Irma Vest From Fibremood: A Sheepskin Pattern Hack

This was a quick sew as I had already made the quilted version of Irma so it was just a matter of cutting out the pattern and sewing away! You can see all of the details about my quilted reversible Irma here.

I had some faux suede sheepskin fabric in my stash and I knew I wanted to make a fun vest with and Irma was the perfect choice. The faux suede had nice structure to it and a great baby blue leopard print so it was a great statement piece to brighten up my fall wardrobe.

It will pair nicely with jeans, dress pants and I have a brown pleather skirt that will extend its use even more. It can be dressed up or down and the great thing is not matter what I style it with it will be cozy and chic.

Instead of using bias binding to finish the edges I rolled the sheepskin to the front and top stitched it down. I love the sneak peek effect of the sheepskin as well as the texture that it adds to the vest.

I wanted the seams to not be visible so that this vest is also reversible so I used a flat-felted seam. To achieve a flat-felted seam you sew wrong sides together using a 1 cm seam allowance. Then you grade the seam, which means you trim one side of the seam to reduce bulk. You trim the side that will be hidden underneath when you fold the seam over. It can be either side, it will depend on which way the seam would normally be pressed.

Once you have you seam allowance graded, fold the longer side of the seam over the graded side and top stitch the seam along the open edge. For this vest I didn't press the seam or roll the raw edge underneath because it would simply blend into the fur and the edge would remain crisp. Faux suede is a perfect fabric for this because it is easy to cut and it doesn't fray at all.

I am really pleased with the fit and finish of the vest and I love the rolled sheepskin edge.

I chose not to put pockets on the suede side of the vest as pattern matching would have been difficult and I liked the clean finish. I will however be adding two pockets to the sheepskin side so I can carry my phone and glasses, two essentials for me. I think the pockets will also help to add interest to the vest when I wear it with the sheepskin side facing out.

I can't say enough about this wonderful Fibre Mood Irma pattern. I know I will be making another vest this season as they are my go to winter "coat" here in the west coast of BC where winter climes don't usually get too cold.

After all.... There is Sew Much To Design,

Happy Sewing,

Lou Sheffer

• Vests