Lonetree Vest

I am excited to show off my new Lonetree Vest today! The Lonetree jacket and vest is the first pattern released by Allie Olson, the co-founder of Indiesew. It is a utility jacket or vest with a collar, drawstring, and an optional hood.

I was a tester for the pattern and this vest is my tester version. I initially wanted to make the jacket but I had to change course when the fabric and zipper I ordered from two different places ended up not matching each other. I wasn’t really sure how much use I would get from a vest but I had a length of fabric and a zipper that was a reasonable match so that’s where I started.

I cut between a size M and L for the upper part of the vest, graded it to the L at the waist, then to between the L and XL at the hips. (My bust is approximately 36.5″ and hips are 42″.) I think the fit ended up being pretty perfect. I did make a change to the armscye since the initial tester version was too high for me. I used this vest as my inspiration when I reshaped the armscye. The Lonetree vest pattern has the armscyes finished with a facing but I ended up finishing mine with bias tape. I was concerned that my changes would result in the topstitching from the facing overlapping the pocket. (Allie made changes to the final pattern and the armscye was lowered during testing.)

I love all of the pockets on the front of the vest. I used topstitching thread and I love how it looks on my twill fabric. I opted to put two snaps on each of the lower pockets on the vest, which I really like. I think if I revisit this pattern I would like to make the bottom pockets just a bit bigger. I realized after the fact that my cell phone is a little too tall to go into the pockets.

I want to get some cord locks to go on the drawstring eventually. I might even replace the drawstring if I can find some twill tape that is the right color. I ordered this cord because it looked like the color would match perfectly but I didn’t think about the fact that it’s made from jute, which is pretty stiff. I am hoping it will soften up somewhat with washing and wearing.

Despite thinking I didn’t have much use for a vest I have worn this constantly since I made it. It’s got a lot of great details that make it look really professional. The pattern went together really well and the instructions are very detailed. I love how it looks with jeans and a t-shirt and I think it will also look cute over dresses in the spring/summer. There is a ton of styling inspiration on Pinterest and I feel just a little bit cooler now that I have a fancy cargo vest. (Of course, looking at all of that inspiration makes me think I need one of these in army green. And a jacket. ASAP.)

~Teri

 

 

 

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