Re-Fashioned Girl's Jacket

Recently, I was given a ton of hand-me-downs for both of my kiddos, from a couple different people.

(Side note: I love hand-me-downs! Kids grow so quickly, there are bound to be clothes that they don't hardly wear, or are still in good condition. So, hand them down to a neighbor, friend, family member and extend the life of the garment; while helping others save money!)

There were so many (bags and bags!)  I had to go through all of the kid's clothes and decide what to keep, what to give away to someone else or the thrift store, or sell at our yard sale we're planning on having this fall. I love doing this; organizing is just so much fun for me. I'm a nerd, I know.

Eliana got several coats, and they were super cute. As well as some that were not really our style.
I never knew we had a "style" for our family, but apparently we do.

I'm not sure what it is; I like classic lines of things, just simple casual//comfy with a little surfer/west coast vintage thrown in. Does that make sense at all? If not, oh, well. ;)

Anyway, Eliana got this jacket:

and it was just a little too...fancy. Furry? Posh? Just not really something she'd probably wear. Unless for some reason we were invited to a formal-ish party this winter. And that has never happened.
I absolutely loved the pattern though, and was thinking of making a pillow out of it.
Then the idea struck me; Why not just re-fashion it??




So, I did.

I simply took the collar and cuffs off with a seam ripper, then found some black bias tape and sewed it around the neckline and the armholes, tucking any stray strings underneath it.
I also replaced the buttons (which you can't really tell in the pictures). They were velvet buttons; I replaced them with some shiny black plastic ones that give it a little bit of polish, without being so over the top.

And there you have it!
Doesn't she look adorable?

Sorry this picture is so poor quality- It's just before she started screaming and crying to take off the coat, and I didn't get any better ones.  We were going to go outside and do a photo shoot. Instead, we did a nap. :)

I love how it turned out.
A proper, simple, classy, not too fancy jacket that will fit our lifestyle much better than before. :)
Because we'd rather be playing outside in the dirt than doing fancy things that require wearing "fur"- white fur at that. :)  Although the kids do love playing and cuddling with those fuzzy cuffs and collar.