Jacket ReFashion

My Grandma gave me this jacket . . . As you can see from the pic it is most definitely a bit dated (MAJOR SHOULDER PAD-AGE) and the sleeves are too short and overall in desperate need of a reincarnation!!! She gave the jacket to my Aunt to give to me but I didn't actually get it until after my Grandma passed in February. I knew that if I didn't give it a makeover it would just sit in my closet until the end of time. And I wanted to do something that Grandma would be proud of and something that I can treasure and think of her whenever I look at it.

The first thing I thought to do was turn it into pillows!!! I knew that I could keep them forever and everyday when I make my bed, yeah right, I can see them :)

I don't have a step by step because I didn't have a set plan, I just went at it.

Here is a closeup of all 5 beauties on the bed. I was able to make 5 pillows out of the jacket and I still have enough left over to make a few more if I decide to. Part of the way I was able to make so many pillows was that I used duck cloth on the backs of all the covers. Also, these are all envelope covers with inserts. If you don't know how to make an envelope cover, you can just google it. There are ZILLIONS of tuts out there!!

  The pillow with the buttons was cut out of the back of the jacket. The seam up the middle was the same seam in the jacket. I wanted to keep as many seams intact a possible, to make for less sewing and time involved. The buttons were off the jacket and it's a large pillow, about 27 inches!!!

This pillow is all duck cloth, and I added the ball trim for some whimsy. The biggest flower is made of the jacket lining and the other 2 are felt. I just did a large gathering stitch with my sewing machine and then pulled the threads and the fabric started to roll up in a flower shape all on its own. I used velcro on the back of the flower and on the cover for easy removal for washing or whatever. 

This pillow cover is actually made out of the jacket lining. Then I cut up the seam on the sleeves, sewed them together in the bank and tied them together in the front. Cute right?

These are the pockets, and they are still functioning. I thought it would be fun to slip little love notes or whatever in them for the hubs. I'm cheesy like that ;)

I really wanted to use up every little piece that I had so I did a simple 4 inch band alternating the duck cloth and the jacket material. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how these all turned out and I love looking at them and remembering the fun times with Grandma.  I would imagine that the thrift stores are FULL with all sorts of jackets and coats just like this one, think of how cheaply you could make a whole new set of pillows!! And if you make the envelope covers you can use your existing throw pillows as the inserts rather than buying new ones from the craft store. Seriously, you could make all 5 of these pillows for less than $20!! You can't even buy one decent pillow for $20 these days. 

If you have any questions or would like more info on how I made these, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't hesitate to ask!!!