Totally over all the lame fall fashion out there

I’ve been dreaming of autumn afternoons by a warm fire pit, drinking chai and feeling the soft breeze as it ruffles the fallen leaves and carries a brisk chill through the trees. I can’t enjoy the fall without a fall wardrobe, though, so I needed something warm and cute, fast.

What a lovely autumn day

Thankfully, Mood has a lovely line of knits, and some brand new chunky knits to take my fall wardrobe from drab to fab. Plus, I’ve been totally obsessed with the new Dusty Rose High-Pile Faux Fur, so I decided to make a simple, reversible circle vest!

Poppin’ that collar

This quick and easy DIY is perfect because it looks anything but quick and easy. All you’re basically going to do is cut out two circles, and then two armholes in each circle, and then sew the circles together.

Materials

1-2 yards Dusty Rose High-Pile Faux Fur (or any of Mood’s Fabulous Faux Furs)

Dusty Rose High-Pile Faux Fur

1-2 yards Sea NY Beige Ribbed Chunky Wool Knit (or any of Mood’s Chunky Knits)

Sea NY Beige Ribbed Chunky Wool Knit

Instructions

First, you’re going to want to measure yourself, and maybe take a look at some other circle vests to figure out how you want it to fall. You can make it long enough to have a hood and cover your bum, shorter with a smaller lapel, or a combination. I wanted one with a long lapel, but not a hood, and to cover my bum.

So, I measured from the top my head to just below my butt, which came to 50 inches. This would be the diameter of the circle vest. Then, I measured the space between my shoulders, and how far down they were from where I measured my head, 14 inches and 13 inches in that order. The last measurement I made was the circumference of my arms, which were 20 inches around.

So warm, so fashionable

After you’ve got your measurements, you’ll cut out the circle. What I did was fold the fabric twice, similar to this full circle skirt tutorial, and measure 25 inches from the corner. I did 25 inches so that when it unfolded, I would have a full circle, 50 inches wide and long. Then, I measured and cut out the armholes (again, 13″ from the top of the circle and 14″ apart).  I cut the chunky knit first, and then traced it onto the fur. This is because I needed to cut the faux fur from the wrong side of the fabric with a box cutter, since it’s so thick. Mood has a post about Faux Fur Use and Care for any information you need pertaining to faux fur. Make sure you save your scraps!

Enjoying this fine fall weather

Once the pieces are cut out, I pinned the right sides of the circles together. It’s vital that you use a lot of pins, or some of Mood’s life-saving Wonder Clips. The fur must be tucked into the vest, or else you’ll have little tufts poking out of the seam and it will look very messy. Sew the circles together once you’ve pinned them meticulously, and then pull the faces right-side-out through one of the arm holes.

Last, I slip stitched the arms holes. The fur can be a little tricky to slip stitch, as there’s a lot of fur to get through before reaching the fabric, so make sure you’re getting all the way through it.

And that’s it! See, wasn’t that easy? And you look so fabulous, too, people will be begging you to make them this fantastic circle vest.

Okay, well, that’s all for today, I guess…

Hannelly | Fall 2017 Ready-to-Wear

Oh wait, there’s more! You know those lovely muffs that old-timey women wore in the winter, sitting in a horse-drawn sled, flying through the snow while they sipped hot cocoa? I thought this fur and knit combination was perfect for one of those, and I had enough left over from the vest, so I decided to wing it and make my own reversible muff!

First, cut out a square of each fabric, 12″x12″. Next, you’ll fold the knit fabric in half, face to face, and sew along that line. Do the same with the fur, again making sure to tuck the fur in. Reverse the fur, so that it’s face is on the outside, and put it inside the knit, with the knit’s face still on the inside, so the right sides of both your fabrics are touching. Pin them together on one end, tucking the fur, and sew them together. Last, you’ll pull the knit face out and then stuff it into the fur, so that the fur face is on the out side, and the knit face is on the inside, and the wrong sides are touching. Slip stitch the final end, and you’re done!

This muff is cozy as heck

Enjoy your fall fur and winter muff, and let me know how it goes in the comments. I would love to see some other variations of this circle vest, from different combinations of furs and knits to various lengths and lapels!

Just casually relaxing on this branch