Envigado Vest by Itch to Stitch

Sometimes I sign up to test patterns because I simply love the design and it fills a hole in my wardrobe, and sometimes I sign up to test because I love a good challenge. In this case, it happens to be both of those reasons.

I learned last year that I love wearing vests on chilly, Arizona days. For me, vests seem to supply just enough warmth, while also giving me extra pockets, which always seems necessary.

So when Kennis (Itch to Stitch) asked for testers for her new Envigado Vest, I jumped on it! I even ordered fabric and supplies before the test began, which I never do. However, my fabric got lost in the mail and my snaps ended up not working well, so I had to come up with a Plan B.

So for the fabric, I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and decided to try something totally different from what I had originally picked. I am still hopeful that I will get the original fabric I had ordered, even thought it has been over a month. I am still hopeful 🙂 So I went with this dark distressed denim.

I was really excited about the fabric’s potential, but once I started sewing the vest I began to question it. I decided the dark “proper” color of the denim didn’t match the distressed look and it was hard to pair with jeans. So I did something I have never done before and I took my partially constructed vest and a few cut pattern pieces and dipped them in a bleach bath. Keep in mind I did this the day before my testing deadline, so I was a bit nervous. BUT I love how it all turned out, so it was completely worth it!!

Sewing the vest was a dream. It looks complicated, but really, just like anything else, just take it a step at a time. The fit is amazing. Kennis designed the vest based on cup size, so there is an option to sew A, B, C, D and DD cups.

I love how the Princess seams, combined with the waist drawstring, result in a very flattering fit.

However, I think my favorite feature is the collar and the button flap. It really gives it a professional finish.

Now if you really look at the pictures, you will probably notice that something is missing from my vest…

Yup, I do not have all of my snaps 🙁 This was the only difficult part of the whole project and it had nothing to do with the pattern. I mentioned that I ordered Spring Snaps before testing began, but the snaps I ordered did not work with my setting tools. Unfortunately, I did not come to that conclusion until I had spent hours fiddling with them. After admitting defeat I went to the amazing group of testers and found out that many of them had used the same snaps from Amazon and they worked perfectly. So if you are interested, I linked them here.

I will be tackling the snaps again very soon and I will update you once they are all done, but in the meantime I have no problem rocking my Envigado Vest without snaps, because I love it so much!