Vogue 7488

Caleb's 8th grade promotion ceremony was last night, and here is his waistcoat. He picked Vogue 7488; I made a size M. I was to make a suit as well, but we decided it would be too hot to wear, plus probably wouldn't fit him come winter anyway. So, I'm going to take that wool and either make a suit for him for fall/winter, or I might find a topcoat pattern, as he wants a formal coat. (sometimes I think aliens have taken my real son)

Modifications I made were to cut the back out of the fashion fabric (the pattern calls for the back to be made from lining), I eliminated the back belt, and all four pockets are functional (top two are faux according to the pattern. I do my pockets like this). He was very pleased with how this turned out.

I don't really like finishing vests this way, preferring instead to stitch the shoulders and armholes completely by machine, turning through the lining side seam. However, there is no back collar on this (! I didn't like that part), so I had to do the armholes according to the directions, which meant hand stitching the back shoulder lining over the seam.

There is a nice split at the side seams.

The front inside has a hem facing. There is also a small pleat where the lining meets the facing -- it's not really needed, IMO. I'd eliminate that next time.

My boy is in high school now!

Full review for this pattern is here, at Pattern Review. I've entered it in the Sewing for Men contest.

Single Welt Pockets

Four months since my last post. Sorry!

Caleb's 8th grade promotion ceremony is coming up, so I'm working on some clothes for him. While making the vest, I thought I'd show you how I do a single welt pocket.

First, I stitch around the opening, shortening my stitch length on the corners. You can see I bring the top part of the opening in about 1/4" on each side. This vest front is underlined with Texture Weft. If where your welt pocket is going isn't underlined, fuse a piece of interfacing on it to reinforce that area (I prefer knit fusible interfacing).

Make your welt, checking to be sure it is exactly the correct length for your opening (I was a bit off on this one). Baste the seamline. Place the seamline on the bottom stitching of your opening. Baste the welt down and then trim the seam allowance.

Put your pocket lining over the welt and stitch just the long edges of the pocket opening. Do this from the wrong side of your garment, so you can see the stitching that you did in step one. Stitch right on top of your previous stitching, starting and stopping exactly as you did before.

Cut through the pocket lining and opening, clipping just the garment diagonally into the corners. See how I stopped and started exactly on my previous stitching?

Turn and press the pocket to the inside. I don't press the triangles to the wrong side. It makes a smoother pocket, they are bias and won't fray, and no one is going to see them anyway.

Edgestitch the welts down, and you have a finished welt pocket! For this pocket, I was a bit off on my welt length and if you look on the right side, you can see a bit of my original pocket opening stitching. The damask hides a lot, and yes I know, I am being very picky. :)