Summer Vests

On a recent trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, Melissa Greene showed me two linen vests that she had made using both the Liberty Shirt and the Tosca Dress patterns as starting points. I was so intrigued, that I just knew that I had to make some summer vests incorporating that concept.

This is the Liberty Shirt without sleeves. The armhole shapes were inspired by the armholes in the Tosca Dress - deep and oversized. The fabric is a wonderful coarsely woven gray linen. Our version of this fabric is 17-612-23 cross-dyed Italian linen.

This natural linen vest is the Tosca Dress much shorter with a respositioning of a front pocket.

So I used the Icon Shirt as my first vest in a sunny yellow linen 10-213-19 from Ann Taylor. I didn't install the sleeves, left the openings the original shape and size, and cut facings the same width as the front and neck facings. I didn't sew the four top buttonholes so that the funnel neckline became a splayed collar look.

The latest vest is a sleeveless version of the Pearl Jacket. Rather than facing the armholes, I used self fabric to bind the openings. I cut off the seam allowances of the armholes and removed an additional 1/4 inch at the shoulder seam and 1/2 inch at the side seams, blening the cutting lines, to open up the armholes even more. This luscious aquamarine linen is 21-513-5.