I posted a few in progress photos of this bolero last week, but I’m happy to announce now that the embellishment is complete, and so is the bolero!
The pattern is from the March 09 KnipMode, the same issue which bore the recent faux-wrap jeanskirt, and it’s just a simple cropped jacket for knits, with 3 pattern pieces (not counting the few facings I drafted).
It’s a cute little jacket with some metal jersey snaps from the front…
…and then, as I turn to the back…
…a silver sailing aak emerges!
It’s my first try with this technique, but with a bit of silver metallic paint, a freezer paper stencil, and and old aak barge icon as my design, I was able to get a really clean and neat stencil on the back of the shirt in very little time at all. I first printed out the design onto regular paper, then I laid it on top of the freezer paper (shiny side down) and taped both to my rotary cutter mat. Then, with an Xacto knife and the aid of a ruler, I cut out all the dark areas, then untaped everything and really carefully pressed the freezer paper onto the bolero with a hot iron. Then I just had to dab the paint on and wait for it to dry before peeling the freezer paper off. I heat set it using a press cloth, and that was it! My sample went through the washing machine as good as new, too. Really, this was so easy James is hankering to do his own designs now…
I didn’t have enough sweatshirting to line this jacket, as the pattern called for, so I used some matching green ribbing which I had bought at the same time and lined the front sections and made facings for the neckline edges (I just turned up and hemmed the bottom and sleeve hems).
This is just too easy to wear, I’ve found myself wearing it pretty much nonstop since the paint dried! I really recommend this pattern if you just want a casual little thing to throw on in cool evenings, or to layer over vests (tank tops) and teeshirts!