Up-cycled Canvas Heather Blazer by Cisco Sews

My name is Francisco Diaz, I run a small up-cycled boutique in Phoenix, AZ where I sell my makes and provide a space for queer makers in my area to sell their wares as well. Up-cycling, thrifting and advancing queer expression are my passions! You can see more of my work at @ciscosews or @themsmarketplace on instagram! In this blog post I use thrifted canvas bags to create a Heather Blazer, with thrifted and vintage brooches as a finishing touch. Keep reading to find out more.

Introduction:

While thrift shopping recently I noticed that there were a lot of canvas bags hanging on the racks. These are normally from events or “reusable” shopping bags, and can be found in very high quality canvas. This got my brain rolling and so for my second Heather Blazer, I wanted to up-cycle some of my canvas bags into a new, up-cycled blazer.

While planning, I came across a Bode chore coat that used wooden buttons and charms in randomized groupings that added such a quaint quality to the coat, so I tried to emulate that on my own piece using some old jewelry pieces. 

I started by deconstructing the tote bags and sewing smaller pieces together to make the pattern pieces.

Most of the prints on the bags were small enough for me to avoid, but where there were large printed designs, I tried to position the prints under the sleeves or on the back so the jacket wouldn’t appear too busy after adding the embellishments. For lining, I used a silver cotton sheet that ended up tying in the silver colors from the charms perfectly. 

Now for the finishing touches, I gathered all of my broken jewelry pieces, silver charms, and earrings that I had lost a pair to to embellish the outside of the coat. (insert image 5 + 6) I combined those with some thrifted wooden beads I had from jewelry making. I love the silver and wood combination, it makes the jacket feel historic and vintage. I secured these pieces with embroidery thread however,  if I were to redo this I would add the charms before finishing the lining, that way the knots would be hidden behind the lining of the blazer. 

To wrap up, the sturdy and neutral canvas ended up being the perfect material for this project. The charms add so much movement and even sound to the coat that make it a joy to wear. I am very happy with how it came out and would love to hear what you think about this project! Catch me on instagram or at ciscosews.com 

 

Shop the Heather Blazer here

Follow Cisco on Instagram here & see more on their website here.