Kilt jacket for $25

[binx]

Have seen tweed-like jackets at the thrift store but not sure if indeed tweed. Is there a site that shows types a tweed material that I can print out and take along?

binx

[bear]

Now that I have your attention with the subject line, here is a photo of a Harris Tweed sportscoat I had cut down to a kilt jacket. The alteration shop just charged me $25 for the work. I got the jacket for free -- it was a thrift store friend of a friend of mine who thought I would like it. I doubt she paid more than $5 for it.

http://blog.albanach.org/2005/11/do-...lt-jacket.html

Aye,
Matt

I found a jacket in a thrift store that I have yet to alter. It has pockets sewn on the outside, so the alteration will be vastly less complicated. Or, I could simply remove them.
The problem is that it is a single breasted corderouy jacket and no matter what I wear with it, I'll look like a high school science teacher!

[chasem]

The problem is that it is a single breasted corderouy jacket and no matter what I wear with it, I'll look like a high school science teacher!

Nice quote Bear! You had me rolling

[cavscout]

Was going to start a thread for this but this seems to be an ok place to add it.

Walking thru Old Navy today I spotted a tweed jacket

http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/produc...286&pid=335691

I need to go by the thrift stores first but these might be a good option. Not as cheap as $25 but for about $80 you could have a nice coat.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Answering a couple of questions...

No, the seamstress didn't touch the lapels. All she did was shorten the length, and replace the ugly buttons for me. I suppose it all depends on what the lapels of the jacket were like originally.

As to figuring out if a jacket is tweed or not, check for labels on the inside. Harris tweed cloth is tweed that is hand woven on the Isle of Harris in Scotland, and all products made from Harris tweed will be labeled as such.

There are tweeds made elsewhere, of course, though they are not as famous as the Harris. But still, there should be a label in the jacket telling you about the cloth.

Aye,
Matt

[switchblade5984]

When I first read the subject line, I was hoping that Matt was starting to sell jackets for $25.00.

Yet it is a great reminder for all of us to keep an eye out for some fantastic bargains, at many unexpected places. (Even some expected places).

ha Same here!

[Southern Breeze]

Since I found that roll of 13 oz.Blackwatch,I've been keeping my eyes open for kilt related bargains wherever I go. The better the bargain,the more money for kilts!

[Alan H]

There's FINALLY a picture of the jacket I modified (with a cutaway) in my "Budget Semi-Formal, what did it cost me?" thread. Take a look if you like.

Regarding the lapel on that jacket....

The lower button in that picture is where the UPPER button of the sportscoat was. I cut off the lower button when I marked the cutaway for the sporran and saved it. Then I cut, folded under, and stitched the cutaway part of the front of the jacket, easing that curve into the new line where the new hem of the jacket was going to be.

When I put it on, though, the proportions were all wrong. The sports-coat length lapels were out of proportion with the length of the cutaway. So I held it up and pinned it up and fidgeted with it in the mirror until I felt I had located where an upper button hole/lapel bottom should be and marked it.

Ten minutes with the button-holer on my wife's sewing machine and five minutes with needle and thread and I had a new buttonhole for the top button. I then spent, over the course of three different ironing sessions, about 45 minutes re-ironing in the new lapel edge. After MUCH ironing, it set and looks OK, but it's not a strong enough edge to hang properly, unbuttoned. I usually wear the jacket with the top button, buttoned, like in that picture.