Community helper vests-part 1 Firefighter

In October I started making community helper vests for the preschool.  I finally finished them and am excited to share what I made!  I will try to share a new one each day.

The original inspiration for this project was this vest I saw on pinterest.  I was tired of my girls dressing up as princesses and thought something different might be fun.  Around the same time, our preschool was looking for parents to sew some items for their dramatic play area.



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Of course, I was raised in a family where nothing is done small.  We tend to get a little carried away.  So, one little sherriff vest turned into 30 vests of various types.

The first vest I attemped was a firefighter vest. I made my own vest template out of one of the kids' old t-shirts and got started.

I spent a weekend at my parent's house cutting out vests of various colors while my mom started sewing the vests together.  Here is the picture I used for firefighter "inspiration".


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Here are my beautiful models!


The girls thought it was a good idea to act out a firefighter holding a hose.

 

 

After visiting the firestation in town, I discovered that obtaining patches for the vests was going to be difficult.  I pondered making my own, but I really wanted the patches to look authentic so the kids could identify the various community helpers.  Thankfully, eBay came to the rescue and I found some inexpensive patches for sale.  The patches are not from our city, but they are authentic!

These firefighter vests were made with red fleece.  I made the black belts myself with black fleece.  The trim around the edges is simple black binding found in the fabric store.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another community helper vest!