Level: Intermediate - Advanced
Time: 1-10 hrs

This jacket is in many ways like a collage, with a number of different colors, patterns and textures working together to make a unified whole. Start by laying out your denim jacket, print-outs of embroidery designs you’d like to use, and any fabric or trims you are thinking of using. If you haven’t decided on all your choices, include several selections for the sleeve fabric, collar, back panel, trim, decorative button, etc. When you have everything together, certain things may stand out as definite ‘ins’ or ‘outs’. If not, don’t worry, you can make some of the decisions as you go along. You may even decide to change entirely some of the elements after certain pieces are in place, and bring in some new selections. Just make sure, before starting to sew, that the denim jacket and all additional fabric pieces have been washed and dried first.

Janome Supplies Required

Any Janome Sewing machine, though some techniques require an embroidery machine
Janome Zipper Foot E
CD-ROM Flowers & Butterflies Kiyomi Osawa Collection Vol. 1
Clothsetter
Janome Embroidery Thread
Janome pre-wound bobbins
75/11 Blue Tip needle

Fabric and Notions Required

¾ yd.* of washable Velvet for Outer Sleeve
½ yd* of washable Silk for Sleeve Lining
½ yd* of Cotton for Jacket Lining
½ yd* of Patterned Velvet or other medium to heavy weight fabric for Back Center Panel
¼ yd of Silk Organza for Front Embroidery Appliqué & 3D Butterfly
Soft, thin dress-weight Leather Collar, approx 6” x 20”*
¾ yd* Trim for Sleeve, at least 3/4 “ wide
1 Large Decorative Button
Nancy’s Pattern Tracing Material
Air or Water Erasable Marker
¼” Lite Steam-A-Seam Tap
Lumiere Metallic Textile Paint
Non-grip shelf liner (for holding organza tightly in embroidery hoop)
Cut away stabilizer appropriate for denim weight fabric
Fray Check
Blue Thread to match denim of jacket
Leather sewing machine needles, size 90/14
Rubber stamp(s), should be deeply etched, without fine details
Drafting Triangle or Metal 90-degree Angle
Sleeve Board
Non Slip Shelf Liner
Tracing Wheel
Microbrush 

* size needed may vary slightly due to size of jacket

DIRECTIONS FOR ALTERED ELEMENTS:
Following are directions for each of the altered elements of the jacket. The order that these are done in is what I have found from my experience works best. If you decide to change the order, please note that the lining must always be put in after the insertion of the large central fabric panel & embroidery. I have also found that doing the collar last is best because that way the leather is subject to less of the wear and tear that occurs during the sewing process.

** NOTE - All seam allowances are ½” unless otherwise noted.

Sleeve
1. Cut Denim Jacket Sleeves - Fold sleeve flat along seam under arm and pin top and bottom together. Measure down from shoulder 14 ½ inches. Put a triangle along the sleeve edge and draw a line straight across sleeve. Measure this distance and make note of it, this will become the width of the top edge of new sleeve piece. Cut along your drawn line.

2. Cut New Velvet Outer Sleeve – pin a double layer, right sides together, of velvet or other fabric to be used for new sleeve piece. Making sure that nap is going in the direction that you want; draw a line near the bottom of the material 21” across. This will become the bottom of the sleeve. Starting from the middle point of this line, at the 10 ½ “ point, draw a vertical line with the triangle, going up 13 ½ “. From the top of the vertical line, use the triangle to draw another horizontal line 18” across, which will become the top of the sleeve. Making sure that the top horizontal line is centered over the bottom horizontal line, connect the end points to make the sleeve sides. You should now have a trapezoid shape. Accurately cut out the two layers together.

