If the words ‘vest and pants’ don’t send you into a nostalgic school horror spiral then I’m afraid you didn’t grow in up in the UK in the 90s. ANYWAY, here’s an entirely handmade outfit that in the US parlance we’ll also call a vest and some pants…
Trousers first, these are the Vikisews Britney pattern, which it seems like is still only available in Russian although they are working through English translated versions at a clip. But I am impatient and also enjoy a challenge, so muddling through with Russian it was. It’s actually my second Vikisews pattern in a row after a rousing success with the Ingrid coat (which is now available in English).
Gotta say I’m joining the VS fan club, I have really enjoyed the drafting, fit and construction of both the patterns I’ve made now. The Britneys are a high waisted barrel-leg trouser with pleats, hem darts and facings and jeans-style yoke and fly. I made size 38 which is pretty much my measurements other than bringing in the waist. The VS site has detailed size charts and also ease charts which are very useful to select the right size for your fit preferences. The instructions are also really nicely photographed which helps with the language barrier.
The only main modification I made was to draft and add these front patch panel thingys which have been doing the Instagram rounds. No real practical purpose but I like the additional interest and I think the topstitching looks really nice on this creamy fabric. I used tonal cotton thread and a triple-stitch, and adjusted the back pocket size and shape to ‘match’.
Talking of the fabric, it is a natural undyed cotton and hemp blend denim that The Hemp Shop kindly sent me to try out – specifically their Mid Denim Twill though they have many other weights and blends as well. If you are a linen lover I suspect you will like hemp too – it has the same characteristic coolness, lustre and rumple and this twill has a pleasing soft-slubby finish to the texture. This twill sewed up like a medium-heavy weight denim, although with enough drape for the pleats too, so was a great match for this project. I think it’d make a particularly luxurious boiler suit or dungarees too, and it has excellent green credentials as a fibre.
I did have to be careful stitching over areas with a lot of layers – I didn’t want to go too thick with needle size as I didn’t want to snag it, so ended up hand-cranking some of the fiddly parts with a size 90 needle. I ordered some navy dye too as undyed hemp fibres take well to dye, but actually decided I loved the natural colour as is – however I used cotton thread so I can overdye in future if I feel like it (or they get grubby).
I was oscillating between will they/won’t they work for the duration of sewing these – right up until the waistband and button were in I was worried the pleats and pockets were pulling awkwardly over my hips (pear-shape problems). But in the end they fit and hang pretty nicely and they’re really comfy. Another VS success!
Back to the vest! This is just a fun little number where the fabrics did the heavy lifting of a very simple silhouette and sew: soft-stitch jacquard and brushed check flannel both from Merchant & Mills.
I hacked the pattern from this vintage one inspired by this picture of RTW; I needed to size it down then just added the wavy front by eye. Then outer and shell were just sandwiched together, the raw edges bound with knit bias tape, and a little velvet ribbon closure tacked on.
And yay, it’s reversible! Although I do fancy adding a pocket which will take some thought. I have plenty of fabric left, this taking pretty much only half a metre of each, and it’s already been a staple both at home and out (the sweater under here is an old Toaster). Fast and slow, old and new, in one nice autumnal outfit.
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