Shelley is a huge fan of the *Little Things to Sew* book, so much so that she once organized a *Cover to Cover Challenge* a few years back. Today, she’s here to talk about the Explorer Vest pattern from the book. Over to you, Shelley!
Have you ever tried making the Explorer Vest from *Little Things to Sew*? Recently, someone in the Oliver + S Facebook group asked about customizing the vest for kids who love to explore. It sparked a lively conversation with tons of suggestions on how to personalize it.
I decided to gather some of my favorite versions of the Explorer Vest—both old and new—to inspire you. One of the most fun ways to make the vest unique is by adding patches. These can either be iron-on or sew-on, and they can reflect a child's interests or even achievements they’ve earned themselves.
Take this adorable bug collector’s vest by Katybellabug. It features a ladybug patch with beautiful hand-stitched details showing the bug’s path across the pocket. A little folded ribbon makes a cute tag tucked under the stitched edge of the pocket.
Melissa used patches her boys had earned by picking up litter. Inspired by their “Smokey’s Helper†vests, the boys kept going and collected even more trash!
When it was my turn to make a vest, I was inspired by this one from Marlene ("Nanamar" on Flickr). She cleverly used a piece of printed fabric as a patch, keeping it in line with the vest’s lining fabric. She added an elastic loop under the pocket for attaching a removable mini flashlight.
Brightly colored cord elastic, like those from elastic hair ties, is a great source for small sections of elastic. Just make sure to stitch through the braided threads around the elastic when attaching them—they stay put beautifully.
For my nephew’s vest, I repurposed a lanyard, using its clips and twill tape. We always seem to have piles of tangled lanyards from zoo memberships, gallery passes, and conferences we parents attend.
The plastic lanyard clip worked perfectly for a small flashlight that could be removed during washes. The longer twill tape was sewn inside the pocket and used to attach a compass. This way, the compass stays close but can still be held level without detaching.
Safety was another big topic in the Facebook discussion. High visibility was emphasized, and Lyndsey took it a step further by making a fluorescent vest for her son to wear as a garbage collector for Community Helper Day.
Deb made her own Explorer Vest with lots of D-rings and twill tape for multiple attachment points. What I especially loved about her design was her creative use of T-shirt Transfer Paper to create custom patches. She designed her own patches, printed them onto transfer paper, and heat-fixed them onto a base fabric before attaching them like commercial patches.
When that vest became too small, she made another one—and this time, her little boy got a matching mini version with his own custom patches!
A matching reversible bucket hat from *Little Things to Sew* completes the explorer’s outfit. Sharon did exactly that with this cute Diego look-alike.
Sharon also altered the front of the vest, replacing the overlapping buttons with a zipper. You can do this without changing the pattern pieces, though keep in mind it will make the vest wider since the front panels don’t overlap.
Karina took a different approach by inserting grommets in the pocket flaps to hang fishing lures. What a clever idea for a young angler’s vest!
As I started thinking about all these vests, one project caught my eye on my Instagram feed. MC was busy sewing her son a Nerf gun ammo vest for his birthday. It included a gun holder, fold-over elastic bullet holders, and larger elastic loops for ammo cartridges.
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like:
- Vests as Party Favours
- Explorer Vest with All of the Accessories
- Outdoor Ready series
- Reversible Bucket Hat tutorial
- Little Things to Sew posts
I hope you found these ideas inspiring! If you have any other customizations you’d like to share, feel free to drop a comment below. Happy sewing!
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