How to Thrift Flip a Cute Puffer Jacket in 2 Easy Ways

Tools and materials:

• Eyelets
• Eyelet tools
• Hammer
• Scissors
• Elastic cord
• Puffer jacket
• Beads
• Cord stopper

1. Make it your own

The first thing I wanted to do with my jacket was cover up the logo.

It was kind of worn down and faded, which made the whole jacket look aged.

First, I tried drawing over it with marker, then I tried painting a heart over it.

None of those methods were giving off the finished vibe I was looking for, so in the end, I glued on a plastic embellishment that I liked.

There are a variety of ways to cover up logos or imperfections. Experiment and figure out what is right for your garment and style.

2. Eyelets

In order to add a cinched waist to your puffer jacket, you’ll have to add some eyelets. Mark where you want to put your eyelets.

You only want the eyelet to go through the first layer of fabric, so you might want to use scissors to make sure you don’t pierce all the way through.

Put the eyelet in the hole and flip the garment onto a hard surface.

Put the eyelet tool on the back and hammer it flat. I added eyelets on either side of the zipper and on either side of all the vertical seams.

This came out to a total of 6 eyelets on the front and 4 on the back, on either side of the vertical seams in the back.

You may need more or less eyelets depending on the structure of your jacket.

Simply repeat the steps of cutting a hole, inserting the eyelet, flipping the fabric and using the eyelet tool and hammer to secure each eyelet in place.

3. Cut and thread the elastic

Measure out how much elastic you need by going twice around the waist and adding a few inches.

Then you can use a plastic yarn needle to thread the elastic through the eyelets.

Pull the elastic halfway through the eye of the needle and then use the needle to thread through the eyelets.

You may need to exercise some serious patience for this part of the process.

I had a pretty difficult time getting elastic from one eyelet to the next. There were also a lot of feathers.

4. Cord stopper

Once you get the elastic all the way around the jacket, string it through a cord stopper.

Then add a bead that is larger than the eyelets on it as well, and I strung the elastic back through the cord stop.

Next, reattach your plastic needle and thread the second half of the elastic through the eyelets.

Now you will have both ends of the elastic coming through the eyelet on the other side of the zipper.

Add a bead to that side as well, and tie the ends together.

Adjust the elastic so that you can push the tied ends into the eyelet hole, hiding the knot.

5. Cinched or cropped

To wear the jacket cinched, simply put it on and pull the elastic. Adjust to fabric so it bunches evenly around the body.

To wear it cropped, simply fold the bottom of the jacket up underneath itself until you get to the waist. Then tighten the elastic to hold everything in place. 

Thrift flipping

I hope you enjoyed learning how to thrift flip a puffer jacket by adding some variety in how you can wear it.

I love sharing upcycled clothing ideas that give new life to old clothes.

What did you think of this project? Do you have any upcycle ideas of your own to share? Comment and let me know. 

Next, check out my Easy T-shirt Weaving Pattern Tutorial.