No waste waistcoat
Abridge version originally appeared in Issue 73 of Simply Sewing Magazine
I just love a waistcoat. For me it’s a wardrobe staple; it can finish off a suit, smarten up a casual look and cinch in that waist! When I first started sewing this was a garment I was itching to master and perfect. I wanted to be able to create the waistcoats of my dreams. A perfect storm came together with this project when a trusted and robust pair of jeans finally walked their last mile on my legs. I had repaired holes in them before, but this time they were beyond repair and I couldn’t let so much good, strong denim go to waste. I already have an entire drawer full of old jeans patiently waiting for up cycling, but this was a special pair that was with me for many years through various cycles of weight gain and loss.
Digging out a pattern I’d tried only once before I set to work cutting up these old faithful’s, but I needed fabric for the lining and back, of course. All sewers love buying fabric, it’s almost like a separate hobby in its own right and I am no different, buying fabrics and stashing them away for a rainy day. I found the perfect fabric for the waistcoat hiding in my stash, a piece of material which had sat waiting to be put to use for a quite a while I suspect, but its origins are now shrouded in mystery. Wherever it came from, or whatever I intended it to be when I bought it, it’s now going to have a new life as part of a waistcoat.
I opted to use as many original features of the jeans as I could, so the back pockets became the front pockets on the waistcoat and the waistband became the back belt, complete with leather label and size stamp. The jeans had distressing built into the back of the legs which I also wanted to preserve, and I was just about able to position the front panels in such a way that the distressed sections live on in my waistcoat. Getting the front facings cut out of the denim as well was tricky, but I just about managed to eke out the fabric to get enough for all of the sections. The construction was made rather swifter by adding the patch pockets, so I managed to get the waistcoat finished quite quickly.
Thinking about future sewing projects, I believe more waistcoats will be the way forward for me. I have a whole host of retired garments and mystery fabrics suitable to be transformed and my waistcoat collection certainly needs updating, especially after the long lockdown! Thankfully I don’t have the beady eyes of Patrick and Esme watching over me at every stage anymore, or Joe ready to pounce and call time. Sewing has now resumed its usual leisurely pace.