Make an Authentic Grease T-birds Jacket DIY

Make an Authentic Grease T-birds Jacket


My kids LOVE Grease!  They wanted to dress-up as a Pink Lady and T-bird for Tucson's end of the summer Grease Sing-a-long at The Loft Theatre.

I figured I would post this before Halloween is here this week in case you want to do this for trick or treating. My daughter's costume was really easy and a friend luckily found the Pink Ladies jacket for very cheap at a thrift store.

The T-birds jacket was a project but an easy and fun one. After looking at the plastic, fake-looking, yet expensive costume options to buy, I decided to try and make our own. We found the leather jacket at a different thrift store for $18!  We then bought the other materials and here is how to do it!

Materials:

• Jacket- preferably leather for authentic look. - Hopefully inexpensive such as you can find at a thrift store.  I like to think that it will be used for awhile band that later on we can give it to someone else to wear when my son grows out of it.

• Manila folders or sturdy paper for stencils of T-birds design

• Scissors

• Sandpaper

• Tape

• Paper bags/newspaper or painting paper to tape around the areas you don't want paint.

• White fabric paint- I liked the markers

• Cotton balls/Q-tips

• Rubbing alcohol or Fast Orange to clean any stray paint marks

Step 1:
Create a T-birds stencil. You can draw it freehand or find an example on-line. Depending on the size of your jacket and how big you want the design- you will have to decide the size.  Cut the stencil out of manila folders or thick, sturdy paper.

Step 2:
Lay the stencil exactly where you want the jacket - you can also use some tape to hold it on place.  Take the sandpaper and gently sand the areas where you will be painting the T-birds design. Remove the stencil and make sure to blow-dry away all of the debris before the next step.

Step 3:
Place the stencil back on to the area that you sanded with the sandpaper. Tape down painting paper/paper bags/newspaper around the areas you do not want paint. Use the white fabric paint - I loved the accuracy of the markers. I did try the spray first and that is why I needed more fix-ups with the cotton balls and Orange. Fill in the area of the stencils with the white fabric paint and let dry thoroughly.

Step 4: 
If needed repeat step 3 with another coat.

Step 5: 
Carefully remove stencils and clean any mishaps up with cotton balls and rubbing alcohol or Orange.

Let me know if you make one and post your pic!