Misty Mountain Hop.

Historically, most of my sewing energy has been directed at warm weather. I love sewing dresses and skirts, and I wear them often when I can. But, they're not enough to get me through the year. It gets cold in Illinois. VERY cold. If I wanted to continue working towards my goal of a completely self-stitched closet, I needed some winter wear. Pronto. Knowing that I had our Cortina trip approaching was an excellent catalyst towards filling some of my wardrobe gaps, because I had a suspicion the Dolomites would be a great place to take pictures of my cold weather creations.  

To get started, I made a list of the types of clothing I reach for when the temperature drops. Layers are key for transitions between indoor and outdoor settings, so clothing that's easy to put on and comfortable to wear over the top of other garments was high on my list. 

Right around the time I started making a list of the types of projects I wanted to sew, I saw the Waffle Patterns Dropje on IndieSew.  I had gone searching for a similar vest patterns weeks prior to this pattern release, so I took it as a sign from the expanses of the universe that we were meant to be together. If there was any doubt in my mind that I needed this pattern, seeing Lauren's Pendleton version pushed me over the edge! 

I love the possibilities for customization with this vest. My goal for this version was to sew a "puffy" vest, that would be suitable for use as outerwear. To do that, I knew that I wanted to use batting and include some quilting lines to keep things in place.  

I also decided to fully line the vest and create in-seam pocket bags  instead of patch pockets. I had fun with the quilting and chose a few different line directions to stitch varying pieces of the vest: chevrons on the top of the hood, horizontal lines down the fronts and backs of the body, and diagonal lines on the sides. This was the first thing I've ever quilted, so I played it by ear and used a tip I'd read online (painter's tape) to mark my stitching lines. I think it turned out pretty good! 

I have a collection of small pieces of wool that I purchased from a milliner's estate and I was really excited to find I could use some of them on this pattern. The pattern calls for 2meters of  55" wide fabric, but I'm certain I had less than a yard each of my main and contrast fabrics. 

Spoiler alert, I made more than one of these. The shape of the vest is less fitted than I'm used to, but it's perfect for layering. It's warm too. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!