Previously I wrote an article titled 'How To: DIY Deathrock Jacket for Dummies' In which I went on a journey to create my first ever DIY project. Once completed I went on to make several pairs of pants, and being that it's summer, decided to create something I could wear to events that wouldn't be as hot as my jacket. While there is still some valuable information in the previous post that I won't cover here, I feel confident that I learned a few things and can hopefully impart some knowledge. As always, DIY is meant to not just be a labor of love, it's meant to represent who you are and to be unique, so take the concepts I've presented here and make you own design (e.g. for my wife's jacket, she's building a chain mail sleeve)

The first step here obviously is to obtain a vest. This is important, especially if you want this thing to last for a long time. You have a couple options, you could buy one directly from a store, Levi for example makes some high quality and durable vests, or you could thrift one. I wanted to build from the ground up so I went thrifting. This did, however, cause some problems as you will see, but it also limits the availability and increases the amount of time it takes. Also very importantly, you don't want to just grab the first jacket/vest you find like I did, you want to make sure the fit is perfect and that it's a durable high quality build. After you put so many hours into this thing, you're going to be pissed if it falls apart in a couple years. Here's what I got for $6.