I thought I should come clean with a confession on this blog post — I am OBSESSED with vests! There, I said it (I feel the need to call out my bias in advance). I just love how much more put together I feel with an additional layer – it gives me room to add texture, color, and contrast to my outfits (and doubles as a way to keep me warm since I’m literally always cold). When I learned that Tami at Love Notions was designing a mommy and me vest – I instantly tossed my hat in the ring for my latest challenge — faux fur! If you are anything like me, the thought of sewing something with a high pile just makes you want to pet your sewing machine while whispering “everything will work out ok” — but honestly, it wasn’t so bad – just use plenty of clips and you’ll do fine too!
Pockets?!?!
First, I have to share that my daughter and I used this pattern test as an opportunity for her to try out my sewing machine with just a little supervision. We sewed her muslin together and she was thrilled to share that she made something herself!
The video below shows her reaction to having made her first garment and noticing that it lacks its most important detail — pockets! (P.S. Ignore this mess of a room – we are just really messy making memories)
Mommy and Me Sets
The Oakley (Ladies Vest) and Acorn (Girl’s Vest) are sold as a set and can be found on the Love Notions site here. They are on sale for $14 and are a STEAL for all the different vests you can make! We sewed up our final versions or View A using a Bonded Llama Cuddle from Shannon Fabrics. You can find the same one on the Fabrics.com site here.
As you saw in the video, baby girl can’t STAND to have a garment without pockets (it’s now the first thing she looks for when she tries things on), so I HAD to add pockets to our versions! I love the gray sueded side so much, that I couldn’t bear to use a lining fabric for the pockets and therefore used the fur! It makes for a warm and cozy pocket – that’s for damn sure!
The vest in view A has just 3 pattern pieces (if you include the pockets) – so its super simple to sew up. I went with raw edges on the inside, which allows a little bit of the fur to peek through. If you don’t like the raw look, you could always line the vest.
Just for the Mini Me
The Acorn (Girls’ version) can be found here. I just can’t get over how sassy my little one looks when you pair that intense stare with a big furry vest — you certainly get lots of FABULOUSNESS! (Perhaps I should have used FABULOSITY???)
Ladies Oakley
With a vest this FABULOUS, I needed to tame down the top I wore under it. I was fortunate that Katie of the Creative Counselor sent me her Grainline Archer (blogged here on Katie’s blog) to keep! It’s lovely when you meet sewing friends and they become real friends too! Can you believe we are so close in dimensions???
The Oakley (Ladies’ version) can be found here. I have to give a shout out to my 4 year old who had the BIG GIRL responsibility of photographing me in my vest alone, since I forgot to ask my husband (whoops) – she did a great job, didn’t she??
I paired my vest and top with my pink Eleonore Jeans (blogged here) and can think of sooo many more ways to wear it! I wore this look to the mall, and with the windy day, my furry vest and my large hair – I’m pretty sure I was a sight to see when I got there!!!
Overall Impressions
Aside from the fact that it is SUPER hard to get a joint photo with someone half your height – who isn’t camera shy… I think this is a perfect mommy and me sewing project and is a fun way to play with fabrics and textures.
Can you believe we were able to get both of these vests made with just 1 yard of fabric? Admittedly, I wear a small and my daughter is a 4T – but that’s a pretty awesome way to stretch some fabric! Have you seen the other versions?? Have you made any fun joint projects with your kids lately?
Harper + Lu 
It’s so wonderful to see the next generation of sewists getting started! She is beyond fabulous and it looks like she gets it from you.
I’m still snickering at “who in the world is love notions?” Not your typical brand campaign but pretty memorable.
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