Tag: 4923

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!

Pirate Shirt

Scot's Pirate Shirt

This is Simplicity 4923, in white cotton lawn. I only made two pattern alterations to this one – I shortened the front facing, and made buttonholes in the cuffs so that they can be fastened with cufflinks.

Bee Brocade Waistcoat

Finished waistcoat

I made this waistcoat so long ago that I’d almost forgotten about it! The pattern, as for the shirt underneath it, is Simplicity 4923.

Although this was already the shorter view, most women’s patterns are too long in the body for me, so I decided to shorten it even further. Men’s patterns are even longer, so I folded out about four inches from the front and back. I didn’t interface the brocade because it was already fairly stiff, and I wanted the waistcoat to be nice and light. It fastens with poppers, with decorative buttons sewn over the top. There are twice as many buttons as poppers!

The cravat is simply a piece of silver habutae, which I ran through the overlocker to finish the edges.

I wore this to a goth night, with leather trousers and silver Doc Marten boots. I had to go a choir rehearsal first, and as I walked in one of the Tenors exclaimed, “Bloody hell!”

I hope he meant it in a good way, because I absolutely love this outfit.

Pirate Shirt

Simplicity 4923

Today, rather than sewing something I actually need, like a dress for work or a winter coat, I decided to make a pirate shirt. As you do. (If you’re me.)

The pattern is Simplicity 4923, view C. I made a size Medium.
The fabric is just a plain black polycotton, and the cuffs are trimmed with flat broderie anglais lace – all from my stash. The collar size and length are just right, but the sleeves are absolutely ridiculous – even by 18th century standards. I could easily shorten them by four or five inches and they’d still be enormous!

Next time I think I’d like to make one in a nice soft white linen. I’ve found the perfect linen buttons too – just like the ones on the smocks at MERL. In fact, I might employ a technique I saw on a number of the MERL smocks, and make some horizontal tucks in the sleeves to shorten them.

I also want to have a look at The Cut of Men’s Clothes by Norah Waugh, and see what I want to do about the front fastening. I don’t really want to add eyelets and ribbon, so I might go for thread loops and little buttons. I should have done that on the sleeves, but for the sake of convenience (and maybe a touch of laziness) I went for snap fasteners instead.

There’s another goth night in a couple of weeks, so I plan to wear this with Paul’s old leather trousers. If I have time, I might make a waistcoat to go over the top. I’ve still got a piece of black and silver brocade that should be just about big enough.