Made-Up Vest

 Hello Readers. I made some new pants and decided to make a matching vest. The vest gave me the feeling of wearing a suit but the vest was much easier than a suit jacket. 

 

Matchy-matchy!

 

I used this vest as a pattern. It worked pretty well. Vests are so small and simple, they are an easy sewing project.

 

I cut out the back and front pieces. This took no time at all. 

 

I used some iron-on interfacing to make the vest easier to put together. The interfacing makes the fabric a little thicker and stiffer. That makes it easier to deal with.

 

When the interfacing was ironed on, I could sew the side and shoulder seams together. 

 

Here's my new vest. The edges still needed to be finished. 

 

I used bias tape for those cut edges of the vest. 

 

I sewed the bias tape to the edge of the vest. I just stitched on top of the bias tape all around the edges of the vest.

 

Then I turned the edge under and stitched on the outside of the vest all around the edges again. 

 

You can see the way it is sewn here. But the vest is just hanging open...
 

I also used 2 pieces of bias tape to make a tie closure in front of the vest to close it. 

 

Here is the finished outfit. I loved these 2 pieces together. 

 Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Vest

 Hello Readers. Winter means warm cozy clothes. This vest had a fuzzy faux fur lining that seemed like it would be wonderful on a cold winter day.

Before and after.

Was it too long on me? It felt too long. I am short so it is probably just me. I decided to shorten it by a few inches. 

Look at that fur. So soft! I had to do several tweaks. To shorten the jacket I would need to remove the zipper. That was OK because it had snaps too.

I also shortened the draw string. This vest had a zipper closure, snaps to keep it closed and a very long drawstring that I could have tied in a knot like a bathrobe. It was the most securely closed vest on the earth. 

I cut the vest a few inches shorter and fur bits went everywhere. It was the messiest thing I have every cut apart. 

I turned the outer layer of the vest in twice and made sure the edge of the fur material was tucked under as I stitched a new hem along the bottom of the vest.

I liked the shorter length. It was a small change but when you are short everything tends to look better when it's hemmed. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

Skirt to Vest

 Hello Readers. I hope you are warm and cozy in this winter weather. It is super cold and snowy and icy in my area of the world. I am tucked in at home warm, cozy and of course, sewing. I liked the fabric of this skirt but I didn't love it as a skirt. I thought I would like it more as a vest. I was really curious if I could get a vest out of this skirt so I decided to try it.

  

Before and after.

The colors and wild floral pattern of this skirt were great. But it felt too wild as a skirt.

 

I could make the front of the skirt into the back of my vest. I could use the 2 back pieces of the skirt as the 2 front pieces of my vest.
 

I cut the waistband of the skirt off. I didn't need that. 

 

This is the front of my vest. I made the arm holes a bit bigger but this was the basic shape. 

 

This is the back of my vest. 

 

I sewed the vest together and decided to use this bias tape on the edges. Then I ran out. 

 

I used this navy blue on the arm holes.

 

 My vest went together easily. I like the bright colors but it feels like it would be better for spring because it is so cold right now. When I tried it on, I thought the shoulders were too wide. That was an easy fix. 

I turned the edge under and stitched it down. That hid the navy blue bias tape too.

 

It is so cold right now that I need to dress like this for now. Stay warm my friends! Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

*Since writing this post the wild fires in California have broken out and are  out of control at this point and very destructive and dangerous. Southern California and these areas in particular are in my prayers.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Garment Bag to Winter Vest.

 Happy New Year Readers! I have been really trying to use fabric and sewing supplies that I have already. I have so much stashed away, I don't want to buy more until I use some of this stuff. One thing I have had for over 20 years is this garment bag. It was part of a travel set that Longaberger Baskets sold. The fabric was a collaboration with Vera Bradley. I also have a matching tote bag. I just never used the garment bag. Like ever. Let's use it now.

 Before and after.

This garment bag is a cotton fabric with a layer of batting like the Vera Bradley bags and purses you might be familiar with. It would make a great jacket. 

I used my Bog jacket as a guide for this project. 

I cut out my pieces and I though it was all going to turn out great. But I made the sleeves too narrow. That is why I ended up making a vest. That's OK. This will be a great vest. 

 

I cut out pockets and made sure to get some of the other pattern on the back of the garment bag. 

 

I made a button hole at the neckline. I wanted to leave the vest open but I also had a pretty blue button I could use. 

 

My vest was done. I wanted it to be roomy enough to wear over other layers. 

 

I like the color blue so I knew I would like this vest. It turned out great and it was just in time for much cooler weather. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

 

 

 

Dresses For December Part 4, The Big Vest

Let's revisit a past refashion project.

Hello Readers. I am still refashioning dresses this month in honor of Dressember. You can go to Dressember.org to learn more about how they are fighting human trafficking and assisting victims as they begin new lives. What I read was eye-opening to me and I wanted to try to call attention to their work. 

 

 My project today began a big loose vest.

Is this a big vest? Or a sort of shawl? Whatever it is, I never wore it. It was soft and pretty but it was too big and it hung all over. I think on a tall woman this would look dramatic and elegant. On my 5' body it looked like a blanket. But I loved the design of it. The black and white make such a strong contrasting print.

 

I began by putting it on my dress form inside out and pinning it into a dress shape. You can see the pins in the pictures below if you look really close. I used my machine to stitch the two front sides together. This made a seam from the neck to the hem. That seam won't look very nice on the front of my dress though.

I turned the dress around and used the back as the front. That seam will be less noticeable in the back of the dress. I cut off the excess and tweaked the fit here and there. The length was a little on the short side.

I used some of that excess and cut thin strips to add to the bottom of the dress. It added a couple inches in length. That helped a lot.

Here is a look at the front and back of the dress. I tried to match up the design in the back but I couldn't get it perfect (That's OK!) and get the fit I wanted the dress to have. I wanted it to be comfortable and not too tight. I was happy with how it turned out. I was able to make a soft cowl neck at the top of this little sweater dress.

This was really fun to put together and to wear.

Thanks for reading, now go make yourself something fun.

A Courduroy Vest

 Hello Readers. I have had this corduroy fabric sitting in my stash for a few years. I finally decided what to do with it. I could make a vest. 

I used pieces I had on-hand. Stash busting!

I used this pattern. It is Vogue 7084. 

 

I started cutting out my pieces and realized it was going to take more fabric than I thought. I omitted the collar and the little front pockets.

 

 I also used a different fabric on the the back. It matched well and it was an easy way to use up some more of the fabric stash. This paisley was a sample piece so it was just bog enough for the back of the vest and that's all. 

 

I tried to follow the directions which is difficult for me. I don't like authority figures telling me what to do and how to do it but I was pretty sure Vogue knew more than I did. 

 

I sewed the outer shell and then the inner facings. It was all going well. 

 

I put in my button holes and I thought everything was great. I could not find good buttons in my button collection. Nothing seemed right. I went with clear buttons for now. 

 

 It was bigger than I wanted. I wanted it to be more fitted and it also seemed too long. Ugh!

 

 

 

I shortened it, took in the sides and added darts to each arm hole to improve the fit. I didn't like it over this sweater but I thought it was much closer to my vision. 

 

 My vest was finished and I liked the back fabric a lot. Thanks for reading along. I will be back tomorrow with a matching skirt.

***Year End Update***- I just made this a month or so ago so I haven't had the chance to wear it much. I do like it a lot though.