Remake - a kimono jacket to a vest

Remaking a garment means giving something a second chance. If you have a garment whose fabric you love but not the style or shape, it is possible to remake it into something new so that you can enjoy it.

Please contact me if you have such a project in mind.

In this post, I'd like to share a remake project that is close to my heart.

My mother sent me a couple of those kimono jackets as things to remember my beloved grandmother by after she passed away. Although these jackets are kind of cool, they are not very practical for me because they are not something I would wear here in Canada. I had taken out the stitches a while ago so that I could use the fabric to make something I could wear, and it sat in my closet for a while until I had time to sew it up.

This is the actual jacket my grandmother wore in her last days.

After taking out the stitches, there was quite a lot of fabric.

I decided to make a vest, using McCall's 2099 pattern. There was more than enough fabric to cut all the pieces.

Pieces are cut out.

I also had to cut out the interface pieces.

Although there were no pattern for the lining, I decided to line this vest and add some inner pockets for my phone, etc. Next step is to figure out what I want for the front closure. Buttons? Snaps? It was somehow a little hard to decide what to do.

For this colourful fabric, colourful buttons worked the best. Now I can wear this vest often - over a casual t-shirt or a dress shirt.

Please contact me if you'd like to have something remade into something else. Whether you can make something depends on how much fabric is in the original garment, but I can figure that out. More information on sewing a garment is found on this page, if you're interested.

Here are some ideas:

• a girl's dress made from her dad's dress shirt

• patchwork jacket made from old jeans

• cushion/pillow covers made from your loved one's old shirts