It all starts with a poor decision - to line a summer weight jacket with unbreathable polyester. Well I say NO!
I recently purchased a Bloomingdale's house brand seersucker suit for a very, very, very good price at the Outlet ($50 for the jacket, $20 for the pants) to wear - however it came quarter lined, which I could live with if it was a natural and breathable fabric but instead it is in polyester. What to do? Test wearing the jacket I could tell there was no way I was going to be able to wear it here in Miami without some way of restoring the breathability of the garment. Could the lining be removed?
At first I searched our forums where every thread was met with a "you'll ruin the coat" or "it's expensive" and I was a bit discouraged. Still, unless I was going to give up on the jacket I owed myself a bit more so I pulled it out of the closet and gave the lining a closer inspection. What I realized is that the sleeves could definitely be removed without harm and even a large section of the back lining could be trimmed down. Leaving a section to cover the shoulderpads and the portion that forms the interior pocket lining would really open the jacket up and should leave no visible signs to the observer even if the jacket is removed and put on the back of a chair or folder over. Fortunately the jacket was quarter lined so some of the interior is finished otherwise this would be far more work or less feasible.
Attached are pics of the finished work, please keep in mind I used my "cheap" tailor to do this work so it isn't the neatest but it was also just $35. He also took my cuffing of the sleeve end a bit literally, the end is sewn to the sleeve - I had just wanted the end itself hemmed, but still loose. Not a big deal, you have to look REALLY close to see the thread on the exterior of the sleeve, but not perfect either. You can see that the shoulderpad is exposed at the sleevehead which is fine & expected, it's not something that normally would be visible and so far test wearing the jacket there hasn't been a problem with it folding, ripping, etc. I also sewed some nice MOP buttons on in place of the ugly plastic ones originally equipped which I purchased off SF's B&S.
jacket.JPG 2270k .JPG file
This shows the section left in for the pocket lining and shoulder pad.
armhole.JPG 2362k .JPG file
Alternate view showing the shoulder area in more detail.
sleeve.JPG 2495k .JPG file
Sleeve end, done like a pant cuff for some reason...
I recently purchased a Bloomingdale's house brand seersucker suit for a very, very, very good price at the Outlet ($50 for the jacket, $20 for the pants) to wear - however it came quarter lined, which I could live with if it was a natural and breathable fabric but instead it is in polyester. What to do? Test wearing the jacket I could tell there was no way I was going to be able to wear it here in Miami without some way of restoring the breathability of the garment. Could the lining be removed?
At first I searched our forums where every thread was met with a "you'll ruin the coat" or "it's expensive" and I was a bit discouraged. Still, unless I was going to give up on the jacket I owed myself a bit more so I pulled it out of the closet and gave the lining a closer inspection. What I realized is that the sleeves could definitely be removed without harm and even a large section of the back lining could be trimmed down. Leaving a section to cover the shoulderpads and the portion that forms the interior pocket lining would really open the jacket up and should leave no visible signs to the observer even if the jacket is removed and put on the back of a chair or folder over. Fortunately the jacket was quarter lined so some of the interior is finished otherwise this would be far more work or less feasible.
Attached are pics of the finished work, please keep in mind I used my "cheap" tailor to do this work so it isn't the neatest but it was also just $35. He also took my cuffing of the sleeve end a bit literally, the end is sewn to the sleeve - I had just wanted the end itself hemmed, but still loose. Not a big deal, you have to look REALLY close to see the thread on the exterior of the sleeve, but not perfect either. You can see that the shoulderpad is exposed at the sleevehead which is fine & expected, it's not something that normally would be visible and so far test wearing the jacket there hasn't been a problem with it folding, ripping, etc. I also sewed some nice MOP buttons on in place of the ugly plastic ones originally equipped which I purchased off SF's B&S.
jacket.JPG 2270k .JPG file
This shows the section left in for the pocket lining and shoulder pad.
armhole.JPG 2362k .JPG file
Alternate view showing the shoulder area in more detail.
sleeve.JPG 2495k .JPG file
Sleeve end, done like a pant cuff for some reason...
