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Cost: $ $ $ $ $

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Time: 2h00

Refashion a wool coat
had been perusing our local thrift store and noticed the over whelming amount of wool coats on the racks. None of them were particularly my style and I thought "what a waste of a darn expensive material". Which of course got those creative juices flowing, "I wonder if I could refashion one of those coats for Evie?" I headed home and threw the idea past my mom. She thought it was a great idea and even had a surprise for me, my Granny's wool coat so I was able to accomplish this:

Posted by Sewing In No Mans Land from Paris, Île-de-France, France • Published 30th November 2013 • See Sewing In No Mans Land's 7 projects »

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Pimke added Wool Coat Refashion to Upcycling 27 Jan 10:58
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Sewing In No Mans Land published her project Wool Coat Refashion 09 Jun 16:18

Step 1
My family is from Ireland and my Granny and Granddad never left the island. We were lucky enough to go stay with them for the summer every other year. My Granny was a very talented seamstress and an even more amazing knitter :)
Step 2
I wish I had taken the opportunity to learn more from her. She and my Granddad passed away five years ago so I was touched (and extremely nervous) when my mom gave me her coat knowing that I was going to cut it up and there being a distinct possibility that it would not end well. I went to work taking the coat apart at the seams so that I could use ever little bit. I wanted to use a cuter fabric for the lining, which meant I was able to simply cut all that away which certainly made the process easier. Once I had everything taken apart I did something uncharacteristic for me and used a pattern as a guide. The Oliver and S School Days Coat pattern was a great reference, and although I did not use all of it it certainly helped me a long the way.
Step 3
What is fantastic about using an old coat is that all the difficult parts are already done for you so the coat comes together incredibly fast! I have NEVER been very good at pockets. This time I simply made sure that they were correctly placed using one of the pattern pieces. Then I sewed the pocket lining so it was quiet a bit smaller (any treasures Evie needs to hide in her pockets are pretty small ha!).
Step 4
This left me with an extremely professional looking pocket and hardly any effort
Step 5
The same is true for the center placket. I have never truly mastered the button hole maker on my sewing machine. Which is kinda sad because I avoid making them ha! Again using pattern pieces and some creative cutting I had them all pre-made for me!
Step 6
The topstitching from the original coat again makes the shrunken version look much more professional:
Step 7
coat had a turned over collar not a hood. This is where buying a larger coat is helpful. With the extra material I had I was able to easily make a hood for Evie's version. Which with how cold it gets here in the winter is a must!
Step 8
Plus hoods show off the super cute lining you put in!
Step 9
Because so many of the wonderful and time consuming details are already done for you this coat only took me a few hours to take apart and remake. I cannot wait to go back to the thrift store and find some totally outrageous color to remake!! You can't beat the price for a children's wool coat! I am so happy that my girls will be able to wear something that belonged to their Great Granny and we will absolutely be handing it down!