It's all about vests lately. First one completed is inspired by a RTW vest I saw recently. The fabric used was a boucle textured boiled wool (100% wool). I knew I would probably never find that in yardage at a price point I was comfortable with - the closest I saw was a non-textured 100% wool at about US$60 per yard. So, I went with a boiled wool blend from Emma One Sock and was able to find a roll end piece in just the color I wanted for a price acceptable to my budget.
My inspiration piece had a hood, closed with interior (i.e. not visible from the outside) snaps, which appeared from the photo to be fabric covered, side seam pockets, and a slight A-line shaping. It cost US$198 - which is most likely a fair price, but it was more than I wanted to spend. I decided to use the Heidi jacket pattern from Style Arc -- shortened to hip length and sleeveless I thought it would be a reasonable facsimile. The sleeve opening seemed deep enough that no changes were needed there (and thankfully that turned out to be true!). I straightened out the side seam to remove waist shaping and brought it out slightly to emphasis an A-line silhouette. I didn't want added fabric in the waist/hip area, so decided against in-seam pockets. The pattern included patch pockets, but after shortening the pattern I didn't think that there was enough room for patch pockets of an attractive or useful size.
I ended up with this:
I also finished a hand knit vest - Ivalo by Pam Allen. It's a boxy, tabard style that will be a welcome layer when it starts to get frosty. The yarn is Owl by Quince & Co. It's a 50/50 blend of wool and alpaca. The color is a greyish blue called Barents Sea.
I also have plans for a machine knit vest - will it make it out of development? Hope so!
