Kilt jacket for $25

[Alan H]

There's FINALLY a picture of the jacket I modified (with a cutaway) in my "Budget Semi-Formal, what did it cost me?" thread. Take a look if you like.

Regarding the lapel on that jacket....

The lower button in that picture is where the UPPER button of the sportscoat was. I cut off the lower button when I marked the cutaway for the sporran and saved it. Then I cut, folded under, and stitched the cutaway part of the front of the jacket, easing that curve into the new line where the new hem of the jacket was going to be.

When I put it on, though, the proportions were all wrong. The sports-coat length lapels were out of proportion with the length of the cutaway. So I held it up and pinned it up and fidgeted with it in the mirror until I felt I had located where an upper button hole/lapel bottom should be and marked it.

Ten minutes with the button-holer on my wife's sewing machine and five minutes with needle and thread and I had a new buttonhole for the top button. I then spent, over the course of three different ironing sessions, about 45 minutes re-ironing in the new lapel edge. After MUCH ironing, it set and looks OK, but it's not a strong enough edge to hang properly, unbuttoned. I usually wear the jacket with the top button, buttoned, like in that picture.