29 Mar 2012

WhatIWore: About a month ago I completely fell in love with a beautiful trench from Kate Spade New York, but couldn’t rationalize the investment… so I decided to make my own version! Contrast trim trenches are everywhere this season, from KSNY to Milly to the Jason Wu for Target line. If you can do basic hand sewing and have patience, you can do this DIY too!!

Supplies:

• Trench Coat (I bought mine for $70 at TJMaxx)
• 4-5 packages 7/8” Wide Single Fold Bias Tape (or whatever size works best with your trench)
• Needle, Thread, Scissors
• New Buttons (if you want!)

This project is all about doing a slip stitch to attach the bias binding tape to the edge of your jacket. I chose to trim the sleeve bands, belt and the front lapel and collar edge of the jacket. 

Initially, I tried to do mitered corners, but it ended up being too difficult. Instead, near an edge, I would fold my bias tape right sides together, hand sew a little seam and then turn it right side out again to have a nice crisp corner.

After you’ve slip stitched the bias tape to the outside of the garment, you’ll need to secure it on the inside as well. I also decided to add new buttons and even though they are pricy, I think they really add a lot to the final product. 

This is a great project to do while the TV is on (or outside on the porch if the weather is nice!) I’ve been working on it on and off for a couple weeks, and probably put in.. 8+ hours… but I wasn’t in a hurry or anything.  The original jacket I wanted was nearly $700.  My project cost $70 for the trench (see the BEFORE on facebook), roughly $10 for the bias tape and the buttons were $18.50. That’s just shy of $100 and a major savings!  I’ll post more photos of the final product with outfit pictures this afternoon!