lining

CUT the old lining out very carefully... Close to those seams as you can get! Iron it flat. Trace round it on paper and add sesm allowances. Use this as the pattern for a new one. Make it up on the machine and hand stitch it in place. :)

I redid the lining in a great old vintage wool coat two years ago. It was easy and fast.

I carefully removed the original lining, flattened it out and ironed it flat.

Then I cut it right down the middle of the back. That gives you two 'sides.'

One 'side' I took apart and used for the pattern. The 'cut' middle part then goes on the fold of the new lining fabric, then use sleeve as a pattern to make two sleeves - remember to make one an 'opposite' cut of the other.

The other side I kept intact as a guide to refer to when assembling the new one.

It came out great.

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

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Back when I was in high school I rescued a soft suede bomber jacket that belonged to my dad. The lining was shredded, there were a couple of buttons missing. I really had no idea what I was doing so I just bought a couple of yards of some sort of silky polyester lining fabric in a color that more or less matched. I turned the jacket inside out, smoothed it out as much as I could and sketched the shape of the pieces (plus ample seam allowance - probably an inch and a half) right onto my lining fabric using a white colored pencil.

I trimmed the old lining down to within maybe an inch or so of the seams where it was attached to the leather body of the jacket. And then I just took a needle and thread and slipstitched the new lining into the old seam lines, folding under and finger pressing the seam allowance as I went. I started with the center back part; subsequent pieces were attached to both the old lining and the new.

For a totally amateur job it's held up really well (20 years).

Kathleen

If it's worn *only* at the shoulders, I would patch it. Since you can't match the lining, choose a contrasting color -- If the two patches are mirror images of each other, it will look like a fashion statement, like the leather patches you see on the elbows of sweaters. It may be necessary to use seams or darts to make the patches lie smoothly. Turn under the edges and sew close to the fold with spaced backstitch, being careful not to go through all the layers. (When possible, put something under the old lining to be sure you don't catch the outer fabric.) Use a smooth thread such as reeled silk in a contrasting color to make it easy to pick out in a few years when the rest of the lining has to be replaced. The "hand picking" around the edges of the patch can be part of your fashion statement.

Joy Beeson

I agree, for a lining only worn in a specific spot I would patch it, unless it were going to be a visible place on a dressy coat. I wouldn't think the shoulder lining would even be seen.

I had a short coat that was worn in the seat area so I inserted a panel in the back section only, and halfway up. Seamed it by machine across the middle of the back and did the side seams by hand. Worked out fine and looks nice.

I have relined several coats. Cut out the lining. Make your pattern. Sew your lining together. Now sew the lining to the outer shell. right sides together...Leaving an opening inside one of the sleeves. It is really not as bad as it seems. My average time to reline a coat was 3 hours. The seven or eight coats I have relined were turned from inside one of the sleeves. Looking inside the sleeves you should be able to see where the original manufacturer turned the coat inside out. (If the lining is sewn to the hem)

Just try not to remove any facings, lining only.

I hope this makes sense to you. Try it it is not as bad as you think.

Vikki in WA State.