Sewing Tips and Notes:

• Microfiber is a dense polyester. It can be turned, and stitched without use of special sewing feet or tools.  I found it much easier to work with than pleather .  It has a leather look, but can go in the washing machine.
• This project took me a week. It appeared that I might save time, since I would not be cutting everything, and creating more than two buttonholes.  But removing the worn items with a seam ripper, drafting new pattern pieces for them, and hand stitching cause the project to drag on.
• I wore this coat all weekend on my trip to New York.  It was perfect for wet weather, lightweight and no fear of ruining a real leather collar.  I have no idea why I did not ask anyone to photograph me in it, or model it.
• The original coat had a belt.  Since I’m 5′4″ and short-waisted, the loops fell at my hips.  I removed them and did not bother to make a new belt.  My idea of using a coat involves piling many layers of clothing underneath - not something I want to wrap a belt around.
• The cuffs, though I cut them to be the perfect length, pull up due to the very inflexible tabs and lining. For future projects, I will make them longer if these other elements are involved.

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