How to Make a Pink Ladies Jacket
The film "Grease" is often a popular source of Halloween and just-for-fun costumes. With its iconic characters and trademark 1970s-gone-'50s style, outfits from the movie are fun and full of panache. One of the most well-liked costumes is the uniform of the Pink Ladies, Rydell High School's bad girl group. The film version of this uniform consists mainly of a light pink jacket with the words "Pink Ladies" emblazoned across the back, a look that is usually greatly changed in commercial Pink Ladies costumes. To make your own accurate version of the Pink Ladies jacket, complete the following instructions.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Pink Ladies still photos from the film
- Sewing equipment
- Embroidery machine or hand tools
- Light pink canvas or matte windbreaker material
- Darker pink satin lining fabric
- Matching zipper and thread
- Black embroidery thread
- Patterns
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1
Examine screen-captured pictures of the Pink Ladies jackets in the film, which can be found in the Resources section of this article. Most Pink Ladies costumes include some sort of hot pink satin baseball or bowling jacket, but this is not the type of jacket depicted in the film. Instead, you should make a jacket that is shaped more like a man's button-down bowling shirt combined with the sleeves of a 1980s denim coat.
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2
Make a sketch of the jacket from all views, and include small details. Take special note of the placement of the inside lining and the upper back seam, which are not usually found in modern jackets.
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3
Find a suitable jacket pattern that looks similar to the film's Pink Ladies jacket. Most modern patterns will not have the upper back seam or the proper collar, so you may wish to hunt for a vintage 1950s pattern or combine aspects of multiple patterns. Butterick B5261 and Kwiksew 2896 are both decent starting patterns for this jacket, although the first lacks a zipper and neither have the upper back seam or proper sleeve cuffs. You can scavenge these parts from the Simplicity 2762 or the Jalie 2320 pattern.
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4
Choose a light pink canvas or matte windbreaker material for the outside of the jacket, and a darker pink satin lining for the inside. Matte fabric is important on the outside, as the shiny fabric usually used on the outside of Pink Ladies jacket reproductions is not only not used in the film, but would not have been used in the 1950s either. Buy all notions to match.
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5
Combine all parts of the patterns you have decided to use, making sure to cut the pieces to the size that best fits your measurements. Follow the different pattern instructions for each piece to cut, pin and stitch the jacket together. Pay special attention to any adjustments and make sure that the lining lays flat.
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6
Embroider the "Pink Ladies" logo on the back of the jacket and the first name of your choice in the top left corner of the front of the jacket in black thread. Whether embroidering by machine or by hand, try to match the typeface of the font in the pictures.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have drafting skills, it may be much easier to simply draft a pattern from your sketches than to combine pieces of different existing patterns. The vintage pattern Advance 7931 also shows the proper sleeves, seaming and collar that the Pink Ladies jacket should have, and indeed would also make a great dress for someone costuming as Sandy. Look for a business that will custom-embroider your jacket for you if you can't do the embroidering.
