Silk Waistcoat

Scot's Silk Waistcoat

This is Simplicity 4923 again – a waistcoat to go with the pirate shirt.

It took me a whole day to hand-work fifteen buttonholes and then sew on fifteen buttons. Blimey. I know I’m quite slow at hand-sewing, but I didn’t expect it to take so long! It was worth it though. The waistcoat looks really lovely with the matching buttons, and although I had no choice about making the buttonholes by hand (stupid sewing machine), I think they look quite smart.

(I have a horrible sneaking suspicion that I’ve accidentally sewn the buttons on the “women’s” side… but there’s nothing I can do about it now.)

I only made one change to the pattern, and that was to make the pockets functional. I hate pocket-flaps without pockets underneath, and this waistcoat definitely looks better with pockets than without. I broke out my trusty Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing and learned how to make a bound pocket with a flap. It’s not the neatest sewing I’ve ever done, but the slightly wobbly corners are completely hidden by the flap, and it looks lovely from the outside. Possibly it’s not the best idea to try out a new technique for the first time on somebody else’s clothes… but hooray for functional pockets!

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