I guess this is a combination of an improvement project and a craft. I love my Eddie Bauer jacket and I've worn it for the last few winters. However, it stopped fitting me around the new year, so I needed to improvise for the rest of this winter. At first, I was very into these expanders, but I thought the price was way too high. Then, I spent some time looking up zippers on Amazon so I could make one myself, but zippers are complicated and it seemed way too much trouble. From the first year or two of grad school, I had a jacket that was WAY too big for me. I bought it thinking I would be wearing a bunch of sweaters underneath it, but even with a sweater, there is so much space that wind just goes inside it. However, at the moment, the large size actually works well. The issue with the jacket now is the ripped pockets and the badly attached hood. So, I decided in order to use this jacket for the rest of this (freezing cold) winter, I needed to fix these things.
I started off with the pockets. I don't quite understand why they ripped out, but somehow one side of each pocket was completely ripped. I decided to remove both pockets completely so I could make new ones to put in there. The pockets were also ridiculously small. Since I hate wearing a purse in the winter (really this is not limited to the winter, but it's particularly annoying to have bag on top of a huge bulky coat), I wanted the pockets to be more functional. Ideally, I wanted to have my wallet, cell phone, and keys in my pockets with enough room for my hands, too. I feel like guys don't have these problems, but women's pockets are so tiny and non-functional! Anyway, I decided to make better, larger, non-ripped pockets. I drew a rough pattern around the old pockets I cut out.
Then, I pinned the pattern on to the jacket to make sure the size was right.
I cut them out of the fabric I had left-over from my Halloween skirt. I really like this fabric because it is slightly velvety on one side and pretty darn thick. I used my sewing machine to sew the pockets together. I was scared of using my sewing machine because last time I used it, it got badly gunked up from the stick-on-velcro in the Halloween costume. However, I took everything apart and let the pieces soak in nail polish remover for about five minutes and that nicely did the trick. It worked perfectly after that... well almost.
After the pockets were done, I pinned them into the jacket. I maneuvered the jacket (this thing is huge and heavy, btw) and the pinned pocket under the machine. I think I went two stitches and the needle broke!! So much for a working machine. Oh well. The fabric of the jacket is super thick so I'm not too surprised. However, I decide this was my cue to hand sew in the pockets. I have to say, it wasn't super easy because the fabric was quite thick but hand sewing let me have a bit more control over where I was going and therefore, making my stitches neater in the end. I think the pockets turned out well, and they are HUGE! I made it so the velvety side was inside, so my hands could touch that.
The other issue with the jacket was that the hood was attached by five small elastics that fit around five small buttons. Unfortunately, the elastic had broken (maybe from the cold? I don't know) so they were way too stretched out, and one of the buttons had fallen off. Not only that, but this attachment made it so that there was a lot of space (for wind and cold) between the collar and the hood. I really wanted the hood attached permanently and closely to the collar, so I decided to take off the elastics and buttons and just sew it on.
I pinned everything and then maneuvered it under the machine again (with a new needle). This time, I sewed about a quarter of the hood onto the collar before the needle broke. However, due to the thickness, the stitches looked TERRIBLE. So, I decided to take it out and hand sew it. At this point, I kind of regretted even working on the hood because hand sewing was HARD. I bent a needle quite badly while hand sewing, so I know it wasn't just me. This took me two days, because it was so frustrating and painful (my nails and fingers hurt for days!). Finally, I finished sewing on the hood and I decided to sew a button on either end of the collar to make sure it had a very strong connection on the two ends. In the end, I am so glad I persevered and did this. The hood feels so much more secure and warmer! I am so excited about this more functional jacket. I wish the weather would warm up a bit, though, because at this point it's way too cold to go comfortably outside, even with the best jacket!
I started off with the pockets. I don't quite understand why they ripped out, but somehow one side of each pocket was completely ripped. I decided to remove both pockets completely so I could make new ones to put in there. The pockets were also ridiculously small. Since I hate wearing a purse in the winter (really this is not limited to the winter, but it's particularly annoying to have bag on top of a huge bulky coat), I wanted the pockets to be more functional. Ideally, I wanted to have my wallet, cell phone, and keys in my pockets with enough room for my hands, too. I feel like guys don't have these problems, but women's pockets are so tiny and non-functional! Anyway, I decided to make better, larger, non-ripped pockets. I drew a rough pattern around the old pockets I cut out.
Then, I pinned the pattern on to the jacket to make sure the size was right.
Looks good! I actually ended up making the pockets a bit deeper (~1.5 inches) than the pattern.
I cut them out of the fabric I had left-over from my Halloween skirt. I really like this fabric because it is slightly velvety on one side and pretty darn thick. I used my sewing machine to sew the pockets together. I was scared of using my sewing machine because last time I used it, it got badly gunked up from the stick-on-velcro in the Halloween costume. However, I took everything apart and let the pieces soak in nail polish remover for about five minutes and that nicely did the trick. It worked perfectly after that... well almost.
It's hard to see, but these are sewn everywhere but the opening. Also, as you can see, I failed to iron these. I really should have but I was feeling too lazy so they have a few creases. Oh well. No one is going to see the inside and/or know.
After the pockets were done, I pinned them into the jacket. I maneuvered the jacket (this thing is huge and heavy, btw) and the pinned pocket under the machine. I think I went two stitches and the needle broke!! So much for a working machine. Oh well. The fabric of the jacket is super thick so I'm not too surprised. However, I decide this was my cue to hand sew in the pockets. I have to say, it wasn't super easy because the fabric was quite thick but hand sewing let me have a bit more control over where I was going and therefore, making my stitches neater in the end. I think the pockets turned out well, and they are HUGE! I made it so the velvety side was inside, so my hands could touch that.
Top: The outside looks exactly the same.
Bottom: Looking inside, into the velvety-ness. You can see a few (neat) stitches, but in general, they look pretty good.
Right: If I flip the pockets inside out, you can see how HUGE they are! So exciting!
The other issue with the jacket was that the hood was attached by five small elastics that fit around five small buttons. Unfortunately, the elastic had broken (maybe from the cold? I don't know) so they were way too stretched out, and one of the buttons had fallen off. Not only that, but this attachment made it so that there was a lot of space (for wind and cold) between the collar and the hood. I really wanted the hood attached permanently and closely to the collar, so I decided to take off the elastics and buttons and just sew it on.
I pinned everything and then maneuvered it under the machine again (with a new needle). This time, I sewed about a quarter of the hood onto the collar before the needle broke. However, due to the thickness, the stitches looked TERRIBLE. So, I decided to take it out and hand sew it. At this point, I kind of regretted even working on the hood because hand sewing was HARD. I bent a needle quite badly while hand sewing, so I know it wasn't just me. This took me two days, because it was so frustrating and painful (my nails and fingers hurt for days!). Finally, I finished sewing on the hood and I decided to sew a button on either end of the collar to make sure it had a very strong connection on the two ends. In the end, I am so glad I persevered and did this. The hood feels so much more secure and warmer! I am so excited about this more functional jacket. I wish the weather would warm up a bit, though, because at this point it's way too cold to go comfortably outside, even with the best jacket!
Left: From the outside, the hood (to the left) is tightly sewn on.
Right: On the inside of the hood, it is sewn on to the collar along the seam that is vertical in this picture. The button marks one side where it is more tightly attached.
