Shabby ‘n Stitched Vest

This was a wonderful project to work on, just me, 12 colors of pearl cotton, a needle, a thimble, a pair of scissors, and about 75 hours of stitching.

I wish that I had had the for site to photograph this vest when it came in the mail. I bought it on ebay and the listing said that it was a shabby chic vest.

So I imagined that it was a little rough around the edges. The pictures were not clear, so I took a chance. When I opened the package I thought to myself, “Must ask for better pictures next time!”, as it was more than just a little rough.

The red cotton of the vest had either ripped or had been torn by more than a few rough washings, most of the satin stitch embroidery had unraveled, and many of the mirrors were broken. I had my work cut out for me, to save my $4.99 investment.

I picked through my embroidery thread stash, and found some colors that I thought would liven up the vest. I started to embroider, and really just had a great time enhancing someone else’s creative stitching.

I stitched right through the lining, not worrying about burying the stitches or knots. I plan to add additional lining to the front pieces (to hide my stitches on the wrong side), and add seam binding around the collar and center edges (as the raw edges are showing).

With a little bit of imagination, you can recycle creatively, and have fun while you are doing it.

Enjoy, and see you at the thrift store! ~Christen