shop cheap. look loaded.

I know, I know – you’re all just DYING to hear how I salvaged the torn $10 bunny-tastic jacket from Green Village Junk Shop. Actually, “torn” is an understatement. Gaping hole is more accurate. Remedying the damage required far more than a needle and thread; it needed to be masked entirely; transformed by outside forces. The hole had to be filled, but with what? This wasn’t a typical patchwork job – it’s not like we’re talking about an effing pair of jeans here. Luckily, once I realized the material used to salvage the jacket had to be as fluff-errific as the jacket itself, the answer became abundantly clear.

MORE FUR.

I don’t own mink blankets or bearskin rugs; I’m not rich enough to be that ostentatious. Yet. I do, however, own a vintage fur scarf. At least I did, until I cut it up in the name of the greater score.

THE TOOLS:
- Extra Fur in Complementary Color
- Industrial Strength Scissors
- Thick, Durable, Dangerously Sharp Needle
- Cream Colored Thread
- This American Life Podcast (Because stabbing into fur sans finger injury over and over again requires full visual focus, i.e. NO TV. A thimble probs would have been a good idea – Dear Hindsight, I hate you. Moving on.)

THE PROCESS:
(1) Place extra fur on top of hole. Shift until piece of extra fur covers hole in its entirety. Trim extra fur into appropriate shape. Fur patch accomplished.

(2) Measure a piece of thread using the length of your arm as a guide. Snip. Thread needle. Use needle threader to avoid added frustration/aggression.

(3) Smart, patient people pin fabric into place before sewing it onto other fabric. I hail from the DIY school of thought that says imperfections/flaws are beautiful (Just like people! You can gag now). This gives me a stellar excuse to skip tedious steps a la pre-stitch pinning; to each her own.

(4) Sewing time! I started from the interior of the jacket and pierced through both fur pieces for two stitches to secure the patch to the jacket (this may or may not be called a basting stitch), then I realized going from the inside to the outside and back again was – on account of the thickness of the material – a massive beotch and a half. The remaining stitching was done exclusively on the exterior, on a diagonal of sorts.

Can I give you a more technical explanation? Eff no – this is sewing for the domestically challenged, 101. Just make it your biznass to secure the patch to the fur sans excessive heinousness, and you’ll be fine.
A big fat bonus of working with fur? It’s voluminous enough to hide mistakes.

My sewing skills are well below average, but I was still able to make sweet citrus juice out of this lemon of a coat. I actually dig the slight contrast of the cream patch against the white coat – looks like a badass back pocket, methinks.

$10.00 + 1 hour of DIY time = 1 fluffy dream of a coat. A worthy purchase and allocation of energy indeed. Loves it!