Sew your own faux fur jacket: Tutorial
Updated: Jun 13, 2023
Every year when winter rolls around I think to myself, "I need a fluffy jacket!", and for one reason or another the season passes me by and I still haven't have made my jacket.
But, that all changed this year when I was at Spotlight and found the most PERFECT material. And y'all, it was priced to clear!!! I mean, it might as well have had a tag with my name on it, ya know?!
Taking that as my sign from the universe to purchase the end of the roll, I set myself a task to make myself that faux fur fluffy jacket I've been coveting and figured I should share this with the world.
Tips for working with faux fur
Before we begin our journey into how I made this jacket, we need to discuss a few things I learnt about working with faux fur.
If you're going to take the plunge and grab yourself a fibre like this, you've got to appreciate straight up that it's not like working with regular fabric. I realise this might seem like an obvious thing to say, but since this fabric can be pricey I'd hate for you to dive in and waste it. So here are my tips.
You always want the nap facing the same way. This material has what is called a 'nap'. This is the direction in which the pile (the fibres that stand up) lay down when you rub it one way and stand up if you rub the opposite way. The direction of the nap is important to keep in mind when cutting out your pieces.
Use clips rather than pins. When sewing this fabric the layers can get super thick and bend your pins. With that being said, there were times (like when I attached the pockets) that I used my ultra long and sharp Clover pins and they actually did the trick. Play around with what works for you.
Use a walking foot. This was very important, especially when I went to sew the faux fur and the lining material together.
You'll need sharp scissors, a universal 90/14 needle and marking chalk.
Set your stitch length somewhere from 3.0 - 3.5.
Use a 1/4" seam allowance to help reduce bulk.
Mark out full pattern pieces. Don't cut on the fold.
Accept that you will get fur everywhere. It's the price you have to pay for a fur jacket. *wink wink*
Faux Fur Jacket DIY pattern and step-by-step tutorial
To make my jacket, I started out looking for a pattern I could use and found a great free one by Sew Kate Sew. However, I wanted to see if I could create my own pattern and got this great idea to use one of my favourite loose fitting t-shirts to create my pattern pieces.
Fabric requirements
1.5m faux fur
1.5m lining fabric (I used a poly blend that felt like silk on one side)
Both my fabrics were extra wide, so grab 2m if fabric is 42" (110cm) wide or smaller.
You'll also need a loose fitting t-shirt to use as a template to make your jacket pieces.
Cutting out faux fur and lining
Download your cutting guide before continuing.
Step 1: Trace and cut back of jacket
Lay the shirt flat and fold in the sleeves to get more of a rectangular shape.
Pin in place to make sure it doesn't shift while you are marking everything out.
Double check that the nap (direction of the fur) is going down on the right side of the fabric.
Check the finished length by measuring from shoulder to where you want the jacket to finish. Add 1/2" to that measurement and then fold up the end of the shirt to match the measurement. Mine ended up being 22".
Using a straight edge ruler and chalk wheel, trace the shoulders, sides, and back neck line.
Once everything is marked, remove the shirt and cut out the back piece.
FAUX FUR TIP! To help prevent getting fur everywhere, make small cuts as close as possible to the knitted material on the back of the fur. This way you are more likely to only cutting the backing material and not the fur as well.
Step 2: Trace and cut jacket front
Fold the back piece in half and place it on the wrong side of the fabric. Mark the shoulder and centre front. (Left photo)
Use a French curve to mark the front neck line. It should start at the shoulder seam and then curve down about 3" lower than the back neck seam. Use the front of your T-shirt as a guide if you are unsure. (Centre photo)
Double check the direction of the nap before cutting!
Once everything is marked, cut out the jacket front piece. Then flip it over so that wrong sides are together to cut out the opposite jacket front. (Right)
Step 3: Trace and cut sleeves
To make your sleeves, first measure from under your arm, to where you want the sleeves to finish.
Use your ruler to make a mark at the top and bottom of this length on the fabric. This will also be the middle mark of your sleeve piece.(Left)
Next, measure your wrist and add 2". It should be a little bit loose like you can see above. (Centre photo)
Now measure your T-shirt arm hole from bottom side seam to shoulder seam. I measured the front and doubled it. (Right)
Divide your wrist measurement by half and line it up with the centre bottom mark. Now mark the start and end of your full wrist measurement. (Left)
Repeat this process at the top of the sleeve piece using your arm hole measurement. (Centre)
Connect the lines across the top, bottom, and both sides. Then add 1/4" to the sides for seam allowance. (Right)
Before I cut anything out, I checked my arm circumference around my bicep wearing a sweater. I then compared that measurement to the sleeve about 1/3 of the way down just to double check that my arm will fit comfortably in the jacket.
