Pagan punk?

[hkcreations.livejournal.com]

As promised:
Leather jacket remodel......a complete teardown and remake of a brown leather bomber jacket into this:


This started out life as a plain leather bomber jacket common in the early ninties. Elastic waist, puffy snap cuffs, brown.....
It was too big for me, my beau didn't particularly care for it, and on top of all this....the front zipper was broken.
Rather than just throw it out, or donate it, I decided to give it a try at remodeling it, and painting and otherwise modifying it.
This fabric applique actually started it all:

Found at a thriftstore...it's this really lovely blue silk with a Tibetean screen in gold and silvers.....it needed to be put onto a jacket.

So I.....
Tore the jacket apart, all of the seams were cut open accept the top shoulder seams.....
Washed and slowly dried all the leather pieces to get them clean and to prep them for dying.
Took apart the lining and the zipper for the zip in thinsulate liner for later reuse.
Ironed lining, and put it aside to later be turned into smaller sized newspaper patterns, to later be used to cut new lining.

Dye all the leather. It was supposed to be a darker burgundy, but the color I got grew on me.
Remove front pocket snaps (since they were brass and had aviation eagles on them) replace with silver snaps. Put snaps in the side slit pockets as well to keep the pockets from bulging out.
Cut the sleeves and sides down to make it more my size.

Use elmer's spray adhesive to assemble leather patches cut out of scrap leather (this was especially useful for the tree on the front) later sewing them together and onto the jacket.


Reassemble the jacket. Putting in new front zipper, side cuff zippers (using some of the salvaged elastic waistband leather for the inner portions), and reusing the zip in lining zipper for the zip in lining
Add on studs all over.
Add some painted details with acrylic hobby paint (is there nothing it can't do?)


Recover the zip in lining with matching lining for the part that isn't seen, and some red brocade lining for the part which shows. Quilt that to decrease the bulk, put on salvaged zipper (which is a lovely beige which used to match the rest, but is hidden when it's worn so is fine)


I intend to add some more painted details later, and I had some technical difficulties since there were some design problems (such as the armholes being huge, even though I took out a whole panel on each side) that I just had to make due with, but otherwise....not too bad.....


And as you can see, it fits me perfectly (this is with the lining in, it's less bulky looking without it in)

Took about a solid week sewing, every day, at least 5 hours a day to get it done.

Better than donating it to the Goodwill anyday!

Xposted to sew_hip.

Up next, another dress remodel!!!