How to Make a Lapel Thinner
The lapel extends from the collar to the front and can alter the look and style of a jacket or coat. A wide lapel adds bulk to a coat or jacket while a thin lapel give a more streamlined appearance. Most fancy dinner jackets and tuxedos have thin lapels, while more casual clothing typically has larger lapels. You can alter the lapel on a jacket or coat for a more refined, elegant look with sewing skills.
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Things You'll Need
- Coat or jacket with medium to large width lapels
- Matching thread
- Needle
- Threader
- Sewing machine
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Marking pen or pencil
Instructions
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Lay out the jacket or coat and mark the lapels to determine how thin you would like to make them. Use the ruler to make sure both sides have equal width. Cover the extra material in the lapel with cloth or paper and wear it in front of a mirror to make sure that thinner lapels will look proportionate on the jacket.
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Note where and how the lapels are attached to the collar and jacket. Use the threader to carefully open the inner seams of the lapels to completely remove them from the jacket and collar.
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Cut the lapels from the inner side to make them thinner according to your previous measurements. Measure both lapels to make sure they are the same size. Leave the outer sides of the lapels that are visible at the front of the jacket, intact.
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Reattach your thinner lapels using a sewing machine or needle and thread to sew the lapels to the jacket. This will ensure that the fabric is removed from the inner portions of the lapels to make them thinner, while the outer crease and shape is not changed.
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Tips & Warnings
You can also make your jacket lapels thinner by cut the outside edges of the lapels and resewing them. However, this is more difficult because both sides must have neat seams that are the same shape.
Cutting from the inner side of the lapels allows you to trim and sew them back on without worrying about the outer, more visible appearance of the lapels.
In some cases wide lapels may need to be cut from the outer edge in order to give them a thinner, more streamlined shape.
You can also make your lapels thinner without removed them from the jacket or coat by cutting the edges to size and folding and sewing or sewing a ribbon onto the cut edge. However, this process will likely not work for dressier, neatly stitched clothing.
If you do not have adequate sewing skills, have a seamstress or tailor make your lapels thinner. This project does require some degree of sewing aptitude.
Use a stitch threader to remove the lapels from the coat or jacket to prevent ripping or cutting the fabric. Use pins to hold the lapels in place as you resew them to the jacket. Make sure to note where the lapels should be attached as you remove them. In some cases the collar will also have to be made thinner to be proportionate with the new, thinner lapels.
References
- Photo Credit Polka Dot RF/Polka Dot/Getty Images
