Thursday, January 15, 2009

Recycling a Vintage Coat

It's interesting, in today's economy, to read magazines from WWII years, as the articles focus on "making do" and reusing items we already own. The article featured today is entitled How to Make the Most of an Old Fur Coat and originally appeared in the November 1943 issue of Woman's Day.

I know some of my readers prefer not to wear fur, and that's OK. For those of us who do, vintage furs are preferred. Any of the ideas shown would also work in faux fur. Or read on if you've got an out of date high quality wool or cashmere coat that could be remade into something else. Reuse, reduce, recycle!

If you've find an old fur coat that has worn areas, or the style doesn't flatter, consider some of these ideas for remaking the coat into something new. If there are enough good skins, you can make a shorter jacket from a long coat. The full length nutria coat at the left had raglan sleeves. It was remade into a shorter swagger jacket with set-in cuffed sleeves and a shawl collar. Scraps were used to trim the hat.

The lapin coat shown at the lower right was remade into the long scarf at the left. I love the idea of wearing a long wide scarf belted over a jacket or cardigan.

The drawing at the upper right shows an idea for using narrow bands of fur or contrasting fabric to trim a simple tailored coat.

The scraps from the lapin coat in the second picture were also used to make the collar and pockets at the upper right and the hat and muff at the lower left.

Other uses for larger scraps: Make long contrasting front lapels for a plain coat, or use pieces for the front of a vest. A shorter waist-length bolero is also fun.