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wool blanket bush shirt / anorak

T

teef

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anyone tackled this as a DIY project?
been thinking of it for a while, found this which is supposed to be the lazy man's way of getting it done:
bush-shirt-from-a-blanket__layout.png


end result here is a 3/4 length anorak with short, wide sleeves. seems workable enough.
hunted around for decent looking wool blankets to use but underwhelmed with the results, bit dear, at least going the surplus route. just as well off buying new material by the metre it seems.
 
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Not me, never tried that as a project. Looking at that diagram it appears you may end up with a lot of cloth bunched under your arms when your arms are by your side, and the top edge of the sleeves will be higher up your arms. Probably easily remedied by cutting the sleeve end at an angle perhaps?
 
yes, exactly what my wife said when i told her i was planning to go ahead with this. apparently they even use a particular cloth for this in the garment trade, inexpensive and basically disposable but has the hang and feel of better quality stuff.
 
I've never tried this method although i have made shirts and jackets amongst other things for re-enactment. One thing i would suggest is to cut the sleeves tapering towards the wrists . On the jackets i've made the cut is more of a flat S but a simple taper would stop you have a great gaping opening at the wrists. Actually a second thing i would add would be to cut some gores , long tapered pieces , out of the waste and sow them into the vertical seam to give a wider skirt below waste level , makes movement easier.
 
teef said:
... apparently they even use a particular cloth for this in the garment trade, inexpensive and basically disposable but has the hang and feel of better quality stuff.
Click to expand...

seems the cloth used for mock-ups and prototypes is called "Calico", lighter weight and looser weave than most garment fabrics, not as refined.
ordered a few metres to use for this and other similar projects i have in mind.
also broke down and ordered some wool blankies. SurplusAndOutdoors had a decent price if you bought two, hopefully they'll be thick enough to make this worthwhile. if not i'll use the 2nd blankie to add an extra layer over the chest, back and shoulders.

dug out an old "hippie hoodie" i had from years back that is pretty similar in cut to the thing in the diagram. back in the day i did like the loose, baggy fit of it. it's a very simple construction so will use it for guidance when it comes to taking scissors to cloth.

hippie-hoodie-2.jpeg
 
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Yeah I've thought about it I even have a pattern made from paper but as you say the cost of blankets, of you can find decent ones had gone daft, there is s guy selling these wool anoraks on the bay for £45 iirc, just seems too cheap, I know I have PayPal protection so might not the bullet for this winter.
 
received the blankets today. they're okay, wool / "other fiber" blend from India of all places but no bother, if it all works out i'll maybe look for some 100% wool material for version 2.

the 2nd blanket -- it was a "2 for not a lot" sale -- will make a decent pack-along that i don't need to worry about for woodsy outings as the cooler weather settles in.
 
well, haven't made much progress on mine but this guy does a pretty good job on Youtube with nothing but a SAK:

 
I'll watch later, I have a pattern just need the blanket and some inspiration lol
 
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