Last fall, when I traveled to Portland for the professional bike mechanics course at United Bicycle Institute - I decided to start collecting patches. Instead of using the inexpensive quilted vest I picked up - I decided I needed a proper vessel to display them. Enter vest number one.
I had not yet dragged my remaining industrial sewing machine out of storage - so I put this one together using a heavily modified pattern, and my little workhorse of a vintage Pfaff:
Made from cotton duck fabric, It turned out pretty well - and received a couple alterations before (and during) getting me through the winter. There were a couple materials issues, machine difficulties - and surprisingly something that turned out better because I used an inappropriate sewing machine - heh.
For insulation, I used a crinkly semi-metallic potholder type batting, and a second layer of basic poly-batting. It often felt like I was wearing a potholder - fun! I machine quilted the duck, batting, and a wool-knit fabric for the lining. This turned out well even thought the knit fabric was the friendliest lining. All of the edges were bound in bias cut strips of sweatshirt fleece. I used a two-step process, so it went kind of slow - the pro was a nice soft edge. The zipper went in fairly well - with no wobbly edges! When I made alterations, I did use my heavy duty walking-foot machine to re-bind and re-install the zipper - some of the edges got a little stretched out and wobbly because the material gets pulled through the machine. In hindsight, a combination of better material control and appropriate interfacing would solved this (I was doing this on the fast and cheap side).
Take two!
I've really taken to wearing the vest. I'm writing this from the train on my way out to the PNW again - visiting a good friend and taking another certification course at UBI. This seemed like a good occasion to rebuild the vest with a pattern from scratch, and some design elements altered and added.
On a trip to Chicago, I picked up a sample of some Thinsulate batting - it's lighter weight and actually intended for a garment. Woo! I used the same duck fabric, but for a lining, I wanted a woven material. While a wool would have been nice I opted for a fun plaid flannel I've had in my stash for years.
The pattern got an adjustment for the "v-neck" and snaps instead of a zipper - easily modifiable for another variation I'm thinking about. The pockets received a size adjustment allowing an experiment with the application and trims. The big new feature is a pair of rear zippered pockets that I'm pretty psyched about, and may replace the lower front pockets.
Construction-wise, I used my binding attachment to trim all the edges in synthetic twill-tape. This makes for easy edge finishing and assembly, but I'll need to practice the application especially on curves. Like many of my projects, I'm treating this as a working prototype. I'm considering a few future revisions that might correct potential eccentricities, and make it better as a potential product - but that's another post.
Here's my bike waiting for the train in Chicago
For the past year I've been pulling together my mechanics training and ideas about bikes and biking - I'm in the process of opening a shop in Lansing: coming soon will be VeloGeer, LLC, where i will specialize in building specialty wheels, wheel service, and selling a selection of bike accessories for adventure biking, with a small DIY section. Check out VeloGeer - it's a work in progress, and it mentions some ideas that wont fit in the space I landed in. It will be opening in Lansing's newest small business incubator, the Lansing Eastside Gateway at 615 E. Kalamazoo - the grand opening is on October 16th (Tuesday!). VeloGeer wont be ready yet, but come to see the vendor space!
Lastly, I'm attempting to be better about publishing blog posts. On this - my personal blog - I'll share my creative stuff like knitting and sewing, and perhaps the occasional rant or rave.
