Since I seem to continue to add to my stash, I am also trying to sew from it.  Specifically, to turn “leftovers” from another project into a garment, and get rid of those scraps that are too big to throw out but too small to lend themselves to any old project.  The scraps that require a little thought and pattern layout manipulation.  I was able to fit all of Simplicity 2560 view A onto some lovely smooth fluid chocolate brown knit scraps.  This is a pattern that I’ve used a couple of times before.  I find short sleeved light jackets to be a handy extra layer for spring/summer/autumn in Melbourne, and this jacket can be pretty much assembled entirely on the overlocker.  But speaking of the overlocker – disaster!

Don’t you hate it when you are busy overlocking a couple of pieces together and you somehow manage to get another fold of fabric caught up underneath and – pow! – the overlocker blade has sliced through it somewhere. And in a stretch fabric, it’s incredibly difficult to repair. I was so annoyed with myself! Otherwise, I was really pleased with how well this was coming together. I didn’t have any fabric scraps left to recut the back piece. I did consider tossing it, but decided to go ahead and finish it anyway and then ponder what to do next. So, onto the finished jacket, with cut in the centre back. From behind:

And from the front:

Other than the cut in the back, I liked it! Chocolate brown goes with lots of my clothes, it’s easy to wear, and I’d done a good job of the hems (sewn on the machine, but the rest of the assembly on the overlocker). So the decision was made – it was design feature time. I canvassed a few possibilities, and ended up with a strip of stretch lace fabric in pretty much the same colour as the base fabric, applied just above the seam from front right around to the other front. So, the back now:

And the front:

I definitely would have preferred it without the lace, and don’t look too closely at the application, but overall I think that it looks more like a design feature than a hole repair. And now it has a future in my wardrobe!