New Pattern: Trailblazer Vest

Twig + Tale have released a new pattern this week called the Trailblazer vest. The vest is available in sizes 12m – 14 years and yes the adults version was released just the other day so you can make matchy-matchy sets if you wish! I decided to sew one a little roomy at size 6 to see us through a few cool spring days but mostly so it would have plenty of room next year over a jumper in winter.

I was also lucky enough to receive some fabric from Michael Miller – the outer cotton is ‘Up and Away Runway Planes’ in gold; and to make this baby warm it has their organic Sherpa for the inner layer. It also has a layer of wool batting in between to really make it snug!

I think it’s because I used the wool batting rather than polyester that my quilting effect was a no show. Yup, I spent a whole night quilting horizontally on the back and front pieces and vertically on the side panels really to no avail!  

I really was under pressure to get this baby made last week – life has been hectic and so I only had a couple of nights of which one was spent on that quilting! But the vest came together really easily.

I’ve sewn a few zippers in my time and they all seem to vary in their outcome due to the instructions provided. I’ve not sat down to compare patterns to see where things go right and wrong but I can say that Lisa’s attention to detail means this zipper was one of the easiest! I was a bit nervous when she talked about basting near the collar so the two sides line up (oh big sigh at the time, heck they need to line up!!!) But the basting works! My first attempt was off so with a small unpick and adjustment I achieved perfection! (Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo with zipper done up to the top of the collar so you could witness this marvel).

The pattern options include inseam pockets (which I sewed), a wind flap (which I left off this time), the collar and a longer rounded back hemline (which I left off as I wasn’t sure of my sizing and wanted to keep it simple if I needed to shorten the hem).

As it is, we got one wear out of this vest before it hit the laundry as we got dirt on the tail, so I imagine that longer hemline for little ones might lead to more washing than not!

Now for the good stuff: the Traiblazer vest is on sale until midnight Sunday November 12th PST (Time in LA). And you can bundle it with a Fisherman Add-on (how totally cute) for a discount during that period as well. Go for it! If you are nervous about sewing zippers – don’t be. Lisa has included video tutorials as well, so really your hand is held the whole way through!

The excitement in our household this month is preparations for big school. Hamster has had three practice mornings at his new school and is just loving it.

This week we bought the school bag and uniforms and each evening after preschool he has gone through the bag trying on items and admiring them. The bag, due to a new design, is even bigger than Buggy’s which provides much satisfaction naturally!

It’s hard to believe we are almost through those toddler and preschool years and the next chapter is about to unfold. Meanwhile, there was still a flood of tears in the car this morning, as Hamster was buckled in but I went back in the house for less than a minute to rustle up the ever-slow big sister. Still panics and gets overwhelmed if mummy is not in eyesight, so I think the baby years are not quite behind us yet!

I am loving this age of my little boy; there is so much joy and not much complexity, so I am happy for things to go slow for a while.

xx