Fringe Benefits: A Fringe Jean Jacket DIY

I love the idea of adding simple embellishments to staple clothing pieces to make a statement. And fringe,  especially, has been on my list as of late. Don’t get me wrong, patches and embroidery projects are good options too. But I thought fringe would give this stiff jean jacket a lot more movement.

And now that’s it’s finished, I want to fringe ALL of the things! You really can’t even tell that the fringe was added on after the fact because it’s tucked into the seams. Click through for the simple sewing hack that made the fringe look seamless with the jacket.

Materials for Fringe Jean Jacket 

• jean jacket
• chainette fringe trim
• denim thread that matches jacket threading
• sewing machine

How to Add Fringe to a Jean Jacket

Choose a thread that matches the thread of the jacket. I used denim thread (this exact one), which is the yellow thread commonly used on jeans. It matched my jacket perfectly. Typically the seams of jean jackets (and regular jeans) will have a flat felled seams. Which means you can open up just one side and easily fit the fringe underneath, then stitch it back up for a clean look that will look like you bought it that way.

Measure and cut the fringe for each arm and the back panel of the jacket separately (so you’ll have 3 pieces of fringe). Set aside.

Next, use a seam ripper to carefully open one side of the flat felled seam. You want to to open the seam closest to the edge NOT both stitch lines.

Insert the fringe under the opened seam. pin it to keep in place / prevent from moving around. Then use your sewing machine to stitch the seam closed again (with the fringe sandwiched in between), trying to hit on top of the old stitch line as you sew. Basically you’re recreating the original stitch line to make make it look finished again.

Do this with each arm and the back panel separately. We added a second layer of fringe of a different color fringe to the back panel to make it stand out. And kept the arms just one fringe color.

Note: You can definitely attach the fringe straight to the jacket without opening up the seams if you want, BUT I think it looks a lot better to have a clean line.

Sewing Julia Pistsova // Model Cori Maass // Photography Brittni Mehlhoff

What do you think of the finished jacket? Would you ever try something like this? How cute would this be as a kids jean jacket too? If I had a kid, I would totally make one of them one of these!

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