Let’s Create a Unique Winter Jacket!

Do you have trouble finding the perfect winter jacket that is both stylish and inexpensive? You can create a unique one in no time at all! See instructions and pictures below.

For some reason, I have always had difficulty in finding just the right jacket for the weather. Maybe always is a bit of an exaggeration….let’s say for about 20 years. I was born and raised in California not far from the ocean. Our weather was pretty consistent year round so finding the right outer wear was never a concern, usually a sweater or sweatshirt was plenty of warmth for the weather. Occasionally, we had some chilly or wet weather but a light jacket was all that was needed to protect me from the elements.

All that changed when we made the move to northern Idaho. Now it was necessary to have the right jacket for the seasons. My sweaters, sweatshirts and light jackets are great in the late spring and early fall….but winter is another story altogether – a good, warm jacket is a necessity.

When we planned to move due North to what my family considered the frozen tundra, my dad gave me a down jacket that he had used for a work assignment one winter in Colorado. It is a WARM jacket! Although it is made for a man and pretty big on me (the sleeves go past my hands), I have worn it many, many times and have enjoyed it’s warmth. I have always felt like I was wrapped in his love when I’ve had it on. This picture was taken in 1993. I have it framed so it is a picture of a picture but will give you an idea of the size of dad’s jacket.

Although dad’s down jacket is warm, it was too large and bulky to be worn with work clothes, for going out or for traveling during the winter months. In my search for the right winter jacket, I looked around for a long time and even gathered a few jackets here and there that worked well for certain occasions. I didn’t have one, though, that was versatile enough to wear for both work and casual. To be fair, there are a lot of great winter jackets available, but I’m not one to spend a great deal of money on clothes so those weren’t an option for me.

One of my friends was fond of wearing blazers not only to work but also with her jeans. She always looked put together and stylish. Over the years, she gave a few of her blazers to me and I incorporated them into my work attire and wore them occasionally. While on the hunt for a warm jacket that I hoped would work well for both work clothes and casual ones without costing an arm and a leg, I went to the Goodwill to browse their selection. After looking through the women’s section, I headed over to the men’s and looked through the blazers. I found one that was just plain black wool and tried it on. There was no tag to let me know what size it was but it wasn’t too big and felt pretty warm. I bought it for $5, took it home and wore it for a year or so before thinking it might be more comfortable if I altered it a bit to make it more form fitting.

Below are pictures of this blazer with work attire, holiday attire, casual attire – please excuse the quality of the first two pictures. The first picture is before I altered the blazer/jacket. You can kinda see that the shoulders are too big and there is no belt but it was functional. In this picture, I am wearing a skirt and scarf that I made from a turtleneck. You can find instructions on that fashion upcycle here. The second two pictures are of the altered blazer. The belt I used is reversible with one side black and the other brown. I love this feature and switch the belt depending on the outfit I am wearing.

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Altering a blazer to be a fitted jacket is very quick and easy. If you don’t have a sewing machine, it can still be done by hand but will take a bit more time. The first step I took was to make a pleat in each shoulder. The pleats are 1″, just enough to bring the seam of the jacket to the top of my shoulder – you may need a little larger or smaller pleat.

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The second step was to make a dart on each side of the back seam to create a fitted waistline. These first 2 steps were more simple than I thought they would be considering the bulk of the fabric. The next step was to add belt loops so I could wear a belt with the jacket. Instead of making belt loops, I used some from a pair of pants hubby no longer wore and had given to me to use for fabric. I removed the loops from the pants with a seam ripper and sewed them to the jacket with the sewing machine – this could be done by hand. I placed the belt loops at the waistline, one loop at each side seam and one on the back side seam. In the picture with the belt, you can see how the pleats look. They appear to have been made when the blazer was created as opposed to being added later.

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The final touch was to add a decorative button. If needed, you can enlarge the existing button hole, I didn’t need to do that with this blazer. I do like to cuff the sleeves once in awhile too.

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That’s all there is to it! Fast, easy, inexpensive and unique!

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Supplies Needed

• Blazer
• Sewing machine
• Thread, pins, scissors
• Material for belt loops or belt loops from an old pair of pants
• Belt
• Large decorative button

Instructions

• Make pleat in the center of each shoulder
  • To create the pleat, turn the blazer inside out and find the center of the shoulder seam. Fold all layers of the fabric over and pin. Sew approximately 1″ from the shoulder seam in both directions – to the back and front of the jacket
  • Top stitch from the shoulder seam approximately 1″ in both directions to help the pleat lay flat
• Create darts – one on each side of the back seam at the waistline
  • Turn jacket inside out and gather all layers of fabric at the waistline
  • Pin in place and stitch
• Replace button(s) with a decorative one
  • If using a larger button, increase the size of the existing button hole
• Sew belt loops at waist level – one on the center back seam & each side seam

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