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I happily accepted another opportunity to do some pattern testing for Whimsy Couture. This time, instead of a dress, the pattern is a boys vest (the pattern, when released, will also have a girls vest option with ruffles added in - adorable).

I have to be honest here. I'm not a vest fan. For some reason they remind me of David Hasselhoff - even though when I googled David Hasselhoff and vests I came up empty ... somewhere, at some point in time, an image of David Hasselhoff in a vest was seared into my brain. So, not a fan. Vests, however, could be nice to photograph with neckties and bow ties, a fact which was not lost on me.

I let River pick out the fabric he wanted for this, and he, very confidently and with conviction, chose flannel Christmas dogs.

This was the first time in a very long time that I've used a .pdf pattern. I'd always avoided going this route, thinking it'd be a complete pain in the rear to tape a bunch of pieces together and deal with all that. Well, I'm singing a new tune.

.Pdf patterns are so easy. A little careful taping is all it takes to be off and running. Once taped the pattern pieces can be used "as is" or traced onto a lighter weight tissue or newsprint paper.

I particularly like that the pattern isn't stuck being a certain size once you've cut it out once, which happens with multi-size overlaid patterns. You have a file, you can go back, reprint the pattern, and cut out a new size. Pretty neat bonus.

Also, many online printable patterns, sold on Etsy or elsewhere, support a small business. That's really important. While I'm not opposed to buying Butterick or McCall's patterns, when given a choice I'd much rather buy from and support a unique, independent merchant.

I'm super happy with the completed vest. The dogs are adorable, River made a great fabric choice. I expect it to make an appearance at church on Christmas Eve.

I'm considering carrying a few vests in the shop, after this pattern is released. What do you think? Do you see boys wearing vests? Would they be a good complement to ties?