New Look 6659 --Men's Vest Review and Pics

Let me start by saying that this post has a Companion Post, with pictures of the lining, the buttons, and the back.

I've used this pattern a number of times, and I've been pretty much pleased with the result every time.

I made one of the ladies' versions a couple of years ago out of a beautiful black and charcoal stretch jacquard and I still wear it pretty often.

Shortly after that, I made the men's version for my two oldest sons, both out of tropical wool suitings (both gray but one was a plain weave and the other was a twill).

And shortly after that, I was asked to make one for my son's friend, which I did, out of a warm, brown wool tricotine stretch suiting.

The point to all this rambling?

I've made this pattern for four different people so far.  And a fifth is coming up, because my husband is also wanting a vest, and I like this pattern.

My second oldest son wore his original gray so often, I'm surprised it hasn't fallen apart.  Amazingly, it has held up beautifully.  While the acetate lining shows some wear and tear, the wool shell looks as great as the day I made it.  He asked for a new one, of the same type of fabric, but this time in brown.

I have a stash of wool fabrics of different weights and in a range of earth tones and a separate stash of lining fabrics, so Josh was able to find a fabric and a lining he liked in minutes.  And of course, I've long since traced and altered the pattern to fit, so it was quick and easy to pull everything out and start cutting.

Taking into account his request for real pockets instead of the dummies that always seem to be included in vest patterns, I spent a little time trying out different pocket opening sizes and positions.  His hands are pretty big so I settled on a 5 inch pocket opening.

I added a back tie with a vest buckle, which Josh's gray version doesn't have.  Definitely an improvement.



 Sewing the vest itself only took a couple of days of working on it for a few hours.






I really like this pattern.  It fits well, all the pattern pieces match up, and there are no unpleasant surprises.  Add a nice dress shirt, a classy tie, and a pair a well fitting trousers for a look any man can be proud of :o)