Upcycling a Levi’s Jacket | Bob Dylan Inspired

I wouldn’t call myself a huge Bob Dylan fan, but after watching A Complete Unknown recently, I perked up when I recognised some of his classic songs.

My interest grew even more when my husband, Lorenz, found a Reddit post about a Levi’s denim jacket Bob wore in the 1987 film Hearts of Fire – recently bought by Timothée Chalamet for $25,000!

Screenshot of the listing from Julien*s website

When I saw the jacket, I couldn’t resist the urge to pull inspiration from this and make my own. I love the way the patches fall, the mix of fabrics, and the embellishments. I’ve upcycled and refashioned denim before, but this feels like a whole new level of creativity. 😍

So, I bought a second-hand Levi’s denim jacket on Depop and got to work!

At first, I thought I’d use my sewing machine to attach the patches, but when I looked closely, I realised they were actually sewn on by hand. So far, I have found that using embroidery stitches gives the best result – and the whole project has unexpectedly turned into a meditative one. I love those kinds of projects – plugging in an audiobook or podcast and stitching away. Pure bliss. 😌🧵✂️

So far, I’ve finished the back of the jacket – see below!

I’ll probably chip away at this over the next few weeks and will put together a second video with the final reveal.

This project is lighting me up! It’s been such a fun, creative process.

Watch Part 1 in my latest video, and let me know what you think! ☺️

 

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💗 Lauren