Once the facing was made for the front of the jacket, I got a little ambitious and decided to make a collar. I based it on the shirt I used to trace out the armhole shaping, but I didn’t have a lot of fabric to work with so it became a rather small collar.

Even as I was sewing it on I was thinking ‘I bet I sew this on the wrong way, but you know what? If I do I don’t think I’ll mind’. And sure enough…

Since the fronts didn’t overlap, buttons weren’t an option. I didn’t have a jacket zipper the right size or colour so, in the spirit of using what I have, I made loops to attach some clasps I took off a rather slutty lycra dress my ex bought me in the 90s. (Actually, I just remembered that I turned that dress into a bathing suit! Those clasps have been waiting for a new home for 20 years.) I also cut the pocket openings for easier access (when the other way around, the top overlapped the bottom) and then snipped into a fringe so the cuts looked deliberate.

Finally the arms went in. The pants were bootleg, so the arms have the same flare. I might get tired of this and take them in one day, but for now I’m keeping with the spirit of the pants-to-jacket refashion, and leaving them as they are.

The Brown Pants Jacket from the front:

And from the back:

Much to my surprise, it actually fits. It passed the Paul test, too. (I ask him ‘is this an “only wear at home” thing?’ He said ‘no’.) Which isn’t bad for a project I did mainly for the entertainment value, not really caring if I got a wearable garment out of it.