Mini Wardrobe -- Finished Contest Entry Safari Style

So here it is:  My finished contest entry.  Safari style extravaganza!  If you're a PatternReview.com member, you can vote for your favorite mini wardrobe.  Check out all the entries.  So many people have done such a fantastic job.  It was a real pleasure to chat with them on the message board for the whole trip.

The tank top is a modified Kwik Sew 2517.  It would have to be -- that pattern is actually a dress.  I've made this tank top lots of times and I really love it.  For this one, I used the original armhole curve, but I've also modified the pattern to make a racerback tank top as well.

The pants are Jalie 2908 stretch jeans.  For these, I added expanding cargo pockets to the back and thighs and narrowed the pants legs so they'll fit smoothly into my boots.  I love these pants.  I wore them all day yesterday and they are oh-so-comfy.

The button down shirt is Jalie 2322 done in a stretch linen.  Also a comfortable fabric.  I wish I'd bought more than just enough for one shirt.

And the vest is Butterick 5616 made in the same stretch sateen as the pants.  With extra pockets.








I am really loving all of these outfits.  Different shoes give a whole different look to them, too.

Mini Wardrobe Contest -- Third Piece Finished!

I had some sewing time open up yesterday, so I spent those precious few hours working on the next piece of my mini wardrobe: the safari style vest.

I really like the way this turned out, even though I'm not terribly excited about the collar.  It also doesn't look a whole lot like what I had drawn in my storyboard, except in a general sort of way.  I was planning to use just a plain vest pattern and adding some pockets, but when I looked through my stash of patterns, I found that I didn't actually have a plain women's vest pattern.  Amazing.  I tend to collect plain patterns, so I can use them for a base and then apply my own creativity to them (which I haven't done lately, but the intention is there).

Instead, I found this Butterick pattern, B5616,  which I decided was close enough to what I wanted.  The pockets are just plain patch pockets, rather than expanding cargo pockets, but since I used a stretch sateen they kind of expand anyway.  It's unlined, which is okay -- I just serged the seams and some of them are topstitched down as well.  And it has a higher neckline than I was quite envisioning, along with the collar, which I wasn't intending at all.    But I decided to go ahead anyway.

I traced a straight size 6 in the View B with length of View A and pretty much followed the instructions.  I had to take in the sides about two inches and gave it some waistline shaping, of which it has practically none. The envelope says that it's loose-fitting, but even though I've used lots of Big4 patterns, I wasn't expecting quite so much ease.  I left off the back ties, though on reflection, maybe I should have put them on -- the vest still fits a bit more loosely than I'd like.  I'll probably sew this again, in a non-stretch fabric, with the other collar option.  I have a really cute brown and pink paisley Kaufman corduroy that I think would work great with this pattern.  Oh, wait.  It's a stretch corduroy.  Oh, well. Whatever.

All in all, I like it.  And it goes well with the linen shirt and with the tank top.  I still have a few days before the contest ends.  If I get a move on, I can get those pants finished.

Kwik Sew 3399 -- Boys' Vest

I finished this one right around the first week of January, but I was so caught up in my contest entries for the One Pattern Many Looks Contest that I hadn't gotten around to taking a picture until now.

It's so hard to sew fun things for boys.  Oh, yes. Another shirt.  *sigh*  Oh, look.  Another pair of pants.  *sigh*  I've been searching for cool things that I can make for my guys, and the finding has been pretty darn slow.  But I am making progress, so hopefully you'll be seeing more guy stuff this year than I've been able to make in the past.

Here's the pattern envelope.  I bought this one many years ago to make trousers for my older boys when they were little, but this is the first time I've made the vest pattern.  This means that it's printed on the older, heavy white paper that I hear Kwik Sew isn't using anymore. 

I traced out the medium, and I was surprised to find separate pattern pieces for the lining and facings.   Actually, this vest has a pretty cool back neckline facing, which makes it pretty fancy looking on the inside.  It doesn't have real pockets, though, just the usual decorative pieces that look like they might be hiding a welt pocket but aren't.




The shell is a wool twill suiting, fairly lightweight.  The lining is a blue and black geometric jacquard of uncertain fiber content.  It's actually of a heavier weight than the wool, so it gives the vest some body that it wouldn't otherwise have.  The buttons are a solid metal that I got from an ebay seller from Quebec. 

The first version I made was pretty cute, but Youngest Son has the family long torso.  Which means the vest was too short.  After much consultation with his older brothers, we determined that his vest really needed to be about two inches longer. 

