Frugal Crafters Do It With Duct Tape

Ooh, I may need to put that on a t-shirt.

So I bought myself a new winter coat at the end of last winter because my old coat was driving me crazy. It's a puffy-on-the-inside dealy, so mostly, I got fed up with feeling so bulky everywhere I went. But although the coat was in pretty good shape, the cuffs were a mess and I decided I'd had enough with looking shabby.

I mean, c'mon. Look at that.





But the new coat I bought was wool and the first time this fall when a strong wind cut right through it, I decided it was time to figure out how to fix my old coat. Cut off the raggedy cuffs? Knit some sort of cover? Drag the thing to the tailor looking for suggestions? What did they do back in old timey times? If I knew how to sew I'd know. Why didn't I learn in anticipation of this very situation?

And then it hit me. I own black duct tape. I used it to repair the strap of my backpack and it's held up nicely.

So I cut short bits of tape and wrapped them over the edge of the cuff in a not really scalloped effect. I also did the edge of the coat and the trim of the pockets.

Here are 2 shots showing the before and after.





Behold! The finished product.



It's been holding up fine. The trim on the pockets has started to come off, since it was so narrow to start with. I can live with that. If I can get the duct tape cuffs to hold up for the whole season, I'll consider it a major victory. If I have to re-do them in January, I'll still be pretty happy.

It's enough to make me want to apply to Tim Gunn's Guide to Style just to see his face when he peeks in the closet and finds my duct tape coat.