Starting this year off right with a make do and mend project!

This vintage coat was gifted to me by a sweet lady who gave me some of her mother's things, a few years ago. I don't know its age – it's generously long and full, so it may well be from the 1970s – but it has a classic look that works for many different styles, including the late 1940s which is how I styled it here.

When this coat was given me, it went onto my mending rack. It had a few minor moth chews, and one major one that went right through the collar. It was very visible, but also very fixable. I intended to recover the collar in black velvet, and so it went on my rack. 

Naturally, doing new projects was more exciting than a small fix-it project, so it languished until recently when I buckled down and went through everything on my mending/alteration rack, and as a result this is now in my closet. 

I mended the moth holes as well as I could (I'm not experienced in mending yet, so I probably didn't do it right, but thankfully the nubby, multi-colored fabric hides foreign threads really well!) Instead of black velvet, I decided to use some faux curly lamb fur I thrifted this past summer. 

I could use the collar as a pattern since I wanted the black to come in to the top stitching lines, and stitched it by hand to the top of the collar. Because of the fuzzy fabric, I didn't have to be really careful about getting the edges perfect or hiding my stitches, which was nice. 

That was it! With just a little bit of work, this lovely coat was off my mending rack and wearable again. I really like the added black contrast too, so maybe the moth damage was actually for the best.

It does not have a closure, just a belt. It has deep, decorative pockets and cuffs. It does have one button loop under the collar so it can be closed higher, for 2 different looks. 

I love the bright colors threaded through the plum fabric.

It's very colorful, and the fabric is thick like a carpet. With all that length, it's like wearing a heavy blanket! I feel like a Russian princess when wearing it. No way I'm getting cold when wearing this thing. 

Despite my procrastination, I do love that I can use my sewing skills to give a facelift to old pieces of art like this beautifully crafted coat. It's using creativity and taking a damaged item that otherwise might end up thrown away, and making it even better, with a whole fresh lease on life. 

I'm very happy to have it finally off my conscience!