Men's Grey Suede Vest

Pattern: Simplicity 2870

Supplies: Grey suede from joanns, lots of interfacing, black buttons from stash (one doesn't match, shh!) back buckle from stash, and black lining from the insides of recycled garments. :-)

This project was for my youngest brother, Nathanael.  I bought the fabric for it for him for his birthday last year and consulted him on some design elements, made a sketch, and completely forgot about it.  So did he. :-)  Which was nice, because I made it as a surprise over Christmas and he was really happy with it on Christmas afternoon.

I went for the more modern look with the rounded bottoms and straight back with the buckle to adjust the size.  In his own words (to somebody else, so they really count :-) he said he was really surprised at how well made it was.  So I guess you could take that a couple different ways, but it meant he thought is was high quality and something he would buy at a store.  

Double Breasted Eggplant Dress Vest

What a mouthfull!  And what a lot of fun.  Other than the boys doublets, and tunic/blouse thing I haven't made any men's clothes.  Well, the Masquerade ball was coming up and I knew I would be making my dress, so I asked Hud if he wanted me to make him a costume too.  To my surprise, he said that would be nice. :-)  Originally I was thinking along the lines of the Phantom and Raul from "The Phantom of the Opera" with the frilly shirt cool waistcoats and capes etc.  As time went on however, I realized that just a vest, and one that could be worn again in "real life" was more in order.  So I double checked the color with Hud and ordered extra fabric when I bought it for my dress.

Pattern:

Simplicity 4762

We chose the look with the lapels.

Materials:

Eggplant elegance taffeta from Fabric.com

Generic black lining fabric scrap that was lying around

faux black suede with interesting embroidery scrap

metal buckle from joanns

4 random buttons from the downstairs collection. :-)

No, they don't match. :-)  At least they are the same color and size. 

Hud sort of like the spontaneous and use what you got style, so it works.

The buttonholes weren't perfect, the under-stitching hand done and the back V rather sloppy, but I love how it turned out.  I also like the added detail of the hidden button helping to hold things together.

After I had finished basic construction and pulled the sides through the shoulders we had to leave for prayer meeting.  When we got back we had people over and were snacking and playing cards, so I decided to do my under-stitching.

  Hudson fitted the vest and said "So what about your insignia"

"Huh?"

"You know, the tag thing or emblem that says it was made by you.  The thing that shows you made it."

"I don't have one yet!  That is called branding and it takes lots of thought."

"Well, you at least have to have a pocket!"

(This all said with a little sarcasm on both sides)

I sketched for a bit, then told him to draw what he would like in the vest.  So he drew this cursive type j and k thing.  

that is what I used. :-)

The back.  

And yes, I know the buckle and buttons are not the same color.

This project was surprisingly easy.  It only took probably 4 hours start to finish.  The longest part was lining up the buttons and buttonholes.

These pictures were taken the day after the masquerade, but her wore it to his solo recital (see previous post) so I was able to get nice photos. :-)

The Boys' Renaissance Doublets

Nathanael's - XS

Hudson's - M

     Here are the doublets and ...blouses?  What do you call a blouse for a guy?  Anyway, here they are.  I started them 2 years ago.  The shirts were done in time for the Reformation Day Faire 2008, but the doublets were not.  Now I've finally completed them.

I used Simplicity 4059.  Both the shirts are made with an oatmeal looking muslin.  The first doublet, Nathanael's, is a brown corduroy, lined in the same muslin and the trim is a brown braid.

The second one is a dark navy corduroy and gold "trim."  I actually didn't use trim on Hudson's.  I used a fancy stitch on my Mom's computer...2 years ago. :-)  And you can tell.

Amazingly, they still fit rather well.  Hudson's fits perfectly, but Nathanael's is a tiny bit snug.

Anybody have brothers that want to inherit a doublet and shirt soon? :-)

Here is the stitching around the peplum...

(click to enlarge)

As you can tell on the flanges and stripes on the front, the stitching is very uneven and sloppy in areas.  Oh well, there was no way I was going to rip that out.

The back of Hudson's.

The only part I hadn't done really was the grommets (still not done on the navy) and the construction.  I also hadn't cut out any lining, so I used black lining fabric.

Here is what the shirt looks like.

I haven't done any cool photo shoots with these yet because I have to convince the guys to put them on and I am working/drafting a renaissance costume for my little sister Emily.  The vest turned out SO well. I can't wait to finish the out fit and show it to you!

Finally finishing!

Finishing is a lovely thing....

These projects are two years old and I'm finally finishing them.  I will post better pictures later...

(BTW, I can tell my sewing skills have improved.  Some of the things on these doublets are just atrocious. :-)