DIY a Denim Jacket With a Cozy Lining This Winter

Tools and Materials:

• Men’s Jeans x2
• Fleece blanket
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Pattern paper
• Pencil
• Pins
• Seam ripper
• Sewing machine

For this denim jacket DIY, I would use these two pairs of men’s jeans. I was lucky to find pairs with a similar wash for this upcycle. 

Pin the new length 

To make the pattern for my new jacket, I decided to use a comfy sweater that had a great fit. I pinned on the sweater where I wanted my denim jacket to end. 

Create a pattern 

I traced my sweater onto a piece of paper to create my pattern pieces. I traced the back, the sleeves and then folded the sweater in half to create two front pieces for the denim jacket. 

Cut the jeans 

Next, I seam ripped the waistband off of the first pair of jeans as I would use it later. 

I seam ripped the side seams of the pairs of jeans and cut where the pockets were attached to save some time. I also cut where the two legs were attached so that I could fully open up each leg. 

Next, I placed my pattern pieces on the denim and cut out the fabric that I needed to make this awesome jacket. I made sure to add a bit of seam allowance while cutting. 

I placed the first front piece, right sides together on the other leg, and cut out the second front piece. 

I then seam ripped the second waistband and put it aside to use later. 

Next, it was time to take apart the second pair of jeans. 

I placed my sleeve pattern on the leg and cut the fabric with some added seam allowance. While cutting, I decided to make the bottom of the sleeve a little wider than the pattern. I used the other leg to cut out the second sleeve. 

Next, I seam ripped the pockets of the other jeans and put them aside to be used later. 

I didn’t have enough denim to cut the back piece as one so I folded the pattern piece into 4 and used whatever fabric I had left to cut out the four pieces for the back piece, adding seam allowance of course. 

Assemble the jacket 

With the 4 pieces cut out, I attached them, right sides together.

The back piece was put together so I decided to attach the two front pieces. I placed them over the back piece, right sides together, and sewed the shoulder and side seams. 

I then sewed each of the sleeves, right sides together. 

With the sleeves ready, I attached them to the jacket, sewing them right sides together. 

Attach the lining 

I had a warm and cozy fleece blanket that I never used anymore. I decided to make my denim jacket more winter-friendly by adding a fleece lining. I traced my patterns onto the fleece blanket and then assembled the lining just as I had done with the denim jacket. 

I attached the lining to the jacket, right sides together, by sewing along the front opening and neckline. 

Add a collar 

To create the collar, I first had to measure the length of the neckline. 

I then drew a trapezoid shape on the fleece. The bottom line of the shape matched the length of the neckline. I drew the collar about 8cm (3.15 inches) high. 

I cut out the lining fabric and a piece of denim for the collar. I sewed the pieces, right sides together along the top and sides. 

I grabbed a pair of scissors and trimmed off the excess fabric. I then turned the collar right side out.

I realized that I should have left the neckline open so I used my seam ripper to open it back up. I then sandwiched the collar in between the two layers with the longer side facing down. I then sewed the neckline closed again, attaching the collar at the same time. I was careful to make sure that the lining side of the collar was facing the lining side of the jacket. 

Sew on pockets 

Next, I attached the pockets that I had cut off of the jeans, to the front of my jacket. These are just a great added detail to the jacket! 

Using my measuring tape, I measured the width of the pocket and measured how long I would want the pocket cover to be.

I created a little pattern from my measurements and cut out 4 pieces from the denim scraps I had leftover. I attached the pieces to each other, right sides together leaving one of the sides open. 

I trimmed off the excess fabric, especially at the corners. 

I turned the piece right side out and then folded in the raw edges that I had left open. I then sewed along all the edges twice to give the piece that typical denim look. 

I carefully placed the pocket covers on the jacket and then sewed them onto the denim fabric making sure not to sew them to the lining. 

Sew on the waistband 

I decided to rough up the bottom of the jacket by gathering it. I then attached the waistband I had removed from the first pair of jeans to the gathered bottom of the jacket with a straight stitch. 

Crop the jacket 

I tried on the jacket and although it looked good, I wasn’t happy with the length. I decided to remove the waistband, crop the jacket, and leave the bottom raw. 

To make sure the lining wouldn’t peek out, I folded in the edge a little and sewed it down. 

Finish the sleeves 

I did the same to the lining of the sleeves. 

I then measured to check how long I would need the waistbands to be to fit around my wrists. 

I cut the waistbands to size and decided not to sew them on so that I would have more styling options to play around with. I then cut along the seams of my sleeves to have them flare a little more. 

This DIY denim jacket is absolutely perfect for winter! Let me know what your favorite detail of this piece is in the comments!