The internet sewing community I have been discovering is far more than just trying new patterns and talking about them. There is an enormous feeling of altruism that can only make you reflect, embrace, and be thankful for meeting so many people that are immediately ready to give you a hand and like what you do.

When I started the blog, I did it with no rewarding expectations, that is, I did it with the sole purpose to share and talk a bit about a passion, but the rewards do come, in a much better way than the material ones. To feel like you are starting to belong in a community where the main focus is sharing, can only make you humbled and moved. Sharing comes from within and puts a lot of things in life under perspective. You start spreading the same feeling to other parts of your life and that, as a person, is a very good place to be.

I had seen the wonderful Aberdeen, designed by Rebecca from Rock the Stitch as part of the Willow & Co SS2015 collection, when the call for testers was out, but immediately thought it was head over heels for me. Then I saw it again a few weeks later, and although the call was closed, something caught my attention (there was a little note about still seeking testers for a smaller size). I wrote Rebecca hoping the call was still up. It was finished. She and Olga included me in the Willow & Co 2015 tour. I wanted to cry.

You see, for me it´s all about these people you find in your path that are so open minded and trustful and just say "hey, come along". It´s a competition free environment, or at least a healthy one, or am I being to naive?
So, enough with the lame (but totally heartfelt) intro, let´s rock.
One night, going through my closet after a nice dinner out and dancing with my husband ironing laundry equivalent to the Everest, I pulled out a faux fur vest I really love and it all became clear. I really like to look at patterns without seeing any versions of it so I don´t feel compelled to copy an idea, and with the Aberdeen I knew there was a lot to play with. Also, I wanted to show some versatility, because when you buy a jacket pattern like this you don´t necessarily have to make it with the exact same design, you can and you should put your personal twist to it. That´s what will make it part of YOUR wardrobe. I thought about making the Aberdeen as a faux leather vest, as I had seen some soft faux leather at one of my local shops, Nomalism. This is actually a shop more dedicated to upholstery fabrics, but I have bought some nice cottons there and they carry some absolutely scrumptious prints.
So you must be asking "did she dare it, oh did she dare it?" Damn right I did. Ohh yes, I turned Aberdeen into a vest with some really tricky and dificult alterations. The first one was not assembling the sleeves pages on the pdf. Oh my, that was a hard step. Then I didn´t even had to take in anything at the original armholes. Pfff, sweating stuff.



Regarding the construction process itself, I did the smallest size and decided that if I needed to adapt anything I would do it along the way, which I didn´t need to. I assembled parts of the outer shell just to check fit at bust line and armholes and everything was in the right place, so I moved on. All of the instructions were easy to follow with the diagrams but I already knew I would have to change some steps in order to completely line it as a vest.


I used a quilting needle in size 80 as it is more indicated for sewing faux leather because of it´s thinner point and piercing power, and leather needles actually work better on real leather. I used a regular foot as this didn´t have that shinny surface faux leathers normally have, it is actually quite soft and resembles the suede touch.
The collar part and the attachment of the lining to the back neck facing was a pressure point, as were the welts, but scotch tape is my new found secret: I just tape the parts I need instead of pinning, sew over it and then carefully remove the tape.


Some other pressure point was all the bulkness derived from the fabric itself, and there were some parts I had to topstitch manually; by this I mean I stop any pedalling and just turn the needle wheel by hand at the same time I gently push the fabric in the right direction. You already know the machine I have is for kids is very basic, so I have some tricks to get it to perform as I need. I used topstitching thread but points are a little irregular up close and it jammed a lot, even though I used the same thread at the bobbin. When this happens, I stop pedal control again and turn the wheel back and forth until it looses the threads and it normally works. Having said this, if there are any Sewing Mecenas reading this, feel free to sponsour me with a Pfaff Passport 2.0. I will hem all your trousers forever.
I used a very light cotton for lining, not the most recommended but I really liked the pop of colour and the boho feel it gave the vest. I wish I had used some metallic teeth zippers, but I couldn´t find any in both sizes that matched, but I now know Feira dos Tecidos in Rossio carries a lot of notions we couldn´t normally find here in Portugal.
I had my very first accidental print matching on the lining. I had some care when cuting the main back because of the print design, but the rest of it was totally random placed. In fact, I just wanted to save fabric because it was intended for something else. I had seen some cases of accidents like these and I normally thought no way that b#$%@ did that by accident how is it possible? Well, I´m part of the club now.
I only had some trouble with the hem facing piece because I think I cut it the wrong size and it was too big, but I only noticed after attaching it so no-way-Jo-se I was unpicking it.



I can see myself wearing it on a breezy Summer night or with a cable knit sweater on a warm Winter day. It´s a neutral add to my wardrobe, easy to match and a cool, modern versatile piece.






Of course I now get photobombed at every session.


Thank you so much for having me in this wonderful tour, hope you had a nice time reading this. And check my dear friend Sara who is in the tour today with perfect sewing, as usual! Also check talented Maria and Chelise creations. It´s a privilege to be side by side with them <3. Now go and sew, my lovelies, go and sew!