5 Ways to Customise a Denim Jacket

Today I'm sharing five fun and easy ways to customise a denim jacket so you can get crafty and turn that plain jacket in your wardrobe into something really special.

I love the 90s vibe of the current denim jacket trend - I was a 90s teen and denim jackets totally make me want to start listening to mixtapes, spend hours chatting on the phone to my friends, and maybe write a zine or two!

Whether or not you're a nostalgic 30-something like me, if you've got a plain and boring denim jacket you want to customise then you've come to the right blog post. I'll be showing you how to personalise your jacket with custom lettering, sequins, patches, embroidery and badges, creating a fun and colourful look.

This post is sponsored by StickerYou, where you can create custom die-cut stickers, labels, badges, temporary tattoos... and custom printed patches!

Custom patches are great for small businesses, clubs, and for creating things like wedding favours, but there are no minimum order requirements at StickerYou so you can also use the site to create totally unique patches to match your personal style. You can upload your own artwork or even photos to their online editor, or use StickerYou's selection of fonts and artwork to create your designs.

Click here to see StickerYou's full catalogue and to order a free sample pack of their different materials!

1. Lettering.

Use felt or fabric to add a nickname or other word of your choice to the back of your jacket - I decided to add the word "CRAFTER" to my jacket in bright rainbow felt letters. If you also want to join the crafter club you can use the templates provided at the bottom of this post to cut out your letters. To write a different word, either draw your own large letters on a piece of paper to create your templates or print the word of your choice in a very large font size.

If you're using fabric for your letters, back them with some iron-on interfacing to make them sturdier (and easier to handle when you sew them to the denim) and help prevent the edges from fraying.

Pin the letters along the top of the back of the jacket, using a tape measure or large ruler to help you position the middle letter in the centre of the jacket and to evenly space the other letters.

Sew the letters in position with whip stitch and matching sewing thread(s).

2. Sequins.

You can't beat a bit of sparkle! I decided to add a few lines of sequins to my jacket, using five bright colours to create a rainbow design. You could also use sequins to make sparkly shapes on your jacket, or to further embellish the lettering.

If you're just using sequins in one colour, use sewing thread to match the sequins. If you're using multiple colours like I did, use blue thread to match the denim.

I used two stitches per sequin, so the stitches formed a roughly straight line, following the lines of the jacket. If you're sewing decorative shapes with your sequins, use an erasable fabric marker to draw the shapes on the denim then use the lines as a guide when adding your sequins.

I stitched two long lines of sequins down the back of the jacket...

... one line along the front...

... and a mini sequin rainbow on each of the cuffs.

3. Patches.

Here are the custom patches I ordered from StickerYou (I love the idea of being in an actual Cat Lady Club, don't you?). 

I found StickerYou's patch editor really easy to use, and was able to put together my three patch designs from their selection of images without any hiccups or computer rage (hurrah!). StickerYou are based in Toronto, Canada, so it took a little while for the patches to reach me via the international post but they were shipped very promptly and arrived in good condition.

When you've got your own patches ready to add to your jacket, decide on the placement of the patches and sew them in position one by one. I stitched two of my patches on the front and the third on the shoulder of my jacket. Use whip stitch and matching sewing thread and take care to only sew through one layer of the denim!

If you sew a patch to a pocket like I did, make sure you start your stitching at the top of the patch (and thus the top of the pocket) so that when you've sewn around the patch you won't have to reach too far inside the pocket to finish your stitching.

4. Embroidery.

There are so many possibilities when it comes to embroidering a denim jacket! You could go big and bold, or just add subtle interest with a few stitched details. I decided to roll with my 90s nostalgia and decorate the back of my jacket with a retro geometric pattern - choosing embroidery thread to match my rainbow theme.

You can use the geometric patterns provided at the bottom of this post to decorate your jacket, sketch your own designs, or find some patterns you love in craft books or online.

