Max's Barn Coat

Max's Barn Coat

My project is my friend Max's favourite denim barn coat. It had a lot of wear on the shoulder from a seatbelt, and the cuffs were quite damaged, but otherwise it's in great shape. He gave me permission to do whatever I liked with it so I decided to go big!

For supplies, I used a quilting ruler, red Olympus sashiko thread, some red heavy cotton, bias tape, and my usual sewing supplies. I went with red to contrast the blue and match the existing red stitching on the pockets. I purchased the fabric and thread at Patch in downtown Halifax NS.

I started by pinning red bias tape around the cuffs and hand stitching it on.

After testing a few marking implements, I went with Crayola markers for my grid. I marked out 1/2" squares on the front on one pocket, over the tear in the shoulder, and down the back. I wanted to create a "drip" effect by making the edges of the stitched area uneven. I marked out a few rice flowers with red marker to get an idea of what

The stitching took about two weeks, and I worked on it in basically every spare moment -- at home and at work. I pinned the patch under the hole but inside the lining, and just did the rice flower stitch over it. Eventually I did tack it down a little more.

I am over the moon at the final result! The marker washed out with no problems and I have it a little iron to finish it. I can't wait to get it back to Max to wear!

I think he likes it!