DIY Kilt Jacket Conversion

**ArmyPiper** · 17th November 13, 06:47 AM

i have seen any post on here about converting jackets to kilt jackets, and yes i do have some basic skills, my question is, fornthose that know, when you chalk the curve in the front of the jacket below the button, you cut it all the way around to the back following the chalk line. HERE is my question, do you invert both the jacket and liner and foldnand press and blind stitch both together? or is there a different way thats easier? The pictures are great, i just misseed a step.
Reason is, i just retired from the Military and i want to convert an old Class A Army Jacket so i can wear with my Army Tartan Kilt. Pics will follow as soon as i figure this all out.

**HippieLee** · 17th November 13, 08:46 AM

Welcome to X-Marks! I'm sorry I have no idea on your question but I'm interested in the answer so I will patiently await the X-Marks X-perts and then your pictures. Cheers!

**sydnie7** · 17th November 13, 08:48 AM

Depends on how your jacket was originally constructed. On most, you will stitch outer and inner layers together only through the curved area. Once the fabric(s) are being hemmed in a straight line, typically at the side or front side seam, you'll want to keep them separate. This allows the lining to move independently of the outer layer. Here's a link to one post in a thread where I showed an entire conversion -- it shows the detail I'm trying to convey.

**ASinclair** · 17th November 13, 10:21 AM

Hello, ArmyPiper!

What HippieLee said.

ith:

**ArmyPiper** · 17th November 13, 10:48 AM

Mrs HippieLee, the original jacket is a wool military style day jacket, my only question is i see you turned the coat inside out and folded the material starting at the front side curve and pressed it...i dont want a stitch line across it so would i hand stick with a sort of backstich or a bastingn stich along that curve to the vent in the back? I did see how you folded and hand stiched the lining....Upot this point i think im good, i measured and cut with a rotary cutter along my chalk line...hahaha now trying tonfigure outthe nextbstep

**HippieLee** · 17th November 13, 11:13 AM

lol, that was Sydnie7 with the actual help. I'm just a klutz whose wife doesn't want to learn to sew so I've been following these type threads to glom on the education one can get here with an eye towards doing my own jacket conversion in the future.

**ArmyPiper** · 17th November 13, 11:15 AM

Well...im grabbin my nose and jumpin in...im too far in the weeds to stop....so well see how it works out

**ArmyPiper** · 17th November 13, 11:24 AM

ok wow...sorry didnt realize you werent the lady in the pic...so no offense by the comment. Yeah my wife doesnt sew either....but as vain as it sounds....being an ex army guy im not scared to try anything....so i just want to make sure im atleast on the right track doing this.

**madmacs** · 17th November 13, 08:09 PM

Arent you going to have 2 layers of fabric from the coat itself if you mimic its current construction... That would allow mean folding the seam allowance inside pressing and stitching through it, rather than creating a hem...

This isn't too hard to do with the lining loose. The lining would then, based on most of my suits hang down on the inside and be folded back up half an inch before being stitched to the fabric inside ensuring that it doesn't pull.

It's worth a trip to a charity shop to buy a jacket to rip apart to look at the construction before you start.

**HippieLee** · 17th November 13, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by ArmyPiper

ok wow...sorry didnt realize you werent the lady in the pic...so no offense by the comment. Yeah my wife doesnt sew either....but as vain as it sounds....being an ex army guy im not scared to try anything....so i just want to make sure im atleast on the right track doing this.

No worries friend! Glad you found X-Marks - these folks have helped me tremendously and I've only been reading here for a couple months. I came here for sporran making advice and found out there's a ton of other great things to try and great people to teach me and encourage me and I'm willing to bet they won't let you down either. I'm going to start with some small sewing projects before attempting a jacket conversion as I've never done it at all before now. The kicker is that my wife's mother was a seamstress most of her life! lol Wifey didn't inherit the cooking or the sewing jean but don't tell her I told anybody about the cooking.