Trace each pattern onto a piece of tissue paper with a fine pen. Use large tacking stitches to secure the tissue paper to the denim, then sew along the lines with your chosen embroidery thread. I used three of the six strands in my thread and stitched my geometric patterns with backstitch (for a bolder line, try chain stitch).

Once your stitching is finished, remove the tacking stitches then carefully tear away the tissue paper. I gradually filled the space in the central panel of the jacket with geometric shapes, creating a colourful abstract design. 

 

 
5. Badges & Pins.

Last and by no means least, it's time to add some badges and pins! Denim jackets are perfect for showing off your collection of enamel pins, kitsch badges from your childhood, and any other fun pins you've picked up over the years.

I pinned a single badge on one side of my jacket...

... and a whole cluster down the other side, to create a pleasingly asymmetric look.

You'll need to remove the badges and pins whenever you wash the jacket, of course, but that just gives you a chance to mix things up and add in some new faves! I'd definitely recommend hand-washing your jacket once you've added the custom letters and other embellishments, to help keep your jacket looking at its best.

Click on the images to open the templates and/or embroidery patterns in a new window or tab. Download the image or make sure you're viewing it at full size and print at 100%.

DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by StickerYou, where you can create custom printed patches, die-cut stickers, labels, badges, temporary tattoos, and more.

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80s Child: Badges

I've been sorting through lots of boxes as part of my Less 365 project (trying to clear out / declutter / give away one thing a day for a year) and I found my childhood badge collection!

I've often read (on the sort of blogs that are pro-minimalism & anti-clutter) that you should take photos of sentimental items and then get rid of the objects themselves, because who needs them? And to be honest I thought this was a bit bonkers. What is wrong with keeping something that has sentimental value, and reminds you of special times, places or people?? For myself, at least, looking through photos of special, sentimental items I used to own would just make me sad about giving them away! 

But actually, looking through some of the collections of things I aquired in my childhood (what is it about kids and collecting things?) I can see the usefulness of this recording-the-object-in-a-photo idea. I can take a photo as a record of / celebration of the whole collection, and then clear out all the badges (or erasers or shells or whatever else I accumulated as a kid) that no longer have a strong emotional tug. For example, I am absolutely keeping the badge with a badger, hedge & bridge on it (made by my friend Rosemary for our very nerdy reading & spelling club) but do I need/want badges about not littering? No, I do not.

Did you have a badge collection as a kid? Or did you collect other things?

P.S. if you fancy it, you can also check out this old post about my sticker collection :)

How To: Felt Lucky Pants / Underpants / Knickers Badge

I've got three little felt tutorials to share with you guys this week... starting with today's project: making a lucky pair of felt underpants!

These cute felt brooches / badges are quick and easy to sew, and they make fun, silly gifts for people about to sit exams or anything else where they need a bit of extra luck.

To make one of these badges you will need...

- the template sheet at the bottom of this post
- felt in three bright colours
- mini star sequins (approx 6mm)
- matching sewing threads
- a needle & a pin
- sewing scissors (embroidery scissors are ideal for cutting out small shapes)
- a brooch clasp or safety pin

1. Use the template provided to cut out one pants shape (from colour #1), and one oval shape (colour #2) - pinning or holding the paper pattern piece to the felt as you cut around it.

When I used to make these brooches for sale in my Etsy shop (many years ago!), I cut out the oval shapes by hand (which is why the finished brooches in the photos are all slightly different shapes), but you definitely get a neater finish with a template!

2. Place the pants shape in the centre of the oval, and use running stitch and matching sewing thread to sew it in position.

3. Pin or hold the oval shape on another piece of felt (colour #3) and cut around it, leaving a small border of the third colour around the oval. Then use the piece you've just cut out as a template to cut a second matching shape from the same colour.

 

4. Use matching thread and running stitch to sew the oval onto one of the new pieces.

 

5. Then decorate the pants with a trio of small star-shaped sequins, sewing each sequin in place with 5 stitches. You can use thread to match the sequins (e.g. I used white to "match" the silver sequins I used for this brooch) or to match the colour of the pants.

