I have a really nicely patched and well named Ike Jacket that has seen better days to say the least. It was improperly stored for many years and has some issues. I need some opinions on what I should do as this would be a great display piece. There are some smaller moth nips around the jacket but the main issues is the right sleeve. There are several large holes and numerous nips on the cuff. The Ike is lined with a white material, could be silk but I'm not sure. The lining material is what the named is written on. Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks

 

Henry

Reweaving by a specialized taylor shop is a very expensive option, if one can be found.

As noted reweaving is a lost art so those who still practice it can charge a lot: that is major damage and unless there's some miracle process I've never heard of, I'd have to say that for all practical purposes, that's beyond repair.

Even modest repairs will likely exceed value

A good tailor could remove a good sleeve from a common jacket and replace the damaged sleeve and still use the original liner. You would want to use circa thread.

It all depends on what you can tolerate as far as standards go. Would it be original? No. but it would display better. No different to me than repainting a trashed helmet.

Just to give a idea of wat reweaving entails, this is from a yelp review"

 

Reweaving is expensive, so whatever you are considering reweaving either was expensive or has a lot of sentimental value. The least I spent was on a 1/4 inch tear/hole and that alone cost me $60.

Note that reweaving cannot be done to cotton. It is meant for garments/accessories made of animal hair like wool and cashmere. Also, there must be enough fabric for reweaving to be possible.

 

As for replacing a sleeve: finding the exact same type, size and shade of jacket from which to get a replacement sleeve will be darn near impossible: even one that looks close in an ebay photo can't be judged until you buy and have it in hand and unless you get very lucky the first time that could become an expensive search. And then there's the cost of having the new one sewn on.

 

How about just displaying one sleeve, the left one with the SSI? If you carefully unstich the sleeve and frame it, it can look pretty good. Using a seam ripper and some patience, most people can do the removal. If the uniform is named inside, you could cut that out and frame it with the sleeve.

 

Thanks for the thoughts, I will consider my options.

 

Henry

I do appreciate your desire to preserve something . I found my self in this same position. These photos show the jacket worn by Captain Thomas W Morrison, B-company 33rd regiment. There was not one decent spot on the jacket. I still held on to it for 8 years, hoping to find a worthy display option. There were none. I salvaged some pieces and plan to include them in a shadow box with his dog tags , sam brown belt and some other items.

The jacket is quite dirty. Any thoughts as to cleaning? I the issue of finding a sleeve that is faded enough to match the rest of the uniform.

 

- Henry

Personally, I'd read it its last rites!

This is where it comes down to "How do I best preserve the legacy of the veteran?" not, "How do I restore a uniform," and pieces of this coat nicely framed can do that quite well.

I have repaired a few over the years. Find a donor coat or part of one, cut pieces from it to fill the holes and sew them with old thread. Looks OK from 5-10 feet and displays nice.