ANATOMY OF A FREE FORM VEST

Hi Everyone,

Sorry its been so long since I posted, but with the holidays and looming deadlines, the time just flew away. 

About a year ago, while attending Stitches East in Atlantic City, I fell in love with a skein of yarn that combined some pink and greens.  I did not know what I was going to do with it, and it was not my usual color range, but I had to have it.  Throughout the year, every where I went, I found myself buying another skein of green to go with my project.  I would make a little scrumble or two and put it aside in a plastic box.  My "green" box, was growing with yarn and scrumbles, but still no direction as to what it would eventually become.

Last night I started playing with it, thinking that I just possibly  might have enough done to create something new to wear at The National Needlework Show.  Nothing like waiting till the last minute.   I decided that if I had a chance to finish anything at all, it would be a vest, a very small vest at that :-).

By the end of the evening, after sewing most of my pre made scrumbles together, I had what looked like two fronts just about done, and a few pieces that, with some work, could become the back. 

While I was working away, I thought that this might be a great opportunity to show any one who might be thinking of free form, just how to go about creating an "art to wear" garment.  Unfortunately, I did not think of this when I first began, but I will take pictures of each step as I progress from now on.

Maybe it will inspire someone to try Free Form Crochet, Free Form Knitting or a combination of both, which is what I usually do. 

I began by using one of my shirts as a template.  I pinned several pieces right to the shirt, moving them around trying to get a "fit", something like a jig saw puzzle.  When I thought the fronts were good, I sewed the pieces to each other. 

I then began on the back.  I took the few pieces that I had made, and made them larger, mostly by doing an open work filet crochet stitch all around the outer edges.  This was the quickest way to make the pieces bigger, and also doing the filet stitch around pieces is an easy way to make the garment lighter in weight. 

I pinned these pieces to the back, moving them around till I was happy with the placement.  I really needed a lot more to complete a back section, but I was more than half way there. 

I needed an odd shaped piece to fill in the top armhole section, so I cut a piece of paper the shape that I needed, and I will work on making this shape next. 

We'll see how far I get tonight!  More to follow.

Good Evening Everyone,

Margaret