Started this before I knew

When I was working on the doll dress from the last project, I noticed that I seemed to be having allergies triggered by all the fiber particles created by ripping the fabric.  When I made doll clothes more often, I ripped fabric all the time but never had itchy ears or sneezing because of it; I figured, meh, I just hadn't exposed myself to it for a while, so I simply wasn't used to it anymore.

Nope! Covid!

(very probably from someone where Husband works--someone who knew they had been exposed to it but decided it was nothing to concern themselves about and so went to work anyway.  The way it manifested in Husband was more classic covid, and I really did think I just had allergies, but tested anyway since he had it.  Not allergies! Covid! This is the first time we've had covid.  I'm just waiting for my tonsils to stop hurting when I swallow reflexively while I'm trying to sleep.)

So, back when I thought I just had allergies (the trees behind the house are setting buds already! Allergies are happening! But not for me!), I decided to do another Teen Me Would Have Loved This Simplicity 9630 'tapestry' vest.  This time, the project would involve finally figuring out if there was enough of the longer end of the irregularly cut jacquard 'tapestry' fabric I'd gotten from the craft thrift store in summer of 2022 to cut the full vest fronts. Folding and cutting normally: no.  Offsetting the placement of the pattern piece for each side and tossing out all hope of pattern matching: yes.

And even in the full size medium.

I made the conscious decision not to do the front darts after I marked them and realized they would distort the letters on the one side and interfere with the creatures on the other side.

I can very clearly remember how many of my vests like this, back in the early 90s, did not have darts, so it's Historically Accurate. (I also remember at least one that didn't have lining, instead having the edges finished with lining-fabric bias strips.  There was a wide range of quality levels in those vests...)

I had hoped that I had suitable metal buttons, with some sort of heraldic imagery, but, no (at least not according to the self-imposed Rules I have about buttons.  Remember, I was sick but didn't know it, so I may not have been behaving with top logic.)  You know I firmly believe that you can never go wrong with faux horn buttons. The pattern calls for three, but I had four of this style, so four it is.

I attached the buttons with the machine, but only pulled the thread tails to the back and knotted them before FabriTacking, instead of wrapping the thread below the buttons into a shank and then pulling the tails to the back and knotting...so...it didn't feel like it was almost as much work as just sewing them on by hand would have been.  I'll figure out the balance point eventually.

And I finally used the brown Saba C thread I got from Wawak in a rare moment of acknowledging that I didn't have any brown thread.  I could have used a variety of thread colors for this, so I thought "Hey, why not use something you haven't used much of--why, if you do that enough, you may not need to re-order the staple colors in the near future, and then scrounge around for more stuff to order to make it all worth it."  This may, perhaps, also have been evidence of being sick.

For the lining parts, I used this long-ago-thrifted synthetic dobby weave.  It's lighter than normal lining fabrics, but it's also less slippery, so it wasn't hard to work with.  I mean, yeah, it's not an optimal lining fabric choice, but, honestly, how much wear is this vest going to get...

I slip stitched the opening closed, instead of machine sewing along the folded edges.

I thought of omitting the back ties, but ended up cutting them free-form from some scraps of the dobby after I decided to omit the front darts. They are inserted into the back darts as the pattern wants, even though nothing else about them is as the pattern wants.

So! This was a fun quick project that turned out great! I had covid while making it! (and while making this post--once my tonsils start behaving again, I'll feel fine.)