Summer Jacket Make Over

I needed a new summer jacket.  The one I had was way too big - I don't know why I bought it.  I prefer to have a two zipper, at least one zippered pocket and a hood.

This time I managed to find a navy jacket that had some of what I wanted.  It is a Cleo Petites so it fit well and the sleeves are the right length. It had some buttons for the hood but it was missing.  No zippered pockets and no 2 way zipper.  But it fit well and I decided I could remedy some of the other short comings.  I believe I paid $15.00 for this jacket at the thrift store which was quite high I thought.

I purchased a piece of cotton navy and white fabric and I had a piece of white microfiber from a previous project that would work well for the inside of the hood.

It got a good wash along with the other fabric I was going to use.

I watched a few You Tube videos on making attachable hoods for jackets then set out on the process.   I had a rain jacket that had a hood so I traced that one onto a piece of paper.  I reduced the height of the hood and increased the collar measurement to fit the new jacket.

I added seam allowances and marked the slot for the hood string.

I cut the outside of the hood from the navy striped fabric.  I adjusted the lining pattern as suggested in the video so that the outside fabric would wrap to the inside of the hood.

I found some navy grosgrain ribbon that matched well.  I found 3 buttons that would work with the jacket and removed the 2 and replaced them with the ones I selected.

I used the button hole maker on  my machine to make the 3 button holes at the bottom of the hood.

I am really happy with the white microfiber fabric on the inside.  Slides nicely on my head.

I also selected a decorative stitch to sew the ribbon on which adds a bit of a decorative touch.

I used the grosgrain ribbon as an accent on the hood for the seam to create the channel for the hood string.

The hood sits very nicely on the jacket.   

I wanted to add some of the striped fabric to the rest of the jacket to help the integration of the hood to the jacket.

I created some narrow lengths that I top stitched to the front pocket flaps.

I added a patch pocket on the sleeve which gave me the zippered pocket I wanted.   I created it with the same technique I used the bag I made a while back.

Again, the grosgrain ribbon was used to finish the edges of the patch pocket. 

The hood string is a long shoe lace that I found in my junk drawer.   It was long enough and white works for me.  

I would like a bead on the ends to keep if from going into the channel.  I will be on the lookout for those.

I am really happy with how the jacket makeover went.

Sewing Project - Coin Purse V2

I created my Coin Purse V2 today.  Based on the first one I did in Sept 2019 I decided some improvements could be implemented.  You can check  Coin Purse V1. 

The changes were:

1) More durable fabric
2) Stiffer backer
3) Different closure

I lost the original pattern and there was no documentation in my Project Binder so I had to redraw the pattern.  Thank goodness for my blog where I had a photo of the measurements. 

I decided to use the dark green of my jacket for this project as it will be durable.  I chose a white satin for the inside so that I can see what coins I have. For the backer I used a 3" piece of stiff pellon as well as this thin 3" circle of plastic I found in my stash of old stencils.  The measurements include the .25 inch seam allowance.

I used Velcro instead of snaps as the closure.  That was able to be added with machine stitching which was faster.  I added a pull tab in the seam for the top which gives better leverage with Velcro closure.  

I ended up with the pieces of batik fabric on the inside of the purse because I miscalculated when putting my layers together so I just added another small piece to the front.  It will fray as I use the purse and become more organic in the process. I have made great use of the 2 small pieces of batik I got for free at the ReUse center.

The pouch part is created by hand stitching the corners together. You have to figure out how far to go based on how the folds meet in the middle. I just lucked out on mine.

Winter Jacket for -10C

I took advantage of a 50% sale at the thrift store last week to get myself a -10C winter coat.  Here you need at least 2 jackets.  The other is a -20C coat and I have a heavy wool coat which is beyond -20C which gets worn occasionally.

I washed it in the washing machine at home which is must for me as I am not dry cleaning jackets except for the wool one.

I saw that repairs were needed to the hood liner right away but I only discovered the pocket issue on the weekend.  There was a hole in one of the pockets that let things fall to the inside of the jacket.

My absolute needs for a jacket are a hood, a two way zipper, a waist cord on the inside, and pockets with zippers.


This one has more with snaps on the wind flap over the zipper which allows me to just use the snaps on a quick trip outside. A high collar zipped right to the top, 4 outside pockets and one inside, a cord on the hood to tighten it close to my face and a great medium navy color.

It has room for an extra sweater which I needed on the weekend when we had -20C outside shoveling snow. 

The repairs were all done this morning and it is back in the front hall closet ready to go!  The price was great which was a bonus.  Looking forward to years of wear.