Harris Tweed blazer conversion

[usonian]

I little while back I picked up a beautiful Harris Tweed blazer at a thrift shop for about $10. The photos don't really do it justice, there's a subtle green element that really comes through in person.

Best of all: Patch pockets on the front. Having begun work on this one, I have to say I'm never going to bother trying to convert another jacket with welt pockets; this looks so much cleaner and eventually I'll be able to add my own pockets in the right position. Along with braemar cuffs and epaulettes, it will be almost as good as a purpose-made kilt jacket.

I jumped right in before taking any 'before' photos, but here it is pinned and then sewn/topstitched. The curve looks a little wonky in the second photo but that's just the fabric not laying flat. Next step: trim and sew the lining back into place, then a good pressing to smooth the hem out in its new shape.


Harris Tweed blazer > kilt jacket conversion by Usonian, on Flickr


Harris Tweed blazer > kilt jacket conversion by Usonian, on Flickr

[rondo]

Very cool. I have 3 in the works right now being done by my tailor. Tweed, Charcoal, and PC. Yours looks great.
Rondo

[BCAC]

Sorry Usonian, but to me it looks too short. The body of the jacket, for me (and I insist, for me) should be as long as the sleeves. Still, it looks wearable and, if you are happy with it, that's all that counts.

Edited to add: It's miles better than anything that I could do!

[CMcG]

Sorry Usonian, but to me it looks too short. The body of the jacket, for me (and I insist, for me) should be as long as the sleeves. Still, it looks wearable and, if you are happy with it, that's all that counts.

Edited to add: It's miles better than anything that I could do!

The ideal proportions of arm to body length is, as you say BCAC, a matter of personal preference. In practice---and more importantly---it is a question of the wearer's physical structure: overall height, torso length, and arm length. In order to get a good fit, the sleeves could be longer, shorter, or the same as the jacket's body.

[usonian]

Yep, I based the length on a rule of thumb picked up somewhere around here that a good length for the body a kilt jacket is 'bottom of the body about even with the bottom of the fell of the kilt'. On me that results in the sleeves being a bit longer than the body.

[ASinclair]

Very nice.

[HippieLee]

Chock full of awesome, sir! I gotta get myself to some thrift shops. Thought I had a find a while back - they had several tweed jackets but nothing close enough to my size. Time to check again as they said they get them in fairly often.