First off, I want to apologize that it has taken me so long to get to this project review. This particular pattern (Vogue 8721) is now out of print.

I’ve tried many of the Elizabeth Gillett designs, and I was not particularly impressed with any of them, except this one.

What drew me to this one was the very unusual Avant Garde styling. Also, it was a good opportunity to use up a small piece of yardage I had in my stash. The fabric was a roll end cut from F & S Fabrics in Los Angeles. I used to shop here regularly in 2006-2007. They always had some truly unique gems. This fabric was one of them. It’s a vintage look silk brocade. I think it was $8/yard in the clearance section. I held on to it for all these years, and eventually it developed some sun faded sections due to the bright sunlight in my old house. It didn’t really matter so much due to the overall vintage appearance of the fabric.

I only had 3/4-1 yard of this stuff, so finding a use for it was a challenge. That’s where this pattern comes in. Upon inspection, I realized that I could get the design cut out of my yardage if I stayed in the small size range.  The only downside to this was that the lower edge of the shrug was going to be a tad snug around my ribcage, so I made  sure to make a the lower opening a bit larger.

For the lining, I used a small navy scrap piece of ambiance from my stash.  I bought a HUGE lot of linings from an estate listing on eBay around 2007 – I’ve been coasting on this buy for many years!

The entire project went together effortlessly, and the instructions were quite good. One thing I recommend is making sure you use a high quality preshrunk interfacing.  I used a super crisp cuff and collar weight woven from Fashion Sewing Supply.  The lines in this garment do need this extra definition and support and I’m glad I went with this interfacing.  One extra detail i added throughout was under stitching.  Under stitching was absolutely necessary to keep the clean lines under wearing conditions.  I under stitched the lining and edges throughout.

There weren’t any significant challenges with this particular pattern. I do not recommend straying too far from your usual size.  There isn’t much forgiveness in the shoulders and armholes.

I recommend this pattern if you are looking for a jacket to go with a fitted dress.  It’s very cute!  I think this would also make up very cute in a matte black brocade or matelasse.