The week after sewing camp, as I was slowly finishing up the Forager vest I started there, I saw a movie set in the early 1900’s in Hawaii.

For the first 20 minutes, it featured this little guy:He’s so cute I want to squeeze him but I’m sure even if I wasn’t a stranger, he’s old enough that he wouldn’t let me.

Do you see his clothes? They are tattered, yes, but they also look like they are handmade. So beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. The many Japanese migrants in Hawaii during the movie’s setting wore these beautiful blue and white clothes. They tended to wear layers and multiple blue and white patterns at once, and it was stunning.

I determined to hack the Forager Vest into the vest above. I started by mashing it up with the bodice of the Metamorphic Dress in my size. I wanted to add a little width to the shoulder, tighten up the armcye, and generally make the whole vest shorter and stouter.

Here’s my original Forager:Three immediately asked for a Forager Vest of her own when she saw mine.The mash-up pattern was perfect to use to make her a kid-sized version.I used a lightweight India tie-dye cotton with shot cotton for the lined pockets. Made in my size, the vest was long on her and had loose armcyes just like the regular Forager. I changed the shape of the pockets for the vest I was working on, and I used that shape for her vest. I did an inverted box pleat in the back panel.Now, of course, everyone wanted one.

Five was next. We picked a sunny yellow quilting cotton. I had to redraft the pattern for her much smaller form. She loves the finished product, but I would have left it a little longer in the front if I had it to do again. Instead of a box pleat, I gathered the back section of the vest, which looks super cute. I finished the armcyes and the front opening with mismatched bias tape with a generally yellow theme.She wore it and got it dirty before I had a chance to take photos, so I threw it in the wash, and it came out horrifically wrinkled. I ironed it before taking these photos. I used dryer balls, but the load sat in the dryer all night.

I’m not a fan of kids’ clothes that require ironing. The point of the vest is to wear it exploring, collecting treasures in its big pockets. That means washing it more often than most outerwear, especially if it’s being worn by a child. I knew yellow was a gamble, as was the quilting cotton, but it suits her. We’ll see how it fairs.

Next up was Four’s vest. The roomy Forager Vest isn’t really his style, so I asked him to provide me with one of his suit vests after clarifying that a suit vest was what he actually wanted. He said he still wanted usable pockets.

I made a freezer paper pattern of the vest he gave me and added a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Since a dress vest needs to button, I used one of the Chaplain’s old dress shirts to construct the vest, lining up the front pieces to use three of its buttons and buttonholes. Then I got excited about how it was looking and promptly started the French seams wrong.After I worked out my seam problems, the vest came together pretty fast. I reattached the pocket from the shirt onto the vest, and finished the armholes and the bottom hem with store bought bias binding. I wanted something simple and matching and the wrinkle-free fabric the vest is made out of would never have allowed itself to be wrestled into the shape of bias binding. I usually like the insides of the clothes I make to look nearly as good as the outsides, and the facing  doesn’t really pass that test, but it is absolutely functional and looks great from the outside. I sewed right through one of the buttons on the vest when I was attaching it, but the shirt has a few more buttons on it, so at some point I’ll probably replace the damaged one. It doesn’t seem to bother Four. Since I finished the vest, Four informed me it was too small. So it will get passed down to Six, who also wanted a suit vest, and I’ll eventually redraft a slightly larger version of it with another old dress shirt (if that sounds like no big deal, I’m kind of dreading it.)

Next up was Two. She picked a yellow/black khadi cotton fabric that reads as chartreuse, with license plate fabric for the pockets. I gathered the back instead of pleating it. I lengthened it a little, but otherwise used the pattern pieces I’d made for the purple vest I made for Three.It was her idea to fold the khadi cotton lining over the top of the license plate fabric of the pockets. I really like it. I was out of steam for vests, and I never even got around to finishing the mock-up I started for the vest from the movie, let alone making a final version. Maybe I’ll also get around to making another, bigger vest for Four.

Update: I made a version inspired by the vest from the movie.