I added two inches to the body of the vest and came up with version two.  With the addition of the extra two inches, I needed to add another button to the front closure.  Somehow three just didn't look right, I think it violated the phi ratio or something.  But those were the only changes I made; shell fabric, lining fabric, and buttons were all the same as version one.

This was met with approval by all three brothers, and that is how the vest was won. 

Okay, that pun was totally cringe-worthy.  I apologize to everyone.

Now all he needs is a pair of gray trousers to go with the vest.  I still have lots of the gray wool and it is definitely soft enough to wear right against your skin, so I think I'll be adding the trousers from this pattern to my upcoming projects list.

It's a Brand New Year--Boy's Wool Vest

I feel like I slept through the end of 2012.  I hope I was just resting up and preparing for an exciting 2013.

I always find that Christmas and New Year's disrupts my schedule so much that it takes me a couple of weeks to settle down and re-establish my routine.  I don't know how much sewing I'll manage, but I have every intention of sticking to my hour a day.

The first project of 2013 is this wool suiting vest for Youngest Son.  I had meant it to be the last one of 2012, but it didn't work out that way.  I made one, but Youngest Son apparently possesses the dreaded long torso that plagues the rest of us -- it was too short by about 2 inches.

The pattern is Kwik Sew 3399.  I've used this pattern for the trousers already, way back when either Jordan or Josh was young enough to fit in it. That would have been quite a while ago and I remember absolutely nothing about it -- other than that it happened, of course.

So, I've added 2 inches to the pattern length and recut all the pieces.  This is a nice, sharp vest pattern--looks good on both the inside and the out.  All the interfacings have been fused and much of the sewing has been done.  I really just need a couple of hours and it'll be done -- including the buttonholes.  If I don't get to it today, I'm confident I'll get it finished tomorrow.

Butterick Vest in Burgundy and Pinstripes

I got this vest finished last week and this is actually the third time I've worn it--I'm only just now finding a few minutes to write the blog post.

The pattern is Butterick 5534.  I bought this at least 9 months ago and I've been drooling over it every time I look through my patterns.  Then one day last week, I was just inspired to take the plunge.  I washed the fabric, traced the pattern and cut out the pieces in just a couple of days.

I fell in love with this fabric when I first laid eyes on it, but I can now admit, after using it to make this vest, that the honeymoon is definitely over.  It's a loosely woven 100% wool, so keeping it on grain at pretty much any stage of production was virtually impossible.  I thought I'd starch it, but when I sprayed the pieces with spray starch, the edges curled up like they were alive and would put the bad behaviour of any jersey knit to shame.  I've never experienced such a thing from a wool fabric before.  I had to speak to it very firmly and utter threats under my breath in order to regain the upper hand.


But prevail I did, and there's really only one flaw on the finished product -- a bit of a ripple in the lapel right near center front.  I might be able to steam and press it out, but I spent so much time steaming and pressing this darn thing that I just want to be finished with it for now.  I still want a matching pair of trousers or a pencil skirt, but I haven't decided whether I'm that brave (or stupid!).

The pattern itself, like many Buttericks I've used recently, was well drafted and, oddly enough, fit pretty well right out of the envelope.  Which is so unusual for me that I'm still getting used to it.  I made the size 6 with no alterations and I like the way it fits.  The back is maybe allowing for more booty than I actually have, but not so much that it bothers me.  If I make this again, I will likely add a back tie or vest buckle to the back, just because I like how it looks.  Without something like that, the back looks so very plain and utilitarian.

My only complaint is Butterick's awful instructions.  I've had this happen before -- the pattern is drafted beautifully, it fits perfectly, and the instructions are absolutely terrible.  What are you trying to do, Butterick? Convince home seamstresses to throw in the towel and never buy your patterns ever again?






I mean, seriously?  Why would you sew the top collar to the top lapel, then sew the under collar to the under lapel, and then try to sew the two together.  With a notched collar?  When you could way more easily sew the top and under collar pieces together and then sandwich them between the top and under lapel pieces for assembly?  I don't like doing things the hard way to get the same results, so I've resolved to ignore Butterick's instructions from now on.

I do love the front closure with its single button.  I find that I often close sweaters, cardigans, and jackets with just one button, so this is perfect for me.  The button was ordered from a vintage button seller on ebay in Quebec.

And I ended up choosing the same lining I used for Josh's vest.  This kind of purple shimmery stuff with the jacquard leaves and ripples.  I really needed something nice and stable after discovering how very unstable the fabric was.  And it looks cool, too.

All in all, a nice project.  Well worth every minute of effort.  I've worn this with jeans and heels, cargoes and boots, and trousers and pumps.  Looked great every time, so I think it's a winner.

