Swapping a Zip for Buttons

A couple of weeks a go my mum came back from a holiday in Spain, she had a good time but said there were a couple of days when the weather was cool due to the time of year.  As a result she bought a jacket on market stall on to later find out the zip was broke.  I asked her if she wanted a new zip but she said could I do anything else as she said zips are always going on things.  We decided to do loops and buttons, she actually prefers it this way and as it only cost a few pounds on a second hand stall it was worth the experiment.

So first job was to take out the broken zip, this is always the bit I hate because there are always parts that stick and you can't just do it quickly or you may rip it.

It wasn't too bad on this coat but at the bottom it was maybe triple stitched then glued!  so that was a bit annoying.  I had some grey ribbon already so I folded that in half and stitched it to make the loops.

Then I positioned them on the jacket in the correct place and put a pin opposite it so I had the correct alignment for sewing on the buttons.

After that it was a quick job of sewing straight down both sides then sewing on the buttons, I chose the silver as she like a bit of bling and made sure they had a small stalk for the ribbon to loop over.

My husband said it's not really his cup of tea but then as my mother is an eighty year old woman I don't expect them to have the same fashion sense! She thinks it's ideal for popping on when she goes out in the car, she doesn't want to wear a longer coat then.  I'm glad she likes it.  

I made my first make from my 2018 to do list last week.  It is a shirt dress ready for the summer but I can't fully share yet as it is going on the Minerva blog next month I will link it nearer the time but here is a sneak peak...

I did say it was just a peak!

Right I'm off to cook the dinner then later I will continue reading 'Hag-Seed' another Magaret Atwood, it has got off to a good start.  I enjoyed The Heart Goes Last and a few of the stories from Stone Mattress.  If anyone has any recommendations about which are her best works let me know. Christina from A Colourful Life said her older work is better.