The DIY Waxed Canvas Jacket

Growing up a bit of a country boy, our clothing was more about function than it was fashion, but with the growing popularity of shows like Yellowstone, comes the growing popularity in "Ranch Ware"as a type of fashion. Not to sound like a hipster or anything but..... I've totally been rocking the waxed canvas jacket since before it was cool. If you want to lean into the fashion end of things and still have something that serves a purpose, the waxed canvas jacket is quite functional. They fight the wind, fight the rain, and can keep you warm in the field while still being breathable. Recently, I've seen several waxed canvas jackets advertised for sale such as this one from Huckberry A great jacket if you're looking for something ready to go, but if you're like me and want something unique and want the satisfaction of doing it yourself, here's how to do it.

Let's get a quick history lesson first. Before waxed jackets became commercially available, the idea of coating canvas with wax actually came from early English sailors. These were rough men who faced brutal conditions at sea. They discovered that by coating their clothing in wax or oils, they became quite water repellant. From there, the waxed jacket was born and has now become a staple of outdoorsmen, ranchers, and fishermen alike.

The Jacket

When it comes to selecting your jacket, it all comes down to preference. I wanted my jacket to be a bit longer (a little past my waist), have pocket space, have packable hood, and be uninsulated. The reason I wanted it to be uninsulated is because the functionality will serve me year round, remember you can always layer up.

In my search for my canvas jacket I just so happened to get lucky when I found mine. It matched all the criteria listed above and I found it on the clearance rack at Old Navy for $9.

Again, your jacket comes down to what you want it to be, you just need to make sure that the fabric is canvas and will accept the wax.

The Wax

There are plenty of waxes on the market. My I went with Otter Wax Bar which you can pick up on Amazon for $13. I also bought a can of the Otter Wax Fabric Dressing for $19 for future projects and touch up.

How To Do It

Mending the two together is actually quite simple but very labor intensive.

Start by placing your jacket on a solid surface, I used an ironing board.

Next, use a blow dryer to heat a small section of your jacket. Once you've heated it up, take your bar of wax and start rubbing it into the fabric. The key is to use the heat from the blow dryer and the friction from rubbing the wax on the canvas to get a good solid melt and to saturate the fibers.

This process is time consuming and will take you a while to cover the entire jacket. I found that an entire bar of wax did in fact cover my whole jacket as well as the hood.

To ensure that I covered every inch, I started at the bottom of the jacket and worked my way up in sections, from the front right panel, to the front left panel, to the back panel, to the left sleeve, to the right sleeve, then to shoulders, and finally the hood and hood pocket.

Start to finish, this probably took me an entire 8 hours which included a second coat to ensure it was all covered.

Some people have opted to do the fabric dressing. This is the same wax but comes in a can which you can heat up to a liquid. You can then apply the liquid wax with a paint brush. Probably a little more messy, but likely a lot less time consuming. I opted to do it the hard way first, but my next project is definitely the fabric dressing method.

There you have it. A water and wind resistant jacket for a fraction of the retail cost. These jackets are great in the field and a perfect addition to your gear.