DIY Distressed Denim & Mesh Jacket

Hello my lovelies! Who’s ready for another DIY project? In today’s post I’ll show you how I made my very own distressed denim jacket with mesh inserts. This DIY is so so so easy and only takes an hour or two to complete!

Does anyone watch Grown-ish (or Black-ish)? I’ve been obsessed with Zoey’s style since her days on Black-ish, and in the first episode of Grown-ish she wore this amazing distressed denim & mesh jacket. That led me to a Google search for a similar jacket and I came across almost the exact one she wore on TopShop (for $130). Right before I made the purchase I thought “wait, I could make this myself, for less!”

What you’ll need:

Denim jacket I bought the one I used for this project for less than $20 at TJ Maxx! You can find denim jackets at most fashion retail stores, and can even Sell your clothes that you no longer use to buy the jackets.
1/2 yard of mesh (or really any fabric you want to insert). I was gifted this mesh for free, but you can find similar at any local fabric or craft store.
Scissors or razor
Sewing machine & essentials (or you CAN hand-sew this one, will just take a bit longer)

Here’s what the jacket looked like when I bought it. Not a hole or fray to be seen.

I started by taking my scissors and creating the desired distressed areas. I may have gone a little overboard but it’s fun to cut and rip things apart. My method of distressing is a little haphazard, but I just took the tip of the scissors and scraped the denim in the direction I wanted the weft (white) yarns to show. Go crazy here! There’s no wrong way to distress.

After distressing, I chose the areas where I wanted to remove the denim and insert mesh. I chose the back panel, a portion of my sleeve, front shoulder panel and front pocket area. I simply cut out the denim and took to my sewing machine to sew in the mesh! The inside of your jacket will look a little messy and unfinished, but who’s going to see the inside! Besides, unfinished is so in right now.

After wearing the jacket several times and washing it a time or two, the distressed areas became much more authentic and worn, which is the look I was going for. I almost took it one step further and had people write messages and graffiti on at Coachella, but decided to save that for another jacket. I am too happy with the way this one turned out! Here’s the final product:

Denim jackets never really go out of style – they work with so many different outfits just like with DST shirt (even denim on denim!) I wear mine several times a week now that the weather is getting nicer over dresses and jumpsuits. Here’s how I wore the jacket several days ago to work with a simple black dress, black Nike Huarache sneakers, big gold hoop earrings and a leopard head scarf. What do you guys think? Have I inspired you to make your own?? You could also totally do this to denim pants as well! If you do, please tag or email me your creations! I would LOVE to see!