I signed up for Lorraine's Creative Clothing Class at Gayfeather Fabrics again this year, as did most of my classmates from last year. The first assignment was to repurpose a piece of ready-to-wear. My project for this go around was a long, black silk Dana Buchman vest I found at a consignment store for $20. I decided to use some of the beautiful pieces of handprinted silk scraps that I had bought from Laura Goldstein, who has a business in Milwaukee called Grotta & Co. She makes the most fabulous scarves and pillows from her fabrics (
www.grottaco.com).
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I first fused the silk pieces onto some fusi-knit interfacing and then sewed the pieces into strips which I basted onto the hem of the vest. Then I used some black and white ribbon I got at Gayfeather Fabrics and topstitched it onto the top and bottom edges of the strip to finish it off.
Using a grasshopper motif from one of the silk scraps, I made a patchwork square which I stitched on the upper back to add interest.
I had planned to change the button that came with the vest but decided the large mother-of-pearl button was perfect.
