I'm a petite person, so I often find pretty things in thrift stores that are way too big for me. Although, oftentimes I'm a little bit sad to let those gems go, there are also some diamonds in the rough that can be refashioned to fit my small frame. This navy blue spring coat is just such a diamond. I got it for only 1€ and had to make it about 10 sizes smaller, but I couldn't imagine my wardrobe without it.
I made this project a year ago, and this coat has been my absolute favorite spring/fall piece ever since. I made quite a few changes, but the overall style of the coat remained the same. I took in the sides A LOT, starting from the hem following the side seam and then the sleeve seam until the end of the sleeve. I was lucky that the sleeves had only one seam instead of two like other fitted sleeves do.
The second big change was to shorten the hem by about a mile (just kidding, but sure did feel that way). And I also took in the shoulders by adding a shoulder dart. Finally, I took in the gathering on the sleeve cap to make it less 80's and more 21th century, and relocated the buttonholes and buttons.
If you'd like to give this kind of a refashion a try, here are a couple of tips to look out for when sourcing the base garment:
1) look for details you love
2) make sure that your ok with the details you cannot change or that are too work-intensive to alter
3) look for simple construction and simple lines - those are easier to alter than lots of seams and darts
Needless to say, I love my coat! I actually have a light beige oversized coat waiting in the closet to be refashioned. I hope to add a new coat to my spring wardrobe soon!
Wooow....great job ! Two weeks ago my mother brought me an old spring coat. It's really a nice one, but 3 sizes to large. After reading your post I think about 1. give the self refashing a chance..or 2. put the coat in a box and send it to you :-)
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You are too sweet! I hope you'll give it a try first :)
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