Sweatshirt Jacket Tutorial
Ok, so it’s officially sweatshirt season here in the Midwest, yay! I was so excited to do this upcycle, I had a sweatshirt that had a really cute pattern but it was just to big and frumpy, so it was just begging to be upcycled. The sweatshirt I used has that super warm fluffy pile, and this one was a bit of work. It is easy enough for just about any seamstress to do, but if you need to learn any of the techniques, my recommendation is to try them out first on a sample piece of fabric.
Let’s get upcycling!
Materials:
A baggy sweatshirt
Basic sewing kit
Sewing machine
About a half yard of quilting cotton or other fabric without stretch
A matching button
Step One: Cut the sweatshirt down the middle of the front, and if need be zig zag stitch the edges. Most sweatshirts don’t unravel, so you can skip this step with an ordinary sweatshirt. If it is made of a fabric that unravels or falls apart easily at the edges then add the zig zag stitch.
Step Two: Remove all of the banding around the top, bottom and optionally the sleeves. My sleeves had some slight stains on them, so this was a must for my project. Finish those edges with another wide zig zag stitch if need be.
Step Three: Create binding with the quilting cotton fabric. I created 1 1/2 inch wide strips and sewed them together, but if you are new to making your own binding you might want to make it slightly wider. It also depends on the look you want because if you want a wide binding you will want to make the strips 2 inches wide.
Step Four: Sew on the binding around the collar and bottom of the jacket. Here is a link to a website with pics of how to do so. When I connect pieces of binding together, I just use a 1/2 inch seam allowance with a straight stitch, instead of using an angled edge. Don’t worry about the start and finish having raw edges because when you bind the front middle of the jacket it will create a finished edge. https://weallsew.com/binding-3-ways/
Step Five: This step is a little more complicated, but once you get the hang of it you will be a binding pro! Now we are going to bind the front of the jacket on the left and right sides straight down the middle front. Make sure you use a binding that is longer than that length by at least two inches. Fold down the top of the binding about an inch, and then start at the top of the left side and attach the binding. Folding the binding down will create a finished edge. When you get to the bottom, stop sewing about an inch before the end and fold the binding to create that finished edge, then continue sewing. Finish by doing the same fold over technique in Step Four, and get the binding attached securely. Now repeat this step to the right side of the front.
Step Five: Binding the sleeves is a bit more tricky, so take it slow. First, attach the binding to the front side of one of the sleeves with a straight stitch, but when you get to the end stop and leave about an inch extra material. Flip the sleeve inside out, and do the double fold technique and starting at where you first sewed on the binding, secure down about an inch with a narrow zig zag stitch. Then stop, and go back to the spot where you left the extra fabric. Fold the fabric down to create a finished edge, and complete the first pass of sewing down the binding with the straight stitch. Next flip the sleeve inside out again and finish sewing the binding on with a narrow zig zag stitch.
Step Six: Figure out where you want the button, and create a buttonhole. You can either look in your sewing machine manual and use the buttonhole foot, or just draw a line where you want the buttonhole and do a very narrow zig zag stitch on either side of the line. If you do this method, be sure to use a zig zag stitch set to zero stitch length at the start and end to add strength to the buttonhole. Then use a seam ripper or small scissors and cut the middle of the zig zag stitch rows to create the hole.
Step Seven: Sew on the button!
And you are done!
Wow, this project was a lot of work, and kinda tricky to explain…but it was so worth it! Now you can rock your sweatshirt jacket all fall, and feel fabulous knowing you created it yourself!