Next Up! Butterick Vest

My next project is going to be this Butterick vest in this fabulous burgundy pin stripe wool.  I'm thinking I could use some more professional-type clothes and I really like this vest.  I have four yards of the fabric, so I can make the vest and the skirt and maybe the trousers, too.

This isn't a very good picture of the fabric, for some reason my camera's flash doesn't always go off when it should -- probably messed up one of the settings -- and I'm too lazy right now to figure out the problem.  And the white pinstripes are vertical, not horizontal.  But it's enough to give you the idea, right?

I traced out the pattern over the weekend.  It only has five pattern pieces: front, back, facing, lapel and collar.  I haven't chosen a lining yet, but it will probably be a plain black or green or something.  I do have some interesting lining materials, but I'm not sure how elaborate I feel about this particular project.

I'm not going to get in my one hour of sewing today, there's simply too much other stuff to do, but I'm hoping to get at least some of these pieces cut out tomorrow.

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)

The Men's Vest -- Finished!

ETA:
Finally, the Companion Post is up, with pictures of my son wearing this really cool vest.



I got the men's vest finished last week.  Sadly, not until the day after the Menswear Contest on Pattern Review ended.  But Second Oldest Son has a new vest, and that's what really matters.









Since I muffed up the inside vest pocket, I wasn't  terribly excited about entering it anyway, but it isn't an obvious error.  As a matter of fact, I don't think Second Oldest even noticed.

The purple lining is actually really cool.  Lends it a certain classiness that it wouldn't otherwise possess.

And the adjustable back tie lets him draw in the waist when he wears it with only the top button buttoned, which he often does, so that the back doesn't stick out funny.

Not to mention these neat gear buttons that I bought from Twin Roses.  These are solid brass and really high quality buttons.






I'll see if I can get him to pose for some pictures soon.  Hopefully I can get him and my Oldest Son in some pictures together.  I made Oldest Son a vest from this pattern last year, and his looks pretty good, too.

Progress on the Men's Vest

Well, the lining is done, in so much as it can be.  I sewed all the darts, put in an inside pocket as requested and sewed the shoulder seams.  Now I just need to do the same for the shell and join the two together.  I haven't been terribly inspired to sew, so I'm not sure I'll get it done before the end of the contest.

Oldest Son wore the shirt I made for the contest to work today, so I'm hoping to snap a quick picture of him when he gets home.

Men's Vest

I got the pieces for my Second Son's vest cut out and interfaced last night.  The brown is tropical weight wool and the lining is a poly brocade shirting.  It's a pretty neat fabric -- either side could be the right side.  I chose to use the side that emphasized the leaves the most as the right side.

He's asked for one inside pocket and one outside pocket.  The inside one will be a plain welt pocket -- that's what I did on his last one and it seemed to work out just fine for him.  I will interface the lining all around the pocket area this time, which I didn't do last time.


He's also asked me to add a belt in the back with a vest buckle so he can adjust the fit to his liking.  I have vest buckles in nickel and brass -- this chocolate color will look better with brass buckles, I think.

I'd like to get at least the darts sewn today, and if I can get to more than that, I'll consider it a bonus.  I'd also like to get a picture taken of Oldest Son in his new dress shirt so I can post it to Pattern Review and get my entry for the Menswear Contest taken care of.

PR Menswear Contest Day 6 -- Men's Vest

Oldest Son's shirt is finished, but he wore it to work today so no picture yet.

Second Oldest has picked out his fabrics -- both shell and lining -- for a new vest.  I've already sewn this pattern, so it should be a pretty basic project.

The fabrics are from Fabric.com last year.  The lining is a cotton/poly blend in burgundy with a woven pattern of leaves -- a really nice fabric actually.  The shell is just a plain weave 100% wool suiting.  Nice quality but no frills really.  I wish it was easier to get plain weave tropical wool suitings.  For whatever reason, all my guys prefer plain weave to twill weave.

The pattern is New Look 6659.  I know lots of folks aren't tickled pink with unisex patterns, but I actually found this one to be kind of nice.

I've made View C for myself already and I like it a whole lot.  And I've made the men's version for both Oldest Son and Second Oldest.

The only difference is that both of them like real pockets, both inside and out, instead of those lame fake pockets that vests always seem to have.

I don't get the fake pocket thing.  Remember when men carried pocket watches all the time?  I mean, hello?  A fake pocket just doesn't cut it.

Shining Star Vest Project -- Abandoned.

I give up on very few projects.  But this is one of them.  I've spent a number of hours on the muslin for this vest, and I'm sorry to say that I just can't make it work for me.

