Making a bespoke denim jacket - where do you start!

Ali Morris

Aug 4

6 min read

A lot of work went in to making my denim jacket. A lot of time making and a lot of time planning.

I was going to make one tutorial, but I decided it was a lot to cover so I split it in to two, but then I thought a video about the details would be good too, so it became three, and then in the end it was five! There really was a lot to cover!

So how did I break it down? Therefore, how should you break it down so your denim jacket project is both enjoyable and succesful, and of course as easy as it possibly can be!

What I will say - this isn't an ideal first project. I'm not saying it's not for a beginner, as if you learn quick - it's just basic sewing with a basic fabric, but there's a lot to think about, and a lot of topstitching that you want to be neat.

But that said, as long as you have basic skills - and of course a block that fits to work from - you can do this!

I think a good place to start, whatever your level, is to have a go at sewing denim. Play around with diffrent types of seams, topstitch, topstitch thread etc... Do you want a special foot for lining up your topstitch perfectly, what thickness thread do you want to use, stitch length, get your tension right etc... What are you like at sewing over the bulky seams?

Make sure you pre-wash your denim if it's not already washed (raw denim) so you don't get blue hands - and of course so when you make your jacket it doesn't shrink when you first wash it! If it's already pre washed fabric, then you don't really need to worry.

A flat felled seam (above) is what you'd find on a shop bought denim jacket or jeans. You can sew them at home, but they honestly are very time consuming and fiddly, and can be a pain when going over multiple seams (armpit / crotch etc). In factories they have special machines that are heavy duty and do all this for them, but at home it can be long winded. What I prefer is a welt seam that's quicker and easier to do, and looks exactly the same from the outside. It's what you can see on my jacket.

Along with playing aroud with the seam, make sure you have the right needle if you're using a heavy denim so it doesn't snap, also a denim needle has a nice big eye for the heavy thread.

Ultimare luxury is if you have two machines so you can have one for your self colour thread and one for the topstich, otherwise, you can change your workflow slightly so there's less re-threading.

Along with all that stitching, the pockets and button holes are key features, and they don't blend in like on other garments, everything is bold and visible, so it's well worth a practise.

Start with a buttonhole. I decided to make a specific video just for this, as again in factories they have specialist machones that do it all in one go, but to do this at home it's much harder.

I'd forget about automatic buttonholes, I have a pretty goood machine, it's heaby duty and still struggles with the bulky fabric, but also, it doesn't have the nice fishtail end like the jeans buttonhole has. If you have a machine that can replicate it then that's fantastic, perhaps some of the embroidery machines can do it, but for those (and I would say most) that don't, the great thing is with a bit of patience you can replicate this on any machine that deos a basic zig zag, and I really think that must be most.

In this video I show you how to mark out your buttonhole first, this is half the work, and makes sure you get a good shape. But don't worry, you can unpick them if and when it goes wrong - belive me - I did a lot of that - they really are fiddley!

So have a few good practises, get your zig zag size perfect etc... and get your confidence up before you start to work on the real thing!

Next of course are the pockets - two different styles, and lots of detail. The thing about this style jacket is it's not usually lined so they need to look as good on the inside as they do on the outside!

So this is why the pockets needed a video of their own.

And what I did to make this so much clearer to see is I ditched the denim, I show you how to make both the chest pocket with the flap and also the welt pocket using contrast colours, so you can really see what's going on. I would say too, this is a great way to practise, you'll be able to really see what you're doing.

Even if you're familar with sewing pockets it's really work a practise when you're making something like this - as you want them to be perfect if you're doing all that contrast heavy topstitch.

The chest pocket really couldn't be in a more prominent place visibly, so not only is it a good idea to practise to know what you're doing, but also to see the proportions. You'll see when I make my jacket that even with all the prep work, I still changed my topstitch when I was making it up!

You'd possibly think the welt pocket would be harder than the chest pocket, but it's actually pretty easy when you know how, and looking at it with these colours you can really see what you're doing. It's just a case of marking your position well to get started and then you can do the rest nice and easily and just trim the pieces as you go.

So that's the practising, now you need to make your bespoke pattern. Obvisouly you can buy a pattern and skip this step, but if you want a perfect fit, I'd really recommend drafting your own pattern from a well fitting block. I make mine from my coat block, with a bit of added waist shaping.

As you can see from the thumbnail above, there are a lot of pieces, but I break it down step by step, and if you have a well fitting block to start from, and you follow along with me, you really can achieve this, it just takes a bit of patience, and I'd strongly recommend trying to get hold of some dot and cross pattern paper. There are plenty of sellers on Ebay, or if you can buy a whole roll, it works out much cheaper.

I'd say the trickiest bit is doing the panel on the front - particularly if you want it really tailored and you have curves, but I'll guide you through that part nice and slowly a step at a time.

Before you add all your seam allowances on at the end - just make a sample!

I'm like a stuck record I know, I say it all the time in my videos - but make sure it fits well before you get started on the real thing!!! Anything can be much more easily changed at this point - it's much harder once you get started sewing the denim!

These are all the pieces, and that's why it's a really satisfying project to complete.

Finally of course - making the real thing!

By this stage you'll have done so much prep work you'll no doubt be feeling pretty confident and eager to get started on the real thing!

As I said - make sure if you have raw denim you wash it - you'll soon know about it if you don't - your hands will be very blue by the end!

We've already talked about the pockets and buttonholes - they are the most tricky bits. But lets just break down the order I like to sew the whole jacket together in.

Panel the back and yoke pieces.

Panel the main front pieces.

Assemble the chest pockets.

Sew on the front yoke.

Next are the welt pockets.

The placket - oh yes and I always put any numbers on screen in case you don't hear me - or of course English isn't your first language! (By the way, I love to know where you're from in the comments.)