Mood DIY: Faux Leather Sleeved Blazer

In my book leather just makes everything look cooler…don’t you think?  But not wanting to spend a lot to get the look I took to my thrifted stash to help with the transformation. I grabbed an Philosophy di Albert Ferretti blazer I picked up for less than a $1, got some great faux leather from Mood Fabrics and set out to make an already great blazer; ultra chic! Tell me what you’d like to add faux leather to, below. Editor’s note: When ordering faux leather online, read the description carefully to make sure the vinyl will work for garments. It needs to be lightweight and pliable, like real leather.

SUPPLIES: Blazer, faux leather, seam ripper, scissors, needle and thread, straight pins and a sewing machine.

HOW-TO:
1. Use your seam ripper to remove the existing sleeves — I did them one at a time so I had a guide to refer back to if needed.
2. I’ll admit I haven’t done many sleeves so I wanted to make sure I put it back in the correct spot. So, I used a straight pin to mark the top/shoulder of the sleeve.
3. Go ahead now and fold your faux leather in half (wrong sides out), stretch your original sleeve out on top of your faux leather, and then use your straight pins to secure one layer to the other.
4. Once you have your two layers together, use your ink pen to trace out your original sleeve’s form.
5. Cut these two sleeve forms out (I used a couple straight pins to keep layers lined up).
6. I had a button on my cuff, so now’s a good time to remove it with a seam ripper.
7. Pin your original sleeve to one of your new faux leather ones.
8. You’ll want to take your time with this next step — refer back to that straight pin you inserted at the top/shoulder, from here go ahead and pin your two sleeve layers (remember, I used both the faux leather and pre-existing sleeve) onto the bodice of the jacket.
9. In the event you had to remove a button, now’s a good time to hand stitch that back on.
10. Use your sewing machine to sew everything closed….and you’re all set.


Brandhyze Stanley is the chief voice of the award winning blog, Frugal-nomics.com; a platform designed to share with women how to live and look fabulous on a dime. A DIY girl at heart—Brandhyze has been featured on The View, The Early Show, The Today Show, InStyle Magazine, Essence Magazine, and MTVStyle. A Wilhelmina Model for over a decade, with a Business Degree from Loyola University Chicago, Brandhyze provides DIY content to the popular How-To Site, eHow; and was a Fashion & Style Writer and Video Contributor for Newsday Westchester. Brandhyze is a huge thrifter and a lover of all good deals, follow her on Twitter @MyFrugalnomics and on Facebook at Facebook.com/Frugalnomics.