Taking A Walk On The Wild Side

Hi all,

McCalls 8940 from 1997 is a pattern for 1 hour vests. I’m from the UK, so I know these as waistcoats.

I love wearing waistcoats as they give a touch of style to any outfit. So when I found this pattern on my all-time favorite online shopping site, I had to get it. As a buy-it-now with free shipping - it was a bargain!

I didn't notice they are called vests on the pattern. Up until this point, I had no idea they were called anything other than waistcoats.

To me, a vest is something usually worn under a shirt in cold weather and classed as underwear. It’s a good job I saw the picture for this before the title or I’d have given it a miss. I haven’t worn a vest since middle school.

Anyway, there are 7 different views for this vest. I stitched view C. (Top row, middle) The pattern describes the vests as unlined with or without front button closing. Original price back in the late 90s was $9.95.

This particular pattern is out of print but a similar one today is likely to cost $19.95. I often complain that patterns today are expensive, but when put into perspective, this style has only increased by around ten dollars. Over 23 years. Which isn’t that bad. Most other things have gone up a lot more than that.

It’s an easy to sew pattern. It took me around 1.5 hours from pattern tracing, cutting and stitching together. I can’t comment on the instructions as I didn’t follow them. With only three pieces, you don’t need to. Just stitch the shoulders, side seams, finish the seam allowances and then hem it. If I had followed the instructions and completed this as per the pattern, it probably would have taken the hour the envelope promised.

I decided to give it a personal touch though and went a bit rogue on this one. Channeling my inner wild side, I came up with a sewing pattern hack with versatility. I made it reversible.

When I read the fabric requirements on the back of the envelope, I realized I may have a slight problem. The recommended fabrics were cotton, cotton blends, linen, challis, denim, chambray, gaberdine, velvet and brocade to name a few. There are others. All woven. Meaning I’d need a woven fabric to sew it.

I tend to sew with knits and fleece most of the time so my apparel stash for woven is a little limited. Apart from some plaid fabric set aside for T’s next shirt, the pickings were sparse. In fact, the only woven fabric big enough, was a couple of pieces of quilting cotton.

Quilting cotton is quite a stiff 100% cotton. Normally reserved for, weirdly enough, quilting. It works quite well in garments that ask for a heavier cotton. The only thing to keep in mind, it may take a couple of washes to soften. Oh, and as it’s cotton, it’ll crease. You’ll need to iron it after washing.

I’m going to call this one Safari In Pink. 

 

One side is an animal print on the front and a pinkish pattern fabric on the back.

The reverse side is pinkish pattern on the front with the wildlife on the back. 

Making something reversible is relatively simple. Start by making two waistcoats, place them right sides together and stitch all the way around. Leave both of the armholes open. You need to be able to turn the waistcoat the right way round.

Pull the waistcoat through one of the armholes so it's right side out. Turn the edge of each armhole under to create a neat edge and then press and topstitch.

There are no fastenings on this view so once it’s stitched together, it’s done. It really is that simple.

I’m not sure about the pinkish pattern. It’s a bit, well, meh. It could be that it just doesn’t go with the pink turtle neck. I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and try wearing it with something else.

The animal print on the other hand is cute. I can see me wearing it that way round, only not with the pink turtle neck. It needs something a little longer underneath… and a bit less pink.

I'll be making this pattern again... only next time, I'll cut the front pieces out first. That way I can make sure there is enough fabric to pattern match the animals. So I get their heads across my front, rather than their rumps.

My next project is a choice between Simplicity 2284, View A. (Top row far left)

McCalls 7729 View B (Main picture)

Or Simplicity 8447. A pair of Rosie Riveter 1940s inspired dungarees. Otherwise known as coveralls, overalls, or as my Dad used to call them, bib-and-braces. This one has a different pattern number to the one on the Simplicity site but it's the same pattern. I love the look of these dungarees and it's a style that looks as much at home in the 2020s as it did back in the 40s. That blouse with the hood looks pretty cool too.

The pattern I end up doing will depend on which one will go best with a denim-style fabric I ordered over a month ago. I haven’t received it yet. It's caught up in the chaos that is online shopping in a lock down. Hopefully, it'll soon be on its way. I’ll keep you posted.

Bye for now

Olly

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