 
If you can't find any small star sequins, you could use one larger star instead.

6. Turn over the remaining felt shape, and sew a brooch clasp or safety pin to the back. If you're adding a brooch clasp (as pictured) use a double-thickness of matching sewing thread to secure the clasp.

If you're using a safety pin, use matching thread to sew a small piece of felt over the fixed bar of the pin, holding it in place.

 

7. Place the front and back of the brooch together, and sew around the edge with running stitch and matching sewing thread (colour #3) - sewing flush with the edge of the central oval. Finish your stitching neatly at the back.

 

Here's some I made earlier! :)

Click here to view the template sheet in another window/tab, and print it at 100%.

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to make as many brooches as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a few photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my tutorial on your site. Thanks!

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Folksy Goodies (and a new assistant)

A couple of weeks ago, the British craft website Folksy (where I've had a shop for a few years now) got a snazzy new look.

I have to admit to having been a teeny bit stressed by the prospect of big changes at my busiest time of year, but I love the colourful new logo, the new shop layouts look great, and the new "one page" listing process has already proved to be a huge timesaver when running my shop.

While the revamp was happening, the maintenance page had a sudoku puzzle on it to "keep you entertained" while the site was down overnight. My mother is a total sudoku fiend, she is completely addicted to them and happily works her way through the most complicated ones she can find. I am under strict orders to save her any sudoku puzzles I find in newspapers, etc, so I printed off the Folksy sudoku and gave it to her, she filled it in during her morning coffee, and I then tweeted that she'd finished it.

Then this week, the lovely staff at Folksy (who has seen my tweet) sweetly sent her a little parcel of goodies to say congratulations for completing the puzzle!


They sent her a set of Folksy badges and a Folksy notebook, both from the new "Folksy Collection" which launched this week.

Needless to say, my mother was totally thrilled by her surprise parcel! She was quite blown away by the unexpected kindness of the gift, and is very much in love with the notebook...


... she also likes the badges but has decided that badges aren't quite her sort of thing, so she's kindly passed them along to me. Hurrah! :)


The badges also got some attention from this big bundle of fur, who came to "help" me take photos... perhaps I should make him my new studio assistant?

"Oooh, what are these? Are they for me?"


"You don't want to take photos of these boring things. Take my picture instead!"


"I'm ready for my close-up now..."

I Heart Tea (Crafting 365 day 343)

I drink a lot of tea. Many many mugs of the lovely stuff. I am totally addicted and totally obsessed with all the paraphernalia that goes along with it: teacups, teapots, teacosies, even nice teaspoons! So it seemed only right and proper that I got back into sewing after my recent break with a batch of "I love tea" badges:
Sooo many tiny letters to cut out and sew on! Very satisfying finishing that lot, but there are even more to come as I'm finally going to be restocking the other four colours over the next few weeks as well...

Thinking of tea (and you know I often am), did you know that everyday when Eastenders finishes so many British people put the kettle on for a cuppa that it almost overwhelms the National Grid? I learnt this fun little fact from the shopping blog Wee Birdy, which kindly featured some of my tea-themed brooches this month. Hurrah!

Other recent features of my work include a sweet post on I Love Hokey, my "tea taste" pin in a lovely tea-themed Etsy montage on Mon Petit Lapin (I drink plain old builders tea - Fairtrade, of course - black no sugar in case you're wondering) and in a tea themed "treasury" selection by SassaLynne, a mention of my badger brooch by Miss Frugality, kind words on Hazelnut Studio's blog ... and also a little feature on Crafty Crafty.

Any mention of my work always makes me smile, be it on shopping blogs or little mentions of my felty things on the blogs of fellow crafters (apologies to anyone I forget to mention - I love you all, I'm just forgetful!) but I have to admit to having a little giggle at CraftyCrafty's description that "These fantastic felted goodies are part of the felt 365 project, a spinoff from crafting 365." Felt 365! Heehee! I love how my Crafting 365 group is starting to get mentioned places and take on a life of its own away from me but it did make me laugh all the same :)