Trench Coat Upcycle

Forgive me for not having the before I cut it up picture. I finished this up and thought it would be a good blog post for all you refashioners.

My friend send me a too small coat and asked me to update it for her. It was a long trench coat style, something that would hit about thigh high. She said I could do anything I wanted. (Foolish girl!) So I cut off the front and left the back with a tail making sort of a circus ringmaster jacket look. She also sent a really pretty silk dress with a wonderful ruffle along the bottom. I cut off the ruffle and pinned it on.

The back looked like this...

We didn't like it. So I trimmed it down to this and sewed everything on.

She loved it and I added a black lace strip twisted and messy around the seam line of the jacket and the ruffle.

Here is the finished product.

Just a couple of tips:

This works with just about any suit jacket. 

When you cut the front, leave at least an inch below the bottom button and button hole for the seam. 

Make sure to catch the lining when you sew the ruffle down. Sometimes I baste it down by hand with big stitches and remove them later. 

The higher the cuts in the sides the more the fabric will poof out. So someone with large hips will look even larger. 

Instead of the tail in the back, you could cut another arch or upside down U and do the same thing. It looks just as nice. However, you will have to sew the back on separate and have the fabric longer to accommodate the arch.  

Have fun! As always the link to my blog is: www.curiousorangecat.com