Add A Lining To A Trench Coat

It never gets very hot around Vancouver, so I can wear my winter coat for more than half the year. I usually alternate between my winter coat and sweatshirts. I've had this trench coat in my closet for a couple of years, but haven't worn it often because I'm always cold. The solution? Sewing in a fleece lining! I'm amazed at how toasty this is! It also didn't take very long and it didn't require a sewing machine.

The newly winterized trench coat

The ingredients: 1 trench coat + 1 fleece sweater. Really, any style of fleece sweater would do as long as it's a little larger than the lining of the coat you're going to put it in. If it has no zipper/buttons/opening, no problem! Just cut a straight line down the center of the front.

1. Turn the fleece sweater inside out, so that the good side will be visible inside the coat.
2. Line up the shoulder seams and hand stitch the fleece to the existing lining. This will help keep the lining from shifting.

3. Hand stitch the sleeves together at the wrist. You may have to trim the fleece sleeves so that it matches up with the lining before sewing. If your sleeve and jacket both have a seam on the underside, you can match the lines up to ensure that the sleeve isn't twisted on the inside.

4. Pin the fleece around the neckline, and carefully cut away excess fleece to match the lining.
5. Hand stitch around the edges of the lining. You can leave the bottom open if you want. If you want the lining to be removable, you could sew snaps or velcro to the body of the jacket and sleeves instead of stitching in the lining.

I followed the same process to add a fleece lining to a leather jacket. (I had to make the lining for that jacket from scratch, so it turned out a little clumsier than this one.) I'm sure my jackets will get a lot more wear from now on.

All toasty!