I haven’t posted for a while due to some ongoing (but currently manageable enough) stomach troubles, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been sewing and creating! It’s my favorite thing to do, so it tends to be relaxing even when I’m not feeling so great. I’ve managed to complete 3 projects recently, all from vintage patterns with an optimistic rainbow-bright color scheme.
First is this padded vest. Chicago weather can be pretty wintery until May, so I still have plenty of time to wear it! I used a vintage Simplicity pattern, shown below. At first I thought I would make view 1, which is stuffed with Poly-fil; but then I decided to make my own pre-quilted fabric using batting (view 2 uses pre-quilted fabric), as I thought that would wash better. My experience is that Poly-fil can bunch up when washed, so I wanted to avoid that pain in the future.
Here was my process:
At first I planned to do simple horizontal stripes, but then I got carried away and wanted to do a chevron design. So I made duplicate pattern pieces and laid them all out together to match the stripes.
I cut quilt batting and backing fabric for each piece and sandwiched them together.
After pinning the sandwiched pieces together, I machine quilted along the stripes using a walking foot.
Here are the finished pre-quilted pieces:
Front and back views of the finished vest:
The pocket design of the pattern was pretty cool, as the pockets have both an opening under the flap for objects, and a side opening behind the pocket for your hands.
The vest is finished off with a lining (same red cotton I used for the quilted backing and the pockets) and a separating zipper. It was really fun doing machine quilting for the first time and I know I’ll get good use out of such a brightly-colored warm vest in my winter wardrobe. I think it has a bit of an 80s look.
My other 2 projects were this crocheted twin set, a sleeveless tank or vest and matching cardigan!
It is based on a pattern from McCall’s Needlework and Crafts Magazine, the Fall and Winter 1973-74 issue, although I took a lot of liberties with the design. I can provide the original pattern upon request. I’ve wanted to make it for years!
All the yarn was already in my stash except for one new ball of green. The ivory yarn is the sadly-discontinued Fisherman’s Wool from Lion Brand, and the colors are all worsted-weight cotton of various brands.
Here is the sleeveless sweater by itself – it can be worn as a tank or layered over a button-up shirt since the sweater vest look is back in style.
Bright colors for me are always a mood-booster, so I hope they are for you, too!