Yeah, I'm working on it knowing I can toss it without regret if I mess it up. I'm adding patches now, on the flat parts, to get a feel for things while I figure out what to do with the seams, especially where the sleeves meet the chest/shoulders/back. I talked to my mother about this jacket and we figured whether I try to alter this or make something from scratch, I'm gonna learn stuff and experience headaches either way. So I'll tackle this first, see how jackets work, and go from there. :)
After this jacket, find a shit/jacket/whatever you like. Get it at a thrift shop for less than $10. Then carefully take all the seams out, and lay out the separate pieces. That, more than anything, will help you understand clothing construction, and how things morph/change over time due to wear. You will see pieces that no longer lay flat, due to shaping around the body part (like shoulders and elbows), and understand where seams are under the most stress, and where the most wear and tear really is. It's a pretty cool experiment, if you are looking to grow your knowledge of how clothes are constructed.