The Jacket...Finally!

Isn't this cute!?! Doesn't it just make you want to cry? This project has only been in my head for about 6 months. I found a jacket for my baby girl that had a chenille outter layer and a cotton lining and I LOVED it. It was exactly the sort of jacket that I was thinking about making - but hadn't seen a pattern for. So when you can't find the right pattern what do you do? You make your own.

I love everything antique/vintage! One of the things my husband and I love to do together is go antique-ing. How lucky am I? One of my favorite things to look at in antique shops is the fabric and another is the quilts.

The outter layer is actually made from a vintage chenille bedspread that I got on ebay. It was a terrific find - all the vintage charm but damaged so I didn't feel bad when I destroyed it to make this jacket. Everyone who I showed the blankets to has said, "My parents/grandma had this on their bed" so funny - that's what I love about antiques.

The inside lining is a light-weight cotton print. It is pale pink with white polka dots. You know how I love polka dots - they're very important to the world. I did ribbon tabs instead of button holes because I LOVE (obsess about) ribbon and HATE making button holes. Then I had to find buttons. So I went to my happy place (JoAnn's) and picked these out. Yes, I had to buy buttons. Not because I don't have any - there are about 1,000 buttons in my house - but I didn't have the buttons. In fact, I didn't even know what the buttons were until I found these. This is actually the back side of the buttons.

So - like everything else I make - this little jacket is fully lined. All the seams are hidden. With a lighter fabric on the outside, this could be reversable.

This pic is of the back of the jacket. I centered the back over one of the star patterns on the blanket.

So, I'm pretty happy with this project. I have to tweek my pattern just a bit before I put these up in my shop - but as prototypes go I think this turned out awesome!