Saturday, March 1, 2008

And now for something completely different

Once the leather project was finished, I intended to return to my other Wardrobe Contest entries, but I got distracted. Both versions of V7976 have made me confident enough in my lining abilities that I decided to finally re-line my favorite winter bad-weather coat – a 1960s fake fur (modeled here by a very unwilling gentleman).

I've had this coat for about 4 years. When I bought it at my local thrift store I thought it was real Persian lamb, at least until the lining began to shred and it turned out to be really good fake fur. Even better, because I've tried to reattach skins before when they start to age and split and it's a thankless job. I've been wearing this coat every winter, and the lining just keeps getting worse and worse. Basically what was left was a sort of a sewn-in shrug – almost nothing left below the armpits. Even the pockets have fallen apart.

I cut the lining out of the coat and made a newspaper pattern. The missing length was easy enough to calculate, but since this had a raglan sleeve with a shoulder dart I was glad there was enough of the original lining left to copy.

And what era do you choose from to reline a 1960s coat? Why, the 1980s, if you're lucky enough to find the ridiculous scarf print that I found recently, for only $2.95per yard. (Obviously it was in the cheapo bin for a reason - I'd never wear this fabric, but I think it will look fabulous as a lining in my curly fur coat. The store only had about 2.5 yards, but it turned out to be just enough, even leaving me scraps to remake the pockets. For the underlining I have a heavy cotton/linen blend that bled in the wash, leaving it unusable but wonderful for giving me an extra layer of protection from the cold.

What makes me happiest about this, even more than getting a new lining in my favorite furry coat, is that all of a sudden it didn't seem like a big deal anymore. I've been putting off tackling this for at least 2 seasons now, but yesterday I just looked at it and thought, "It's just a lining. I can do that."

It’s the best feeling.

4 comments:

CraftRage said...

What a cool project! I love the new fabric - it's a very cool surprise!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that "outdated" print suddenly looks very cool. And yes, I do love that boost one gets when one does a dreaded task and finds out that it's not so hard after all.

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

What a kewl lining for your coat! And I'm so happy that you are content with your skill set that you knew you could put the lining in! Bravo!

Cennetta said...

Love the coat, great save.