It's a bird, it's a kite, it's Kate with a cape of red fringe!
Okay I don't have superpowers in the traditional comic book, save the world, rescue the kitties sense, but I do have a super-powered sense of seeing a piece of clothing and knowing that it just needs to be DIY-ed.
Which brings us to this DIY Fringe Jean Jacket. Though denim outerwear is timeless in every sense, this project would be a great way to get started on your back-to-school or fall fashion repertoire. Or just for S&Gs (Snaps & 'Grams ... duh!)
Check out the tutorial above and the how-to and some style inspiration below!
Prep It:
Jean jacket Colorful pleather or suede Leather hole punch Artificial sinew Razor Cutting mat Metal ruler Needle Scissors
Do It!:
- Lay your pleather or old leather out on the back of your jacket and cut it to size. If you know you want a shorter fringe, go ahead and cut the piece shorter at this stage!
- Place your fabric onto a cutting mat, grab your razor, and start fringing it up! To get even fringe, use the metal ruler as a weight to keep the fabric in place and a straight edge to cut against. My fringe strips were about 1/4 inch wide (I didn't measure and mark them, but approximated as I went along.) Leave an inch along the top of the fabric uncut, which you will use to attach this fringed panel to the jacket!
- Decide where you want the fringe to be placed on your jacket. I put mine just below the horizontal back seam, which visually anchored it and let me work with the lines already designed into the jacket, instead of introducing a new one. Another idea is to run shorter fringe down the sleeve seams!
- Once you know where your fringe panel will sit, decide how you'd like to stitch it to the jacket. The stitches will be big and visible and part of the design of the DIY, so think if you want a series of cross stitches, a straight across line, diagonal dashes, etc. Once you've figured that out, use the leather hole punch to punch the necessary holes in the suede.
- Thread a needle with artificial sinew, pulling the needle to the middle of the strand of sinew and knotting at the end, so each stitch will pull through two threads. Place the hole punched fabric panel on the jacket and start sewing, coming up from the inside of the jacket so the knotted end doesn't show. I did every stitch twice for extra security, but also because I liked the more substantive look of it!
- When you're done sewing the fringe panel on, tie off the sinew inside the jacket and trim any excess ends!
- Wear your jacket with a ladylike outfit for a badass kick, over a bikini to the beach, with an all black ensemble in classic rock-n-roll style, or in an outfit that's completely you!
