Hi All! I’ve decided to give myself a break, and I’m sewing and quilting for fun this month. I’m digging deep into my UFO pile to see what I can finish.
You know all those tote bags you get from quilt shows and vendors that just pile up in the closet? Well, I use them for project bags for my UFOs. I just grabbed one without looking, and here’s what I worked on this week.
Wow, this vest project is y-e-a-r-s old. Back when I was interested in making quilted garments, I remember taking an online class to make this vest. Actually, this is so old, it wasn’t really an online class like the ones available today. I think I simply downloaded a .pdf with the instructions on how to make this vest.
I was attracted to this pattern because it was called a bargello vest, but it only needed three fabrics. I was able to find three fabrics that worked well to blend together; they were probably from the same fabric line.
I got as far as constructing the vest, and layering the top, batting, and back, and topstitching the edges. I even added some quilting at the top of the back.
Then it disappeared into UFO purgatory. Wow! So close, all it needs is some basic quilting, then sewing the sides closed.
I decided to simply stitch-in-the-ditch between the strips, then add something decorative to the shoulders of the front. Because I don’t actually machine quilt very often, I’m not good at freehand quilting. I usually stick with straight lines or echo quilting. To add something prettier, I traced a design onto tracing paper, positioned the paper, and stitched over the lines. Removing the paper is easy.
Butterflies on the right shoulder, leaves on the left shoulder.
Sewing the sides together to finish the vest was a pain in the butt. I sewed the front of each piece together, trimmed the batting to the seam, then hand stitched the inside lining pieces to close it up.
It’s a cute vest. It’s not exactly my style anymore, but maybe I’ll wear it once just to say I did.
Check in next week to see my next UFO!
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