DIY a Denim Jacket With a Cozy Lining This Winter

Recreateful
by Recreateful
9 Materials
$15
5 Hours
Medium

This tutorial is so exciting because it features a DIY I have wanted to do for ages! I took men’s jeans and completely refashioned them to create a super on-trend denim jacket that has become one of my absolute favorite pieces! Follow a few simple steps and find yourself creating a gorgeous new jacket.

Tools and Materials:

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


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. 

Use a sweater

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. 

Trace the sweater

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. 

Seam rip the waistband

Cut the jeans 

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

DIY denim jacket

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. 

Cut out the fabric


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. 

Cut the second front piece


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

Seam rip the second pair


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

Take apart the second pair


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

Cut out the sleeves


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. 

Remove the pockets


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

Cut the back piece


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. 

Sew the back pieces together

Assemble the jacket 

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

Join the back and front pieces


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. 

Sew the sleeves


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

Attach the sleeves


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

Fleece-lined denim jacket

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. 

Sew on the lining


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

Measure the neckline

Add a collar 

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

Draw a trapezoid


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. 

Cut out the collar


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. 

Trim the excess fabric


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

Attach the collar


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. 

Women’s lined denim 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! 

Measure the pockets


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

Cut pocket covers


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. 

Trim the corners


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

Fold in the raw edges


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. 

Sew on the pocket cover


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. 

Gather the bottom

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

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. 

Fold in the edge of the lining


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

Fold in the sleeve lining

Finish the sleeves 

I did the same to the lining of the sleeves. 

Measure the wrist


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

Place the waistband on the sleeve


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. 

How to make a lined denim jacket

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


How to fold a jacket

Do you struggle to store your jackets neatly? Check out this tutorial on How to Easily Fold Different Jacket Types!

Suggested materials:
  • @ pairs of men's jeans
  • Fleece blanket
  • Measuring tape
See all materials

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