Upcycle ~ jeans to girls fashion jacket

So when you're 8 months pregnant and can't sleep at 3am, why not tackle one of those random projects you've had on the to do list for a while? Yup I started this project at 3am and worked on it until about 7am. It was the first time I'd tried it so I'm sure subsequent ones will take less time.

For this I used a used pair of men's size 34 jeans from Value Village, as well as a 1/2 yard of Amy Butler yellow full moon polka dot. Thread and 2 button snaps. What came out of it? A size 3/4T bolero jacket for a little fashionista. * Note that the sizing is fairly forgiving too as this fits my 26 months old.

The pattern for this jacket is from Leila and Ben who have fabulous patterns if you've never checked them out before.

Starting with a pair of used and washed jeans I laid out the pattern trying to use the existing seams. The pattern pieces are 2 x sleeves on the fold, back panel on the fold, two front panels in a mirror image and the collar in a mirror image. The first thing I wanted to show was the well worn cuffs and used these for the sleeve cuffs.

The collar was cut from the side seam, the back panel from the area just below the back pocket. There may be more ways to play with using the existing jeans seams in the back panel but this was the first attempt at it. Front panels were cut from front and back of upper leg.

For the lining I used a scrap piece of Amy Butler lotus fabric in a nice yellow and grey that I think goes great with the denim. I did not make a lining sleeve for this as I didn't want to mess with the existing cuff on the sleeve. Instead I serged around the armholes and left the arms with no lining when I attached the two together.

The sewing was taken straight from the Leila and Ben instructions, omitting the lining sleeve. Before sewing the lining to the outer fabric I also reused the small change pocket from the jeans. Using a stitch ripper I removed it and sewed it onto the front panel. I tried playing with using the back jean pocket but it was just too large.

I used two silver snap to finish it off and it's done!