This is my wearable toile version of the Kyoto Vest by Tessuti Patterns.
The pattern has been sitting in the stash for nearly a decade. I don't know why it took so long to finally sew up this project. Maybe it was fear of cutting into the boiled wool or cotton fleece sitting in the stash without knowing if the pattern would work? Silly me, just like the Eva and Lily dress patterns by Tessuti Patterns, the Kyoto Vest is a gem. It's quite simple to sew, only one pattern piece. There are no side seams. The edges are supposed to be finished with binding. The pattern has wonderful instructions and photos on how to finish this vest. However, I didn't follow them and finished the edges with the rolled hem feature on my serger.
I pieced together the left-over fabric from this coat project. Not quite enough length but I did patch together pieces to make enough yardage and get this cut out. I trimmed the seam allowance and then top-stitched along the seam using my Coverstitch machine. If I was more caffeinated during the cutting and piecing process, I would have sewn the seam with wrong sides together instead of right sides together, this way the top-stitching would have been on the wrong side of the fabric on that big beautiful shawl collar. None-the-less, I'm just being picky, I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I will be wearing this toile for sure. If I make another, I think I might lengthen the shorter version a bit or give the longer version a try.
Sewing IS Political
This is another Canadian made and tariff free project. The incredibly beautiful and warm wool coating fabric came from Winnipeg Sews, a now-closed Canadian fabric reseller. It came with a tag dating it all the way back to 1984, this is a vintage treasure. I'm sad they're closed and that this type of quality fabric is rare to find. A trip to Fabricland to see the new fall offerings recently was a huge disappointment as many of the labels were polyester, polyamide and viscose blends. I did not find a mention of wool in the new selections offered this year. But I digress. The fabric scissors used were from Merchant and Mills and were purchased from The Workroom, another Canadian fabric outlet. The threads used in the sewing machine, Coverstitch and serger were Gütermann Threads and are labelled as made in Greece. They have been in the stash for quite some time as Gütermann Threads stopped labelling where their threads are made. This lack of transparency is so not cool. The threads were purchased at Marshall Fabrics, a Canadian fabric outlet.
Project details
Seams: 3.0 straight stitch + coverstitching to patch together pieces
Seam finish: Serged + rolled hem
Fabric: 0.40 metres + remnant pieces stitched together (the pattern calls for 0.90 metres of fabric for the short version)
Pattern: Kyoto Vest by Tessuti Patterns, circa 2017
Additional Tools and Supplies: Cutting table, pins, pin cushion, tailor's chalk, ruler, tracing paper, pencil, paper scissors, fabric scissors, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Jean-a-ma-jag™, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, threads, thread clippers, Janome 1000CP, iron, iron board, clapper, snacks and good tunes.
Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.
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