When we were in Thailand/Laos in January I bought quite a few fabric souvenirs.  I really want to turn them all into garments (maybe some into cushions) but it does take sort thought for me to figure out what will work best for particular types of fabric.  The idea to turn a length of ikat into a vest came to me while lying awake in bed one night.  Do others plan their sewing projects when they are meant to be asleep?

I looked at the length of ikat and knew that it would have to be combined with another fabric to have enough for an effective garment – and denim would hopefully work well! I had some stretch denim scraps in my stash, and they were just the right shade of blue. I used the denim for the collar/front bands.

The pattern is New Look 6397. From their website: Misses’ cozy jacket with patch pockets can have a straight or handkerchief hemline. Vest can have a straight hem with patch pockets or a high-low without pockets.  Fabric suggestions: Lightweight to medium woven or knit fabrics with drape such as: Linen and wool types, double knits, fleece, interlock, jersey, ponte, stretch velvet.

You may have noticed that the fabric suggestions are mostly for knits, but I figured that the vest would be fine in my medium weight wovens.  I sewed view C without the pockets, possibly in the size Small (10-12), although it could have been the Medium (14-16) but I’m too lazy to pull the pattern envelope out and check.

The front bands are seamed at the centre back of the neckline and form the gentle shawl collar.  From memory the bands are rectangular pieces,cut double on the fold. The ikat frayed terribly, so I overlocked all the edges first then did the assembly with a straight stitch on my sewing machine. The bottom of the vest is a 5/8″ turned hem, just straight stitched into place, as are the armhole openings.

This was really easy to make, and highly satisfying. I took a bit of a punt sewing this vest, and I’m extremely happy with the finished result.