Double check the direction of the nap is going down toward the wrist.
Cut out the first sleeve piece and use it as a template to cut a second sleeve.
Step 4: Trace and cut pockets
Mark out a square 8"x 8". (Left)
Draw a diagonal line from centre top to centre left. (Centre)
Cut out pocket. (Right)
Use the cut pocket piece to create a second pocket piece. Flip it over so the fabric is wrong sides together. (I did it this way so that I could line up and centre my flowers.) This will give you a pocket for the right side and left side.
Step 5: Cut lining
You don't necessarily have to make a lining when working with faux fur. The base fabric is typically a knit and doesn't fray. However, sometimes it doesn't feel that nice against your skin and I prefer to line it.
Fold the lining fabric in half or in towards the middle if it's extra wide like mine.
Fold the back jacket piece in half and place on fold. Place a front jacket piece above that, and then lay out a sleeve and pocket. Since the fabric is folded you will get 1 back piece, a right and left front piece, two pockets and two sleeves. (Left)
Draw out your pattern pieces using chalk and cut. (Centre)
To make sure the lining doesn't dip down or show, I used a technique of cutting the lining pieces smaller by 1/2". Here is where I trimmed down the lining:
Back piece - bottom edge, neck and shoulders.
Front pieces - bottom edge, neck shoulder and centre fronts.
Sleeve - wrist edge
Pocket - Cut down all sides by 1/4"
Sewing the jacket
Step 6: Sew shoulder seams
Pin shoulder seams together for both fur and lining. (Left)
Set machine to 3.5 stitch length (Right), and attach a walking foot.
Sew shoulder seams with seam allowance of 1/4". (A smaller seam allowance helps reduce bulk in the seams. Alternatively, use a bigger seam allowance and trim down the fur to 1/4" or use an overlocker.)
Step 7: Make and attach pockets
Place pocket pieces right sides together. (Left)
Sew with seam allowance of 1/4" around all sides leaving about a 2" opening on one side.
Clip corners to reduce bulk.
Flip pockets right side out and use a point turner or sharp tool to poke out the corners.
LESSON LEARNED! You can see in the photos above that I've already attached my sleeves. This created a lot of extra fabric to manage while I was trying to attach the pockets. I recommend doing this step before attaching the sleeves to make things a bit easier!
The pocket should sit 1 1/2" up from the bottom (Left), and 2 1/2" in from the edge. (Centre) Repeat the positioning on the opposite side with the other pocket. I used long sharp clover pins to hold the pocket in place.
Topstitch the pocket to your jacket along all sides except the diagonal side, which is where your hand will go. Use an awl to rough up the fur around the topstitching so you can't see where you stitched.
Step 8: Attach sleeves and sew side seams
Find the centre of the sleeve by folding it in half and placing the middle of sleeve right sides together with the main jacket at the shoulder seam. Use clips to hold in place and sew a 1/4" seam allowance. Repeat for the opposite side and lining. (Left)
Place the front and back right sides together at side seams and use clips to pin along the sleeve bottom and side of jacket. Stitch with 1/4" seam allowance. Repeat for opposite side. (Centre)
Repeat for the lining, however leave a 3" hole on one side. This will be used to turn the entire jacket right side out so it needs to be big enough to fit your hand through. (Right)
Step 9: Sew jacket to lining
Turn main jacket right side out and place inside lining. The right side of the lining and main jacket should be facing together. (Left) The sleeves should sit inside one another and the bottom edges, front, and neck edges should all line up around the jacket. Use clips to hold together and sew with 1/2" seam allowances around the entire outside edge, pivoting at the corners.
Clip the corners and trim down the fur to 1/4". (Centre)
Find the hole in the lining and pull the entire main jacket, including the sleeves and lining, right side out. (Right)
Push the lining sleeves inside the sleeves of the main jacket. The right sides should now be facing out and will look how you are meant to wear it.
Step 10: Close inside lining opening and hem sleeves
To close the opening in the lining fold in the edges and sew a straight stitch to close the folded edge. It doesn't look the neatest, but it's on the inside of the jacket and gets the job done! If you prefer to hand sew, use a ladder stitch to close the opening for a more seamless look. (Left)
Turn down the edges of the sleeve and pin to the inside edge of the main jacket. Sew close to the edge and repeat for the opposite sleeve. (Centre)
And that's it! Your custom-made faux fur jacket is complete and ready to for it's winter weather debut!
I hope you loved this faux fur jacket tutorial! If you're planning to make one for yourself please leave your comments or questions below. I'd love to know your thoughts!
And as always, happy sewing!
Lindsey Rae