3. Cut New Sleeve Lining - unlike the velvet sleeve pieces which were drawn and cut flat, the sleeve lining pieces will be cut on the fold. You will need to cut 2 of these. Take silk or other material for sleeve lining and fold perpendicular to selvedge, right sides together. Starting near bottom and using triangle along folded edge, draw a horizontal line measuring 6” out from fold. Measure 11 ¼” up from this line along the fold. At the 11 ¼” mark, make another horizontal line across. To determine what the length of this line should be, go back to your measurement across the denim jacket sleeve that you cut, and add ¾”. This becomes the measurement of the top horizontal line. Connect the outside end points of the top and bottom line. Cut out two of these.

4. Sew New Velvet Sleeve Piece and Lining Together - Starting 1” in from side edge, make 2 rows of gathering stitches along the wide end of velvet sleeve, one row long seam line and the other slightly in from seam line. Pull gathering stitches so that the width of the wide end of the velvet sleeve matches the narrow end of the lining piece. Pin right side of gathering end of velvet sleeve piece to right side of narrow end of lining piece and sew.

5. Again starting 1” in from side edge, now make another double row of gathering stitches on the other end of the velvet sleeve piece.

6. Now fold the combined velvet sleeve/lining piece vertically, right sides together. Pin and sew this long seam, making sure to get both layers of the horizontal seam across the middle going towards the lining, and making sure not to catch the long ends of the second set of gathering stitches in the seam.

7. Using a sleeve board, press the long vertical seam open. If using velvet for the sleeve, press lightly across the velvet.

8. Attach New Sleeve to Denim Jacket - Turn denim jacket inside out; Turn velvet sleeve/lining right side out. Push new sleeve up inside jacket sleeve, until top of velvet sleeve reaches denim jacket sleeve cut edge.

9. Right sides together, match the underarm seam of the denim jacket with the seam of the new sleeve/lining and pin seams open flat.

10. Pull gathering stitches until new sleeve fits into denim sleeve, and pin rest of new velvet sleeve to denim sleeve, matching top edges.

11. Baste, then sew seam, around free arm of machine, making sure to sew side seams open.

12. Attach Lining of New Sleeve to Denim Jacket – With jacket still inside, out, push sleeve lining through the inside of sleeve so that the end of the lining is coming out the top, where you just attached the velvet sleeve to the denim sleeve cut edge. Pull through so that lining is sticking out 1” above the outer edge of this seam where the new sleeve and denim sleeve are now connected. Pin lining to this seam and then baste.

13. Sew along previous seam line, making sure that lining is extending 1” above seam that you just sewed..

14. Grade seam; carefully trim seam allowance of velvet and denim (not lining) to 5/16”, leaving lining seam allowance alone.

15. Wrap seam allowance of lining around trimmed velvet sleeve and denim jacket seam allowance, going towards jacket shoulder. Pin.

16. Sew, using bobbin thread to match jacket, as this stitching will show on outside of jacket sleeve. It will be covered up later with trim going over this seam. Please note that when you fit the sleeve around free arm of machine, it will be very tight and you will have to work to move the sleeve around the arm to sew. An alternative would be to stitch by hand. Or, you can finish seam by alternate methods, particularly if you would like to use a narrower trim to finish around the outside of sleeve. In that case, do not grade velvet/denim seam, and trim off the extra 1” of lining, so that all 3 fabrics line up at the edge of seam. You can cover raw edges with seam binding, or with a serger, use overlock stitch to finish raw edges.

Sleeve Trim

1. Cut two pieces of trim long enough to go around seam connecting denim to velvet sleeve, adding enough to turn edges under on one side.

2. Starting at underarm sleeve, position trim over seam so that a small amount (approx 1/8 to ¼”, depending on trim) is overlapping the new velvet sleeve, but the majority of body of trim should be over the denim portion of sleeve

3. Using ¼” Lite Steam A Seam tape, attach top and bottom edges of trim to jacket. At bottom edge of trim that overlaps velvet, bring tape in slightly so that tape is right at edge of denim along seam line, but not on top of the velvet itself.. This way, a bit of the trim will be hanging unattached over the velvet.

