MISC DECORATIONS
Accents are always a good idea. You can go pretty off the wall with these.

• I like to sew patterned fabric over the side panels of my vest and onto the inside of the collar. Getting the shape right can be tricky, but usually I just lay a piece of parchment paper (semi-translucent baking paper, found at any grocery store) over the jacket and trace the shape of wherever I’m going to sew the fabric onto. Then I cut that shape out of the paper and use it as a template to cut out the fabric, leaving .5” extra room or so around the edges of the fabric to give me some wiggle room. After that, I sew the fabric on. Fabric can be found at Walmart, craft stores like Joann’s, or online. You can even make your own fabric patterns on sites like Spoonflower.


• Painting the seams of your jacket is an easy and fun way to make them pop. If you paint, keep in mind the same steps as you used for the patches– use a black base coat and heat seal when finished if you can.


• Adding elements like chains to jackets can be tricky, but it’s doable. Many chains, especially cheap craft chains, have small gaps in each link. If you sew the chain on, thread can slip through these gaps and the chain can fall off, so either use a very thick thread or an alternate method to attach. Personally, I like to secure the ends of the chains by pinning them down with a flanged stud. You can also put grommets near the edge of the fabric where the chain can hook on, and attach the chain to that. Please note that these are relatively permanent solutions-- some venues WILL NOT allow chains, and for a more removable option, a good fix is to sew a lobster clasp or snap hook (click here for a photo example) onto the denim where you want the chains to attach, and then just clip your chains on. An even easier removable option is to safety pin the chains to your jacket, but this does carry the risk of having them fall off.


• If you’re willing to put in a bit of effort, you can replace the buttons on your jacket. If they’re not sewn on but are embedded into the fabric, you can pop them apart with the claw end of a hammer. New buttons of the same type can be added and secured by hammering them in with the hammer end of the hammer. You can find a tutorial here. Alternatively, to avoid excess hammering, you can just sew new ones on. You can see a tutorial for sewing on a button here.


• Safety pins match any outfit.


• If you're cutting the sleeves off of a denim jacket, cut them off AFTER the shoulder seam, and leave some (I usually go an inch to a half inch) of the sleeve left. If you cut away the shoulder seam entirely, it will fray and may end up compromising the structural integrity over time. If you leave the seam and then a bit of the sleeve, the remaining sleeve bits will still get the cool fraying effect, but the seam will stop the body from fraying too.


• Just go crazy, honestly. I've stuck skulls to vests and seen people add teeth and grommets to theirs and use baseball hat brims and tire tread as post-apocalyptic pauldrons. If you think of something cool, try it!