Spun It, Dyed It, Wove It, Sewed It!

I finished Marty's vest yesterday and he wore it to work today.  It looks fabulous on him!

Sewing with my handspun was a fun challenge.  (Here is a link to my post about spinning and weaving the fabric.)   First I had to CUT OUT THE PIECES.  The first snip felt positively sinful but after that it was fun.  The fabric pattern is the same on front and back and so I was able to fit all the pattern pieces on, one layer at a time, without regard to any of that.  It is a good thing my husband is skinny.  I wove this on an 18" wide loom - any larger and the pieces would not have fit. 

Because the fabric is somewhat coarse I had to handle it as little as possible because it ended to fray at the raw edges.  Fortunately the pattern didn't call for any overturned or hemmed edges - the whole thing was lined.  The fabric would not have been stable enough for an unlined garment - I think it would have stretched out of shape.

I lined the vest with rayon lining.  The welt pockets were also lined with rayon.  I reinforced the buttonholes with a strip of iron-on interfacing on the back side of the fabric and sewed them on the machine.  Mom would have made hand-bound buttonholes, I hope she was not looking down at me from that sewing room in the sky!