Jill Sowell
Active Member
I love how unique this vest is on the show; it is such a good look with the leather being a practical apocalyptic choice yet still having the fabric wings age to show time passing.
I grabbed an older leather moto vest that I had bought on sale but never wore and thought I'd give it a second life. I sanded it and scratched it up with a steak knife so everything would stick a little better. I got some gray-green-ish fabric left over from my Indiana Jones satchel, and went to work on the wings. They started out white on the show, but aged and faded, so the color changed to a color similar to this. I practiced a couple times then made a stencil of the outside shape for the wings (this sample could be reversed and traced for both wings). I drew the interior feathers onto the fabric with a sharpee, and made some dashes along the lines to help it look stitched on as opposed to drawn. Then I glued it to the leather with some leather glue (since hot glue never worked for me on other projects involving leather jackets). I then stitched around the outer edges to make sure that part always stayed in place and at least have some authentic stitching. To make it look aged, I scratched it more with a steak knife (I picked some spots around the outside to make the wing edges fray a bit); I also used some common fabric paint colors to make it look worn, too. The colors on the wings were aged with a very watered down browish black; I focussed on the areas around where the "stitching" lines were to make greater contrast and look like the sections were raised (like a quilting kind of effect). For the black leather, I used a lighter gray to highlight where I thought normal wear would occur, like below the armholes, on the seams, or around the snaps and pockets. I then cut the sides and added the lace-up detail with some leather strings I picked up at Michaels.
I know the front pockets are incorrect (zipper instead of open-top pockets), but I think they add a cool dimension the front, which is a little boring compared to the back. I had to sew the hem around the neck at the front (where I cut off the moto-flaps) and also had to attach on some snaps where the zipper used to be.
I grabbed an older leather moto vest that I had bought on sale but never wore and thought I'd give it a second life. I sanded it and scratched it up with a steak knife so everything would stick a little better. I got some gray-green-ish fabric left over from my Indiana Jones satchel, and went to work on the wings. They started out white on the show, but aged and faded, so the color changed to a color similar to this. I practiced a couple times then made a stencil of the outside shape for the wings (this sample could be reversed and traced for both wings). I drew the interior feathers onto the fabric with a sharpee, and made some dashes along the lines to help it look stitched on as opposed to drawn. Then I glued it to the leather with some leather glue (since hot glue never worked for me on other projects involving leather jackets). I then stitched around the outer edges to make sure that part always stayed in place and at least have some authentic stitching. To make it look aged, I scratched it more with a steak knife (I picked some spots around the outside to make the wing edges fray a bit); I also used some common fabric paint colors to make it look worn, too. The colors on the wings were aged with a very watered down browish black; I focussed on the areas around where the "stitching" lines were to make greater contrast and look like the sections were raised (like a quilting kind of effect). For the black leather, I used a lighter gray to highlight where I thought normal wear would occur, like below the armholes, on the seams, or around the snaps and pockets. I then cut the sides and added the lace-up detail with some leather strings I picked up at Michaels.
I know the front pockets are incorrect (zipper instead of open-top pockets), but I think they add a cool dimension the front, which is a little boring compared to the back. I had to sew the hem around the neck at the front (where I cut off the moto-flaps) and also had to attach on some snaps where the zipper used to be.
Last edited:
