Swapping buttons - winter coat makover

Have you ever owned one of those? Sad black coat, with little character or decoration? You probably still do, beacuse they seem to be universal, but in the end, they just make a silent existence in our wardrobes. I decided to give mine a new life.

As you can see, it is a classic short coat, with a hood, double breasted and with a belt. The buttons are really unexciting and just make it more classic. I bought it in times when I would go everywhere on a bicycle, so I needed something short but warm.

How to make a sew-on duffle coat toggle closure - tutorial

Duffle coats are all the rage, back from 1970 (and 1990s, and... well, they ARE practical and men love their casual sporty air). Today I am going to show you how to make a complete sew-on closure for a duffle coat, using toggle buttons and leather. We will also need some leather straps or similar.

First you need to decide on the shape of the leather pads. They may be square (that's the easiest to cut) or triangular and rounded on the corners. This is my favourite, though I prefer elongated triangles personally, like those you can see in the pictures above. If you are not inspired to design your own shape, you can use the measurement from the picture below to trace them onto your leather.