If you followed me last year, you might remember that I decided to make myself a winter coat. Read about it here and here and here. It’s a really nice coat, which made it more upsetting when I tore a small hole in it after wearing it about 5 times. I wore it to move plants in the yard and caught it on a loose piece of metal. No words were said, but I’m pretty sure I cried.
I did a quick whipstitch repair to keep it from tearing further, but it was pretty obvious, so I knew I would need a better repair. But, I thought I had a long time until it got cold in Austin again to fix it.
Enter a business trip to Minneapolis next week. And, last time I checked, there were night time temps of 19*. That’s awful cold for my very southern circulatory system. Time to repair the coat.
I can’t believe I didn’t take any before pictures. I took off the toggles and made two strips to run from the top to the bottom of the coat front, just along the front overlap. I ironed them and basted them, and sewed them on first by hand. That stabilized them and I was able to edgestitch and topstitch them down, before putting the toggles back on.
The thing about the toggles is that the leather “thingies” that hold them down already had holes in them from their first application, so I sewed them back down, one stitch at a time, lifting the presser foot and moving the leather so that the existing hole was directly under the needle, lower the foot and make the stitch, then repeat. Twice around each toggle. It took some time, but the results were worth it.
And, now I have a warm winter coat…that I might just wear today because it’s cold here, too. This is my cat, who has found a warm spot in the waistband of my jeans.
Her name is Nirti. She’s named after the Hindu goddess of destruction. Not that she was ever destructive, but she can go to town on a scratching post when she wants to and doesn’t think anybody’s looking.
Everybody have a great day. Stay warm. Lane
8 comments:
Remember to layer up when you're in MN in the winter! Have a safe trip.
Your coat is so nice. That was a great save putting the strips on it. Is the cat new? I don't remember seeing her hanging around the blog before. I have three cats and there's never a dull moment or a spot that one of them has not found to nap .
Mending is a high art in my opinion. Making a garment is easy, mending it can be a challenge, an artistic challenge.
The repair actually improves the look of the coat. I also don't remember the cat, just Bella and Mabel.
Mending can be as challenging as starting a garment from scratch.
Glad your new feline knows to scratch on the post and not the furniture
I'm telling you, you have the patience of your Dad. Coat looks great. Be safe and stay warm. lum
An elegant repair, and I suppose the toggles are even sturdier, now!
Nice job! You are a very patient sewer.
Welcome to Minneapolis (I know I'm a few days early), it's unseasonably cold here and I hate it. I wish I could roll out a warmer welcome mat for you.
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