Let me start out by saying, that HotPatterns don't come quite in my size.  The smallest is a 6, and the measurements for that size are a little larger than my actual measurements.  So, I expected to do some pinching in and tucking to make this fit properly--I have to do that with most patterns.

I've been able to "tuck and pinch" successfully with other Hot Patterns I've tried and the results have been quite nice, but I simply couldn't make it work with this one.  It was just too darn big all the way around.  The shoulders are too wide, the princess seams are too far to the side seam, the armholes are really, really deep.

All in all, well, there are other vest patterns out there, and I think I'll pass on this one.

Progress on the Peasant Top and Shining Star Vest

Well, I've definitely decided on the Shining Star Vest, though mine will definitely be sans ruffles.  I looked at the actual pattern for the first time and it was pretty cool to note that it's got a couple more pattern pieces than I expected--there are separate pattern pieces for the lining because the pattern includes a fashion fabric facing--something that's been missing with the other vest patterns I've sewn.

Suede cloths on the left, linings on the right

I'm going to make it in this tan colored embroidered suede cloth--very rustic and classy at the same time.  Do those two adjectives go together? Not sure. :-) I'm also not sure there's enough of the tan to make the whole vest--I may have to make the back out of the green suede cloth.  That's not my first design choice, but I'm willing to go with it.


I haven't picked a lining yet, but it's going to be one of those in the pic--they're all crinkly, shimmery polyester stuff that will make the perfect lining.  I'm leaning heavily on the spruce, but I haven't made a commitment yet.  The red or the brown actually matches better, but  I used the green to line a pair of wool pants last winter and it handled beautifully and is surprisingly comfortable to wear.

I've got the pattern scotch taped together and cut out in the size 6--I've only got to finish its companion peasant top before I'm ready to begin.  I fully intend to make a muslin of this one first, though.  I usually have to do a bit a fitting adjustments to anything with a princess seam.  I haven't saved this fabric all this time just to mess it up.  :-o

Speaking of the peasant top, I've decided to use the hazelnut cotton/silk voile.  This stuff feels like heaven against your skin, it's so airy and smooth.  It was a little tricky cutting the pattern pieces out--the fabric wanted to really slide around and go off-grain on the table.  I considered starching it to make it a little more easy to handle, but since there's only 3 pattern pieces and they're pretty basic, I just decided to use a bright light (sunlight, actually, yesterday morning) and keep a close eye on the grainline.  It all went swimmingly until the sun went behind a cloud--my artificial lighting wasn't nearly as good--but I got the job done and the pieces are laid out, all ready to sew.

Progress on the Peasant Top

Well, I've got the pattern traced and cut out, but when I went to pull out the fabric, I discovered that my two voiles were not really as opaque as I remembered them.  And the hazelnut had not yet been prewashed. I've gotten a bit lazy lately and I haven't been prewashing my fabrics as soon as I bring them home like I usually do.  So while the pattern is all ready, the fabric is currently swishing away in the washing machine, along with a really pretty piece of rayon challis that is perfect for a fall wardrobe addition--not sure what that will be yet. Once the fabric is washed, dried, and ironed (all 6 yards of it) I'll be ready to go.

But since the fabric is more transparent than I thought, I really need to pick a vest to go with it.  My current runners up are:

The Shining Star Vest from HotPatterns

or

McCalls 5186 View C or D

They're all somewhat similar (of course there's only so many ways to design a vest) --they all have princess seams for shaping but the HotPatterns vest has an edge-to-edge closure instead of the standard button and buttonhole deal.  View D has a more open neckline, which I really like, but I'm wondering if it might gape open funny as open necklines have a tendency to do on my rather slight frame.

I'm leaning towards the HotPattern--mostly because I have these really neat closures from Home Sew that I've been saving for years just waiting for the perfect project. It's also another free Download from Fabric.com and I've already got it printed out.  It's not assembled yet since I've haven't been inspired to crawl around on the living room floor armed with my imagination and a roll of scotch tape lately, but it shouldn't take long to get the job done.

Assymetrical Front Close Vest

This is a really nice vest that is so perfect to wear to the office, and the assymetrical front closure is more interesting that the ordinary one.  This is made in a heavyweight poly/rayon/lycra jacquard--the outside is black and charcoal and the lining is the same fabric in black on black.  The zigzag pattern is composed of surprisingly detailed ferns. Normally I wouldn't recommend using a fashion fabric of this weight as a lining, but I specifically chose this to make to vest heavy and substantial.  The pattern is New Look 6659.