Tips and tricks for how to change the lining of a jacket. Step by step:
- Remove existing lining, while you are removing it, look at how it is sewn onto your particular jacket, take pictures of how it is sewn if you need to remember. Note how the seams look and if any seams need to be repaired/reinforced. Remove carefully so as not to damage the jacket's fabric.
- Remove any loose threads on the jacket that have resulted from the lining being ripped away. Repair/reinforce seams if necessary.
- Once the lining is ripped away from the jacket, rip apart the lining pieces so you have all the pieces needed to cut out a new lining.
- Iron all the parts needed for the new lining. All creases should be ironed out (if creases remain, the new lining will not be the correct size).
- Note the thread direction (at what angle the pattern is placed on the fabric, the most common is that the thread direction runs in the same vertical direction as it is placed when worn on the body). There may be parts that need to be cut on the "bias cut" (on the diagonal, those parts require more fabric. Parts are cut on the bias because the fabric has more flexibility and movement on the diagonal.)
- Measure how big the pattern is so you know how much fabric you need to buy. Lining comes in different fabric roll widths, so check how much fabric you need for different fabric roll widths.
- Buy fabric, if it is to be shiny/smooth (satin fabrics are often used as lining, satin is a type of weaving technique that results in a shiny fabric, note that satin does not have to be made of the material silk, "satin" is a weaving technique (how the material is woven), and "silk" is a material/fiber), so if you want satin as a lining, 100% acetate is good. Acetate is cellulose-based (made from wood pulp), and the material breathes so that heat is not trapped, (it does not get sweaty like polyester). If it is not to be shiny, 100% viscose is super nice, it is also cellulose-based. There is a whole world of different lining fabrics and lining solutions, so there is a lot of fun to do research on this if you have time. The most important thing when choosing a lining for a jacket is that in the sleeves you must use a satin fabric (or other shiny/smooth fabric). Why? Well, if you use a matte fabric, it is difficult to put on and take off the jacket, the shirt/sweater underneath will get caught in the arms and the jacket sleeves will not slide smoothly, which will lead to strange folds, a bad fit and it is uncomfortable to wear. Lining fabrics are usually collected in one place in stores, ask the staff where the lining is and they can show you. I love lining with silk, (it is so comfortable against the body, has a beautiful fit, breathes great, can absorb moisture, can warm), but it is expensive and not as durable as acetate. What color should you buy? Any color you want, as long as it is a jacket in a material that is so dense that the color of the lining does not shine through the jacket and is visible from the outside. For a thinner jacket where the color underneath shines through, choose a lining in the same color as the jacket. In some situations, you can choose a lighter lining than the jacket, or a skin-colored lining, it depends on how the jacket will be worn.
- Iron the new lining fabric.
- Cut out the new lining pieces using the old ironed lining as a pattern (see picture below). Note the seam allowance in different places, so you know where the seam should go.
- Sew together along the sleeves and iron the seam.
- Sew the front and back together and iron the seams.
- Sew sleeves to body (front and back) on sewing machine, stitch length 2.5. Sleeves are a bit tricky to sew on, because the armhole itself is rounded, so the seam allowance will create a larger shape than there is room to sew into the armhole in the body. Also, the sleeve's armhole often has "ease" included in the pattern, which means that it is actually too big to easily fit into the armhole of the body. (You add "ease" to patterns when they need extra room for the body to move without a seam bursting.) So what you do is set the stitch length on the sewing machine to 5, and sew a seam like a half circle at the top of the armhole shape, the seam going along the future seam, and placed at about the middle of the seam allowance. Do not fasten the seam at the beginning or end, and pull out the thread so that there is about 10 cm of thread at the beginning and end to pull in. Then pull the fabric together so that it pleats, pin it to the armhole of the bodysuit with evenly distributed pleats. The most important place where pleating is needed is where the lining will lie against the upper back of the shoulder, that is where it will be pulled the most when the jacket is worn later, so make sure there is ease of fabric there. When you then sew on the sleeve of the bodysuit, you want as few pleats as possible, preferably none, so pin so that the pleats are not visible outside the seam. (You can also first sew on the sleeve with stitch length 5, to check that there are no pleats, and then with stitch length 2.5).
- Pin and sew the lining to the lining and collar using a sewing machine with a stitch length of 2.5.
- Pin the lining to the sleeves (make sure the lining is not too long and can ride outside the jacket sleeve when you put it on, and make sure the lining is not too short so it can cause the jacket fabric to pull when you wear it).
- Sew sleeves by hand using blind stitch.
- Pin the lining along the bottom edge. Make sure the lining is long enough so that it doesn't pull on the hem of the jacket when you wear it. And that the lining isn't too long so that it hangs down under the jacket when you wear it.
- Sew the lining to the bottom edge by hand using a blind stitch.
- Voila! 😍 Now the jacket has a new lining! Well done! 💪🪡🧵🙌
