So simple: Tessuti amara vest

Friday 24 July 2020
After finishing that tailored green jacket I needed to make something really quick and simple - the Amara vest by Tessuti patterns was just the thing. It probably took me longer to print out and assemble the pattern than it actually did to sew it!

A woman modelling a plum coloured vest worn over a white shirt

It's a very shapeless and boxy style but still drapes quite well so it doesn't make me look like a child in adults clothing. I made the smallest size and while it's quite wide across the body which is only really noticeable when my arms are up, but luckily I don't need to use my arms robot style too often:

A woman lifting her arms to show the width of the wool vest

The fabric I used is a felted wool bought from Addicted to Fabric in Canberra last year on a road trip with some Sydney Spoolettes to see an exhibition on the costumes from movie The Dressmaker. This pattern is exactly the project I had in mind when I bought this fabric, I just had to wait a while for someone to draft a pattern for me! 

Because the wool is felted I knew it wasn't going to fray, so I've left the bottom hem unfinished and instead of binding the neckline and sleeves I just sewed on strips of the fabric and left them on the right side. I was going to turn them to the inside and topstitch them down, but I quite like the look of the bands even though they are roughly cut so I decided to make a feature of it instead.

a close up shot of a neckline of a wool vest


a close up shot of the sleeve of a plum wool vest and a white shirt

The shirt I'm wearing underneath is one I made a few years ago but never blogged for some reason. It's made from a vintage Simplicity pattern:

photograph of an old sewing pattern cover showing four different styles of shirts

Given that it's a learn to sew pattern it was super simple. The fabric is a crisp stretch cotton, and I found some black and white buttons which is just perfect for the fabric.

a lady wearing a white and black polka dot shirt

I even managed to find some photos from three years with the same jeans - they are a bit blacker than they are now, I'm about 5kg lighter and I was still taller than my children. The good old days!

a lady wearing black jeans and a white shirt standing in front of a wrought iron door

a photo of a woman and two children in front of a colourful wall mural

So all in all a lightning quick but great project. It's surprising warm wearing a wool layer even though it's sleeveless. It might be my inner nanna coming out, but I do like a comfy vest so I can see a few more of these vests in my future.

woman standing beside a fence



 

5 comments:

  1. I love this! I've seen a lot of similar shapes in ready to wear lately.

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  2. Very nice “third piece”. And cutie pie kids! I live in hot Arizona, USA, and a third piece just wont work! But it is my favorite look!

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  3. Thank you for the "robot" shot! It is a very useful and all too rare shot in boxy patterns - sewing and knitting. Felted lace - very cool!

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  4. The vest looks so good and a nice layering piece for cooler weather. I like how you paired it with the white shirt.

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