I-Ching for the Garden-

The I-Ching Working Vest-

 I love the strip ticking for a canvas weight I-Ching Vest. The pattern is available in PDF and Paper. It is perfect for gardening or workshop time.

The combination of the utility weight fabric, the cotton measuring tape trim and topstitching (using a a triple-stitch) in black thread make this design a great combo. the machine blanket stitch was also used. Consider using the strip in different directions to add interest as I did here: turning the stripe horizontally on one front piece.

CHANGING THE GARMENT-

 

Although the garment was cut out following the pattern pieces, once the shoulders were sewn, the shoulders were pleated to bring them in to be 6 1/2”-7”. Working on the dressform, large tucks was folded on both shoulders, each side is a bit different, since the curved pleats are different on both sides of the fronts. 

I used  topstitching along the lines of the stripes (as indicated by the blue arrows), to hold the deep tucks in place. Notice the topstitching does not go all the way around the armholes…its just used,  as needed,  at several places, leaving the other edges folded or loose and giving this garment more dimension. The armholes was deepened ( to 10”) by ending the side seams lower. for a guide to cutting some of the armhole edge away, see the reversible vest version of the I-Ching in the Stitching Stars at Night post

 

MORE TOPSTITCHING-

 

Open slits at the bottom of the side seams, stitched with the black thread, accentuate the uneven hemline, which is fun to reshape to work with the design of the garment in progress. 

 TIES-  

Love this cotton trim that has a measuring tape printed on it! It was used as a collage element here and there. Short pieces were stitched on the front. By leaving the ends 4-5” long, the tails could be knotted and used as the buttons when pulled through the buttonholes.

Ravel Trick: To keep the ends of the trim from raveling…I often dip, or paint both sides of the ends with acrylic paint (as was done here). Once the paint is dry, I trim the ends to finish.               

                                                       I wanna see yours....so make one!!! Diane