DIY Jacket Conversion #1_Bottle Green'ish w/ tails

[Bart_In_A_Kilt]

Yep... while I still have my buddies PC here as a model, I thought I'd give jacket conversion a try on Sunday.

After looking over some great posts here on this site as well as This Site I spent some time kilted, looking in a mirror and scratching my head, untill finally getting up the nerve and grabbing a marking pencil to commit to the project.

At this point I've marked a rough cutaway and deciding where the flair would terminate at the bottom of the jacket. I used a chalk wheel marker along with a caliper to maintain an even line around the sides and back of the jacket.


With the final finished line chalked, I ran a basting stitch 2 inches inside of the final mark, just to keep the lining in place and in alignment. ( It helped out a lot later in the process having done this before making any cuts to the original jacket.)


Next was marking the hem line.


...and this is the very back of the coat where I was deciding on tails, or no tails. So after a coin flip... heads lost and TAILS won.


On to seam ripping the pockets off.



Pocket #2 gave me an unwelcomed suprize. This jacket had been prepped for an inside coin pocket, that was never opened on the lining side.

However...all the infrastructure was still there and burried, just waiting to be finished off. Under that light grey strip of fusing is a slit in the jacket.
That changed my plans for no pockets and just pocket flaps. I would now need to make short pockets and have less surplus material to work with later on.

With the pockets off... It's time to take scissors in hand and have at it.

[Bart_In_A_Kilt]

Well... after this point I went gangbusters and kept sewing. By the end of the day, the basic jacket was finished, less Epaulette's, extra buttons and other trim. That's for another day. I ran out of time but will post more pics soon.

[Bart_In_A_Kilt]

Anyone have a good source for buttons? Celtic or the ones found on PC jackets and similar?

[OFCJAX]

http://www.dirkandthistle.com/

[sydnie7]

Anyone have a good source for buttons? Celtic or the ones found on PC jackets and similar?

I've found very nice Celtic-look buttons at local fabric stores (Joanns and local chain). Another post offered this site and while I haven't ordered from them I have certainly drooled all over the monitor. . . sorry for that image

For traditional PC type buttons, try Highland Xpress. I have ordered kilt buckles/straps from them, good service and reasonable prices.

Eager to see more of the jacket! Don't you love those little surprises. . . I just did a brown daywear conversion (pictures to come after its debut on Palm Springs weekend) that had three smallish cuff buttons. I chose a button that didn't come in a size quite that small, figured I would get away with two per cuff. Come to find that there are little faux buttonholes sewn (but not opened) under each cuff button, forcing me to go back, buy more buttons, and squeeze three onto each cuff. Bob said he had never seen faux buttonholes on a cuff. . . live and learn!

[McMurdo]

I've bought some from this ebay vendor, I've found the shipping to be fast and this seller has been very good with communication as well

Small Buttons
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-BUTTONS-FOR-PR...4.c0.m14.l1262

Large Buttons
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-BUTTONS-FOR-PR...4.c0.m14.l1262

[Eujeankilt]

Also check these folks out. I used them and like the product.

http://www.threefeatherspewter.com/Buttons%20Celtic.htm

Dale