Sewcial Distancing: how to make your own vest
This week’s SEWcial Distancing project is reusing the off-cuts from the week before. I would not claim to be a zero-waste designer but I am always looking for ways to reduce the amount of waste i produce and creatively reuse my scraps.
This vest is made of a patch work of scrap, pinned and hand sewn together using visible blanket stitch and embroidery thread.
Step One: Place your pattern pieces in front of you and look through the off-cuts of fabric.
Step Two: Place the off-cuts of fabric onto of the pattern piece and fit them together like a jigsaw puzzle. Don’t worry if the pieces are not an exact fit, this is a creative project rather than about precision. Once you have decided how some pieces will fit together, pin them together. TIP: it is best to pin small sections at a time.
Step Three: Once you have pinned small sections together, hand sew the layers using a blanket stitch. You may need to slightly stretch the panels to get them to fit. On each stitch make sure you pull the stitch tight so it is secure, but not too tight so it distorts the fabric.
Step Four: Continue this process of pinning and stitching. Work with the fabric sections on top of the pattern piece so you can grown the pieces in the shape of the vest. Don’t worry if the shape is not exact, you can trim areas if you need. In general, the fabric will be slightly small than the pattern piece but as the rib is stretchy this is ok.
Step Five: When you have made the front and back patch-work panels you need to attach them together. Place the front piece on top of the back piece and pin along the side seams and shoulder seams. Hand sew these together and then your top is finished!
Additional step: Stitch around the neckline and arm holes. This could be in abstract sections on around the whole curve depending on how much thread you have left.
P.S If you’re unsure how to blanket stitch, the previous blog post will show you how. It is a simple stitch, looping the thread around the edge of the fabric layers and securing by threading the needle back through the loop.
