Winter Fleece Vest

A while ago, I fell in love with this vest that Dana from MADE created for her daughter during KCWC. 

I pinned it, of course, and kept thinking about it. And thinking. Finally, I decided to just go for it. No pattern, just looking at the picture.

I used the same basic bodice pattern that I used for this dress, and then also estimated the skirt portion by making it just a few inches wider than the top.

I bought a 2" bias tape maker not too long ago off ebay (such a great deal - just over $8 shipped!) and made my own from this cute letter fabric that I've had for some time in my stash. 

My big mistake was making the buttonholes without any supporting fabric underneath and, since fleece is stretchy, so were my buttonholes. But I did add some white felt after the fact and straightened the holes out somewhat. Still not perfect. But at least I learned for next time.

I really enjoy the process of "trying to figure out a pattern." I don't always succeed, but I feel like it's kind of the Sudoku of the sewing world -- testing my brain, enjoying the challenge. I've also found that "figuring out patterns" has gotten easier as I've gotten more experience actually following other patterns. Go figure. So mixing it up seems to be a good thing for me.

I really like how this vest turned out. And it's definitely going to get used. What a great winter layer, don't you think? Does anyone else like to figure out patterns too??