Jeans jacket with fleece lining

OBS! This jacket is made by combining two separate garments: a denim jacket and a zip up fleece sweater. The result will therefore be affected by both how the combined jacket/sweater fits you as well as how good the fleece sweater fits inside the denim jacket. 

If you have a denim jacket that you would like to make a little warmer, it is a fairly easy process to do so. You will need a denim jacket of a good size, verging on slightly loose. Do not use a tight one as the fit will be even tighter with the fleece lining in place. You will use a simple fleece zip up sweater together with the jeans jacket to make the lining (fig. 1).

Check your local second hand shops or the “sales on sales” when you try this solution for the first time. You can generally find jackets and sweater there.

Start by picking out your denim jacket and then find a fleece sweater that fits this. The main points to compare are the shoulder width and the body width. If the fleece sweater is too big for the denim jacket you will end up with lumpy excess fabric inside. If it is too small it will not fit the jacket properly. Try laying the fleece sweater inside the denim jacket and you will get a rough idea of how it will fit. It is OK if the sleeves or the body are too long as you will be removing some of the fleece anyway. If the body is a little big it will also work.

Try to find a good size match between your jacket and your fleece sweater.

Remove the zip, collar, and any facing the fleece sweater may have by using a pair of scissors and cutting as close to the seam as possible (fig. 2).

Again, using scissors and keeping close to the seams, remove the sleeve cuffs and the hem from the fleece sweater (fig. 3).

Turn the denim jacket inside-out (fig. 4).

Position the fleece sweater (right side out) onto the denim jacket (wrong side out) so that the shoulder and side seams are lined up on both the sweater and jacket (fig. 5). Basically, you are dressing the denim jacket in the fleece sweater.

Anchor the fleece sweater to the denim jacket with pins along the shoulder and the side seams so that it cannot move out of position (fig. 6).

Fold the neck seam on the fleece sweater under so that it matches up with the collar seam on the denim jacket. If you feel resistance folding the fleece you can cut some very small notches along the fleece sweaters neck line (fig. 7A).

Fold the front parts of the fleece sweater under so that they line up with the facing on the jacket or where the jackets body meets the part for buttons/button holes (fig. 7A).

Pin down the folded front parts of the fleece sweater and the neckline to the denim jacket (fig. 7B).

Hand sew the fleece sweater to the denim jacket to create a lining. Use small stitches and sew along the collar seam and down along the seams of the front panels for button holes and buttons on the denim jacket (fig. 8).

Fold the bottom hem of the fleece sweater under so that it matches the facing hem on the denim jacket. Pin into position (fig. 9).

Use small stitches and hand sew the fleece sweater to the denim jacket’s hem (fig. 10).

Position the sleeve of the fleece sweater so that it fits smooth over the denim jacket’s sleeve. Line up the bottom seams on both jackets, fleece and denim.

At the position where the cuff splits on the denim market cut a straight line through the sleeve of the fleece sweater. The cut in the fleece should be positioned in the middle of the cuff split on the denim jacket’s sleeve. Add some small notches to the end of the cut so that it is easier to fold under (fig. 11 top three illustrations).

Then fold the fleece sweater’s sleeve hem under so that it matches with the cuff facing on the sleeve of the denim jacket. Fold the edges of the fleece cut under to to expose the sleeve split on the denim jacket. Pin into position (fig. 11 bottom three illustrations). Repeat with other sleeve.

Use small stitches and hand sew the hem of the fleece sweater’s sleeves to the cuffs of the denim jacket (fig. 12).

This is how the finished jacket will look (fig. 13).