Kathy, a member of the Advisor’s Circle, is sharing her new B6901 vest. She dicusses the fit adjustments she made to the vest to fit the vest to her proportions.
I’ve wanted to make a vest for quite a while, so I was thrilled when the B6901 Lisette for Butterick pattern came out with this pattern. But, unfortunately, we short, wide people have a tough time buying vests that fit!
In my stash, I found some lovely lightweight Tencel twill. There was enough for a vest and a pair of Soho shirts, so I’ll have a matching outfit next summer. For the lining, I found some gorgeous quilt cotton I bought years ago without any purpose. It was so pretty that I couldn’t walk out of the store without it. The colors go well with the twill, and I’m happy to use it finally.
My muslin started by tracing an 18 on the top down to a 20 on the bottom. This is a Big Four pattern, so there is no vanity sizing here. I measured the back length and thought that I needed to take out 3 inches in length. There are no lengthen/shorten lines, so I took out 1.5 inches above the armhole and 1.5 inches below the armhole. After making the muslin, I realized that I needed the below-armhole length back. Now that I’ve actually worn it, I think I will go back and reduce that 1.5 inches above the armhole to 0.5 inches. When trying on the muslin, there were wrinkles in the back on the bottom half, and after consulting my books, my best guess was that I needed more width across the back. So I simply unstitched the back darts, which seemed to work pretty well.
At first, I was going to make real welt pockets, as faux pockets drive me crazy. However, after I measured, I realized that a welt pocket could only be about two inches deep. I don’t own a pocket watch, so somehow that didn’t seem worth the extra work to put in a welt opening. Instead, I put a patch packet inside and sewed it to the lining. I’m happy with it, as it will hold my phone in a pinch. (Yes, I’m obsessed with having a pocket for my phone.)
When I was sewing, I missed the detailed instructions that come with a Liesl + Co pattern, but I managed to finish without any crazy errors. Other than wanting that extra inch of length back, I’m pretty happy with it. The next vest up is a floral corduroy with a cotton-silk lining. I plan to wear it in front of a roaring fire this winter and channel my inner hobbit.