.A little girl Hero Vest.

For niece Nancy's birthday this year I made her a Hero Vest.

Still one of my favourite kid patterns. Layering is the way to go when it's cold outside and the Hero Vest is great for keeping kiddos warm, while still giving them room to move.

This Hero Vest was made using some light purple jersey I bought ages ago from Crafty Mamas (I can't remember any other details about it now!), lined with light grey polar fleece from Lincraft and the pockets are lined with some interlock I bought from Spotlight a few years ago. The ribbing is also from Spotlight.

Cute and cuddly, soft and warm. That's what kid sewing should be all about!

SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect, Hero Vest sewing pattern

.A Hero Vest for Harvey

Out of all of the clothing that I sew, I love making things for cold weather wearing. Not sure why, I think I like being able to create something cosy that will keep the wearer nice and warm.

I love Hero Vests for my kids. The older three always wear theirs (even Oscar, the cold-lover will slip his on from time to time!) and I knew that Harvey would benefit from one now that the weather has turned a lot cooler.

He is getting tricky to take photos of now he moves way to fast!
This Hero Vest is super snuggly. I had a little strip of left-over fleece left over from the kid's blankets and was able to use it to line Harvey's Hero Vest.

For the exterior fabric, I used some grey interlock that has been going strong for ages...I've also used it to make Tommy some PJs and Harvey some trackies and still have a little left! It is a grey interlock that I bought from Crafty Mamas a long time ago and is lovely quality but I don't always love interlock. It is great to sew with but I find it tends to stretch out over time. I'm happy to use it when the edges are being bound with ribbing or a jersey band though as it doesn't stretch when it is being held in place by a more stable knit. It is so lovely and soft though. The green ribbing was also from Crafty Mamas.

 If you've got kids to sew for as the weather gets cooler, I highly recommend a Hero Vest. It's easy to layer over a long-sleeved tshirt, keeping them warm without the restrictions of a big jacket.
The hood is great, but Harvey hates keeping it on! He will learn...

I recommend sewing a size bigger than you usually would for this pattern because the vest is designed to be layered over other clothing. This is a size 1 and Harvey is just starting to wear some size 1 clothes. I love the change in seasons...lots of sewing for me to do to update the wardrobes ready for the Winter months ahead!

SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect, Hero Vest pattern (avaliable as an instant download here) 
Grey interlock knit
Lime green ribbing
Grey chevron fleece

.Baby Poppy turned 1.

At the beginning of July baby Poppy turned 1. She is the sweetest little thing. All smiles and cuddles with the most adorable wispy, blonde hair.

For her birthday I made her a little size 1 Uptown Girl - I love how the smaller sizes use hardly any fabric, perfect for some stash busting sewing!

This jacket is made using quilting cotton for both layers with some left-over quilt batting in between for snuggly warmth.

And for when it's cold, but not cold enough for a big jacket, I also made her a girl-style Hero Vest.

 Quilting cotton exterior with polar fleece lining and cute circular pockets.

Oh, and here's a shot of the other side of the Uptown Girl jacket, a little less bright and busy.

SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect, Uptown Girl pattern
Amy Butler, Soul Blossoms, Joy Buttercup in Spearmint
Amy Butler, Love, Sunspots in Mint
Make It Perfect Hero Vest pattern
Saffron Craig, Wombat Wonderland, Sunray in Blue

.Hero Vest in jersey knit.

This Hero Vest was one of the first I made and it has been worn to death over winter. Unlike Oscar, Tommy is our cold boy. He doesn't handle winter so well and is always freezing. His Hero Vests have saved the day over and over again, in fact, I'm planning on sewing him another one ASAP so that there is always a clean one to be worn!

I didn't even bother getting Tommy a jacket this winter. I knew we wouldn't be spending a great deal of time outside with a new baby and his vests have been just the right amount of warmth to do the job. He saves the hood for the special occasion of rain only!

This Hero Vest is sewn with a knit fabric exterior. As nice as the cotton version is, there is something cosier about soft and stretchy knit fabric, I think it's a little warmer too. Our first few days of Spring were delightful, unfortunately the weather is taking a cold turn again so I think we've got plenty of Hero Vest wearing time ahead of us!

SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect, Hero Vest pattern
Blue tone on tone jersey knit from Girl Charlee
Grey polar fleece from Lincraft

.My quest to keep him warm!.

In my quest to keep the boy who only wears shorts and a tshirt warm, another Hero Vest was in order. It has been sitting in his cupboard for 2 months and he has worn it a total of zero times. Which I kind of expected anyway and don't really mind because he can pass it down to Tommy in a few years time and it will still be in perfect condition!

I really just needed to make one in his size to test the fit when I was developing the pattern - having a heap of kids in different sizes really helps for testing pattern sizing!

I used grey knit for the exterior and Hilco fabric for the ribbing. The lime green polar fleece was from Lincraft online.

Oscar did think that it was cool and said he would wear it...if he got cold! We've had some really cold, rainy weather lately so maybe I could trick him into wearing it once or twice before winter is finished just for the satisfaction of seeing him in it!

SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect, Hero Vest pattern
Stella knit in grey marle
Hilco Ribbing in blue/lime
Polar fleece in lime green 

.Hero Vest for a GIRL.

Sewing for girls is a breeze...they have the most versatile wardrobes and a pattern targeted at boys can easily be sewn up in girl-friendly fabric - a bonus if you have boys and girls in your family.

And while I think the Hero Vest is the perfect boy sewing pattern, I also knew that it would be awesome for a girl.

The Hero Vest with girl power!

This Hero Vest is made using jersey knit for the exterior, polar fleece for the lining and ribbing for the aqua binding.

I really like how the charcoal lining peeking out from the hood and black zipper help to tone down the bright pink so that it isn't so sweet and pretty - adds a bit of funk, don't you think?

The pockets are one of my favourite features on the Hero Vest. I really like the quirkiness of the circular openings and decorative topstitching outlining the shape of the pocket.

These are so satisfying to sew and a great way to gain more confidence with knit sewing and inserting zips. In fact, this is the easiest way you can sew in a zip (in my opinion) so I highly recommend you giving it a try if you have been avoiding them in the past - embrace the zip, you will open yourself to so many more sewing options once you aren't scared of them anymore! Oh, and if you don't want to use a knit fabric for your exterior, remember this pattern is so versatile and works really well with a woven cotton exterior too.

The giveaway for the Hero Vest pattern is still running, visit this post to enter!

Or if you don't want to wait, this pattern is available as an instant download PDF here!