How to add trimming to a jacket for Chanel effect

Chanel inspired jacket

I seriously think every woman must want to own a Chanel jacket. There’s so much to like. No collars that wear and never sit properly. They are soft as a cardigan but still pack a whole lot of smart. And they just always look fabulous day or night.

I’m not likely to be buying a Chanel jacket. Apart from a hefty price tag, even for a second-hand one on EBay, I don’t think I would be able to wear it as I would be too scared it might get damaged and that would break my heart.

Image source  http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/th_121_034.asp

But I can try and make my own version of a Chanel jacket – which is next best. And then I can happily wear my cheapo version to death.

First you need a box shape jacket. I have made them before and those mentioned here are easy to make because you have no collars to set and no button holes to make. Both of the box jackets in the following links are made of firm fabric so they don’t have to be lined and they hold their shape well. See the – white bull denim version – and the – floral tapestry fabric version.

I always use New Look patterns. They seem to fit better but it could be my shape works with their patterns.  I also find their patterns are way less complicated. New Look have a few patterns for boxy jackets and it’s best to page through their catalogue in a store but – 6201 – 6028 – and – 6132 on their website are good bets for this jacket.

The jacket before

However for this particular DIY, I picked up a velvet vintage box jacket for £2 on a trip to Hull, England at a retro clothing shop. Gasp. How could I not buy it?

Now if I was back home in Cape Town I would have had a far greater choice for trimmings to decorate this jacket. Sadly there really isn’t much to choose from here in Aberdeen, Scotland. Sigh.

But I found this green sequin trimming and all I had to do was hand-sew it to the edges and along the pocket of the jacket. The other other thing I needed was thread to match the colour of the trimming. The knack with sewing the trimming is tiny little stitches so they are as invisible as possible. And the best bit. If I get tired of this pale green trim, I can whip it off and replace it with a new trim. Now that is versatile.

Sewing the trim to the jacket

To double up your Chanel look, you can also change the chain on your bag to make it a Chanel inspired bag. Read the how-to on – this link.

There are lots of past projects in the Greenie Galleries which you can find at the top of this page. And also, you can share pics of the things you have made on the Greenie facebook page. Find a link at top right of this page. 

Till next week.

Greenie.