4. When you have gone around entire seam and come back to where trim started, turn end of trim under and bond in place along edge.

5. Starting from the inside of the sleeve, hand-stitch along the folded edge of trim, making stitches as invisible as possible.


Fabric Stamping
1. With jacket open flat, put several layers of thick, soft padding under areas to be stamped. Several folded cloth towels or burp cloths work well.

2. Apply textile paint with brush or roller to rubber stamp. You can use a single color, or apply different colors to different parts of the stamp, keeping paint as thin as possible while still covering design areas of stamp. If paint is too thick, it will fill in the design and make unsightly blobs around outer edges. Try to use stamps whose designs are deeply cut into the rubber, and that do not have a lot of small detail. Those types of stamps work best with stamp pad ink on paper; when use with textile paint on fabric the details usually are lost. If you are unsure, test the stamp by using the same textile paint you want to use with fabric as close as possible to the denim of your jacket.

3. Apply stamp to jacket, pressing down firmly and evenly on all areas of stamp, and making sure not to move stamp. Lift stamp straight up when removing.

4. Use stamp on both sides of jacket front, or wherever desired. Make sure that padding is underneath any areas where stamp will be applied. After paint is dry to the touch, you may want to re-apply paint of another color to the stamp or parts of the stamp, and re-stamp in layers to bring out detail or enhance the effect.

5. If you are not happy with the way the stamped design looks, take a damp rag and scrub the paint off. Let denim dry before stamping again. Textile paint is not permanent until heat set, but it is much easier to take off before it has air-dried.

6. You may also want to apply the textile paint with a brush to other areas of the jacket, along the seams, or on the pockets for example. Start with a light touch; you can always add more. Remove with a damp rag if you don’t like the effect.

7. When you are happy with the effect you have achieved, let paint air dry, then follow textile paint manufacturer’s directions for permanently setting the paint. This will make the paint washable and colorfast.

Jacket Back – Large Central Fabric Panel with Embroidery
1. Lightly spray jacket back central panel with temporary adhesive spray. Cover areas you wish to line with pattern tracing material and make sure it is completely smoothed down. Alternatively, you could also pin it to jacket.

Trace around panel, keeping inside denim seams, with an air or water-erasable marker (Pattern paper is porous so marker will bleed through to jacket)

3. Add a generous 1” seam allowance all around traced edge. Pin traced pattern to back panel fabric, with right side up, and cut 1 piece. .

4. Fold edges in along seam allowances and lightly press.

5 Try fabric into denim jacket, and adjust amount of fabric turned under if necessary, to make sure that fabric fits tightly into denim jacket center back panel.

6. Use Lite Steam A Seam 2 (following their directions) to attach fabric to back center panel of jacket, fitting tightly up against denim seam edges. With zipper foot along outside edge of fabric, stitch fabric in place to jacket.

7. Using wide satin stitch, set at approx. 5.00, go around outer edge of fabric, getting up close to denim seams.

8. Embroider Osawa designs through both layers of fabric, using a soft but strong cut-away stabilizer.

9. Trim stabilizer around embroidery on inside of jacket.

3-D Butterfly

10. Hoop silk organza very tightly, without any stabilizer, using non-grip shelf liner material around the inside of the hoop if needed to hold organza tightly, and embroider an identical butterfly to one on jacket back.

11. Very carefully trim organza very closely around butterfly, cutting away top left wing and butterfly body & antennae.

12. Apply Fray Check all around cut edges; let dry.

13. Place organza butterfly directly on top of jacket butterfly. With black thread and short running stitch, sew organza butterfly on top of jacket butterfly, but leaving top right wing unattached.

14. With black thread and narrow satin stitch, carefully stitch back over running stitches, so that organza edge is covered except for where top right wing is left unattached.

Jacket Front – Small Embroidery Appliqué

1. Hoop silk organza tightly, without any stabilizer, using non-grip shelf liner if needed to hold fabric tightly, and making sure that grain of fabric is straight. Embroider flower design.

