Twig + Tale Trailblazer Vests

For several months now my husband has been asking me when I'm planning to sew something for him. We'd even looked through a few patterns, but nothing had really stood out to either of us, so I continued just making things for the cub.


But then Twig and Tale came out with their Trailblazer Vest in Men's sizes, and I knew that finally the time had come. This pattern is awesome, such a classic design with some nice variations (wind flap, snaps/buttons/zipper, even a fisherman add on) and is something my husband will actually wear. Best of all there is a matching kids' version, so the two of them can match!

Michael Miller provided beautiful fabrics for me to work with, and I chose this beautiful pine green cotton couture fabric for Jeff's vest. For the cub's I decided to go with a print, and their Say Yes to New Adventures from their Words of Wisdom line is the perfect mix of sweet and spunky! We love the little tree doodles.

What really makes the vests is the lovely organic sherpa, also from Michael Miller. It is so incredibly soft. The cub loves to touch the inside of her vest and says, "It feels like a kitten, or a blanket." I hesitated just a little cutting into it because I wanted to just wrap myself up in it and take a nap! It still looks beautiful after being washed and dried (a must when a toddler is wearing it).

This was my first time using a separating zipper, but Lisa's instructions (and video!) make it a complete breeze. Every time I do a zipper I wonder why I don't do them more often, they really aren't hard to do when you have good instructions! I actually think the hardest thing about zippers is finding the right color for your project.

I quilted both of the vests (more on the smaller vest, because quilting is so new to me and it seemed more doable on something small!) onto a thin wool batting for extra warmth, since we are starting to see our temperatures drop. I also added a little color blocking on the cub's vest, so you can really see the nice seams there that help give these vests a nice shape (nothing boxy here!)

These two are such pals, especially since I went to Sweden without them in October. Came back to find that perhaps they don't actually need me after all, they were so on top of things! Hopefully they enjoy having me around, at least.

The cub is such a satisfying person to sew for right now. She seriously loves this vest, and tells me so all the time. When I first put it on her she went over to the mirror and was looking at herself with the most satisfied little smile, it was so cute. Makes finishing something extra rewarding!

Such a handsome guy. :)

Such a big girl!