A Quick Morning Project

Sometimes it's fun to just do something, you know? Just start it and finish it. I did one of those, and I'll show it soon (I hope; by saying that, I hope I remember to Just Do It); but this is something else. It's also quick, but it's more of a make-over, not really making anything new. It's out of my comfort zone--I am not a sew-er. I am not a seamstress or tailor. I embellish things. And while I *do* make things, I don't make them The Right Way. I sort of know how it should be done, but it's never important enough to me to take the time to take something completely apart and start over. Remaking things doesn't have the same appeal for me as making something from scratch or embellishing something that's already finished. I have no idea why. I like one end or the other but not the in-between.

OK. But sometimes I have to try, you know? There was this jacket at BJ's. Bolero, brown cotton velvet, some embroidery and a little bit of beading with sequins. But there was something seriously wrong with it--I suspect that someone had washed it and the jacket shrank but the polyester (ick) lining did not. So the lining in the sleeves had all bunched up and made the sleeves too small, and not even Tiffany (who works there and is roughly my size but not as broad in the shoulders) could wear it. So yesterday they gave it to me to bring home for Alex--it had been hanging around the shop all fall.

But I couldn't let it rest: the jacket was potentially too cute for someone not to wear it. At first I was going to remove the lining from the sleeves, but since they had probably shrunk enough that they would never work, I just removed them and their separate lining and then sewed the lining to the jacket at the armholes.

Sorry, but I didn't even think about taking a photo of the Before. Sorry! I keep saying I'm going to get better at that, but when I'm working on something, the last thing I think about is stopping to take photos. I'm always wondering if it's going to work out, and taking photos of something that may or may not be a disaster seems like a distraction and probably a waste of time.

While it's cute, it's not me; I think Tiffany will like it (she's 25) rather a lot. so I'll take it to her this afternoon. It kind of bothers me--I know what I should have done: removed the lining, resewn it to make it fit, replaced it and sewn it in place. I did not do that. I took small tucks where I needed to make it fit. I should have taken the lining apart in the body, as well, and taken it up so it doesn't sag.  I did not do that. I hate that kind of stuff and avoid it whenever I can. While I can do things by hand, I have real issues with sewing machines, never mind that I have four and have been using one of them for 35 years. I always approach them as if they're large, unfamiliar dogs who may be having a bad day. Sometimes we get along fine, and sometimes I just back away.