2. Very carefully trim organza very closely around left, top and right sides of flower. On bottom, leave a longer length of organza, and fringe bottom edge.

3. Apply Fray Check all around cut edges with Microbrush, leaving fringe alone. Let dry.

4. Turn appliqué upside down; and apply ¼” strips of Lite Steam A Seam 2 to cover all edges of design.

5. Carefully turn appliqué back over and position over front pocket of jacket.

6. Iron in place according to Lite Steam A Seam 2 directions.

Beading
The two flower embroideries on the front of the jacket were enhanced by the addition of small seed beads hand sewn into the center of the flowers. The beads on the appliqué were sewn on before the appliqué was applied, so that the pocket would not be sewn closed.

Jacket Lining
1. Lightly spray inside of jacket back with temporary adhesive spray. Cover areas you wish to line with pattern tracing material and make sure it is completely smoothed down. Alternatively, you could also pin it to inside of jacket, but pins may distort the shape. Look at outside of jacket and determine which side of denim seams you want to stitch on, then trace around shape of panels with an air or water-erasable marker (Pattern paper is porous so marker will bleed through to jacket).

2. Add a generous 1” seam allowance all around traced edge Pin traced pattern to lining material, with material right side up. Cut lining.

3. Fold edges in along seam allowances and lightly press. If you need to clip curves, do not cut very deep into seam allowance, as you may later need to adjust amount folded under as you fit lining into jacket.

4. Use ¼” Light Steam-A-Seam to attach lining to inside of jacket, fitting tightly up against denim seam edges. If needed, adjust the amount of lining material that you turned under as you go, making sure that fits snugly, but not so tightly that material pulls or stretches, although you should not see big wrinkles, either.

5. When you are sure that lining is well placed, stitch in place to jacket, using zipper foot right up to edge of lining. You should have jacket-colored thread in the bobbin, as this stitching will show on outside of jacket, but if you stitch up close to the jacket seam and use a closely matching thread, this stitching will be virtually invisible.

Leather Collar

1. Lay denim jacket open so that collar is spread flat. Lightly spray inside of jacket collar with temporary spray adhesive. Do not pin leather as it will leave holes.

2. Position sprayed collar onto wrong side of leather piece. Turn over and make sure that leather is smooth, and extends at least ½” below the bottom of the collar. .

3. Turn back over so that denim jacket collar is on top. With thin pencil, carefully trace around denim collar onto back of leather

4. Gently remove leather from collar, making sure not to let it stretch.

5. Carefully cut just slightly inside your traced lines (on the wrong side) for the top, left and right sides of the leather collar.

6. Position leather back on top of the inside of the denim collar (it should still be slightly sticky) so that cut leather edges are inside and right up against the top stitching on the denim, so that top stitching is showing. Fold both denim and leather collar layers back, along natural fold line of denim collar.

7. With collar folded, push against leather with fingertip to feel thick denim seam along the bottom of the collar. With a thin pencil, lightly trace the bottom edge of the collar, making sure to get the pencil point tightly against seam.

8. Carefully cut along bottom edge. Make sure it fits correctly along seam, making minor adjustments if necessary.

9. Using leather needle in machine, position zipper foot against outside edge of leather, and stitch leather collar in place with running stitches, just inside cut edge of leather.

Decorative Button
Sew decorative button above horizontal chest seam, on buttonhole side of jacket front. Center of button should align with center line of buttonholes.

Jacket Washability

The jacket should be washable in cold water, with no bleach, no wringing, and hung to dry, as long as the jacket itself and all additional fabrics have been pre-washed in cold water. The leather collar does not have to be pre-washed, but should be able to withstand this cleaning method. If you have any doubts as to the washability of the trim or any of the other materials you are using, then do a test first, taking a small strip and soaking it in cold water, then hanging to dry.