Hunt Bolero Vest and Harriot Archer Buttonup

My Hunt Bolero Vest and Harriot Archer Buttonup are some new favorites for sure.

We’ll start with the bolero vest. The pattern is in Casual Sweet Clothes by Noriko Sasahara. It’s a Japanese sewing pattern book that has been translated into English.

I LOVE the trim detail on the version in the book, but after looking and not finding anything good I decided to take matters into my own hands. Sometimes not having the right option forces you to creatively discover a new one!

Insert the idea to appliqué some shapes from my Hunt pattern onto the back. I love how these shapes work together. This Bolero is such a good canvas.

After deciding on my color palette, the next decision was to figure out the shape placement. The great thing about appliqué is that you can move shapes around very easily to see what you like before making the final attachment. I cut out my shapes first and auditioned them in a few different spots before deciding on this one. I like the way they echo the neckline while breaking up the proportions in a nice way on the back. Plus, you’re able to get a good feel for the overall appliqué motif.

What’s also fun about appliquéing a project like this is that there is less of it than you’d need on a full project. It can move along fairly quickly, while providing a nice impact. I did appliqué them by hand, but you could totally add them via the machine and/or something fusible.

The vest isn’t lined, which made me pay closer attention to having clean-ish starts and stops, because I knew you’d be able to see them on the inside. Of course, if you didn’t want to concern yourself with this, it would be very easy to line this vest so you wouldn’t have to!

I got a little fancy (and fussy) with my facings. I managed to get a bit of the scallop from the fabric in there, and I also spiced things up with some neon serger thread.

+ Tool Tip – remember this handy seam wheel set I mentioned in the Hunt Harriot post? The 3/8″ wheel made adding in the seam allowance to the Bolero pattern a complete breeze. While this book is translated into English, the pattern pieces do not include any seam allowances. You’ll want to add them in yourself.

As for the buttonup, I used the Grainline Archer with the Popover variation, which I LOVE. It’s such a great pattern.

The yarn dye that I chose from Harriot is super soft and the perfect weight for a buttonup. It is a dream to wear, and I love how versatile the color and pattern will be for mixing/matching/layering with other stuff in my closet. (Plus, I got a little fun with my yoke…)

I’ve made this pattern many times and cannot recommend it enough. It’s a fun sew and an easy wear. I pretty much made it as the pattern is written, but decided at the last-minute to omit the top part of the collar. When I got to that step, I realized I’d not done that before, and so I left the stand as it is. I really like it!

Also, I had some fun with my buttons…

Making a buttonup can highlight your button stash–bountiful or lacking. In this case, I discovered that while I have been doing a good job of stockpiling buttonup options, my black department is lacking. I’ll keep that in mind in the future, but luckily I had these fun gingham buttons to use.

There we go!

patterns: Bolero Vest, Casual Sweet Clothes by Noriko Sasahara, Hunt Appliqué Pattern (appliqué on vest) by me, and Archer Buttonup with Popover Variation by Grainline.

template: Hunt quilt template (1/8″ seam allowance)

fabric(s): all from Harriot