What a lucky guy: Knitted men's vest

This will be a knitting post. So if you are not really interested,  just scroll down to the New Year Resolutions and there will be some more general thoughts about sewing ;)

Yep, I am still knitting! And this time not for me, but for Lescha. I am not sure how he convinced me to knit a vest for him, but I guess I felt bad that I still haven't sewn him his shirt. But it is so much more fun to make stuff for myself! He was not jumping happily around when I gave him the vest (maybe because he had to go outside in the garden, so that I could take pictures, hehe). So let's talk about the vest! I am not going to bore you with the detailed knitting, but if you are interested have a look on my Ravelry notes.

Thread: It had to be cotton, as Lescha doesn't like wool. So I used Rowan Handknit cotton in chocolate.

Pattern: None :P Lescha wanted to have a vest similar to one he saw at Ted Bakers. So, I had a look a Ravelry, but couldn't find one that I really liked. Thus I made up my own pattern.

Ted Baker vest, image source

Leschas vest

Construction: I measured Lescha (hips, waist, chest, shoulders...) and then calculated the number of stitches I needed corresponding to my gauze swatch. I knitted the vest bottom up and knitted fronts and back together, so that the vest does not have any side seams. Then I split fronts and back at the armholes and grafted them together at the shoulder seams. Finally I added a button band and buttons. But I have to admit, I got some ideas about the armhole and shoulder shaping from looking at other knitting patterns.

Next time: sway back adjustment

How long did it take? It took me only 3 weeks to knit the vest, including blocking, because I had loads of time over Christmas and even more on the airplane and train. I am not bothered anymore by people looking at me :P

See how that pulls? Makes me cringe. 

Does he like it? Yes he does! Not in the jumpy, happy, screamy way (my way, hihi), but he is wearing it.

Am I happy with it? I think it is a bit tight (he wanted it to have some negative ease and he also gained some weight over Christmas, buh) and tries to pull apart at the center front. It is an annoying sight, but hopefully with some time, everything will get a bit loose and fit better.

Side increases.

I know the vest does look different then the one from Ted Baker. I could have probably added the pockets and used different colored yarn, but honestly I just wanted to finish it so that I could start knitting a sweater for myself :) (Good that he is NOT reading my blog.)


New Year resolutions?
One thing that I noticed is that I am knitting more than sewing at the moment and that is not only because I like to snuggle on the couch. I think that is because I have so many sewing projects in my queue and so much fabric in my stash that I don't know where to start. But for the knitting, I am only having one project at the time at home and thus I don't have to decide with which one I should start next.

So, one of my New Year resolutions is to use up some more fabric from my stash and then try to keep it small, before buying new ones. Also, I will try not to buy any new patterns, before I have made the ones in my pattern box, ha! Have you seen Gails post (from today's agenda)? She and many other bloggers are currently on a stash diet and have set themselves some rules about using mostly stash fabrics and not (rarely) buying new fabrics. I really like that idea and will participate in the stash diet. What about you? Do you feel like you stash is crushing you?

Ever tried to sew a men's vest?

I did! I am sure you are wondering "Why has she sewn a men's vest?" and  the reason is that I am living together with one of these male species and wanted to say thank you :) This male species is my boyfriend (as you might have guessed already) and he is always super supportive. He is the one who is pinning my back when fitting a muslin, he tries to cheer me up when I am stuck with fitting and he takes all these lovely pictures from me :) He actually was the one who convinced me to take up dress making again. Not totally unselfish, because he is hoping that at some point -rather sooner than later- I will sew him a fitted shirt. He even convinced me to buy the Craftsy class for a tailored shirt when it was on sale. But at the time being I am neither having the skills nor the intention to sew a shirt. Because men's shirts are kind of boring. You can't add any lace or funky buttons... But enough of that and let me introduce the first (and last?) men's vest I ever made:

Pattern used: Simplicity 2346 which is a "Learn to sew" pattern which teaches skills like lining a vest and adding a pocket. My boyfriend chose version B but without the patch pocket. The vest is fully lined and closes with 4 buttons. At the back you can adjust the fit with a waistband and D-rings.

Did I make any alterations? Oh yes! I bought the pattern when I took up sewing in March and thought it will be a nice little project. It shouldn't be difficult to fit the vest because you don't need any bust adjustments :) But, in the end it was not easy at all! It took me two muslins and I had to trace the back twice (luckily I am tracing!). The problem was, that I was not sure what the fitting issue was. Also the vest did not have any darts at the back so I did not know how to shape there. In the end I made a sway back adjustment and I also added tissue at the back at height of the shoulder blades to give more room for my boyfriends round back. The neckline and back armholes were both gaping so I had little choice than to add a dart at the shoulder seams. I also shortened the waist and moved the shoulder seams - both of these task were the easiest ones and the issue fast spotted.

new shoulder darts.

Fabric choices: The fabric is a men's suiting fabric that contains some wool fibers. We bought it in Goldhawk Road where I almost passed out when seeing the prices for suiting fabric - imagine me a beginner and sewing with a fabric that is 16 £/meter. But we were lucky, because after I pointed out, that I am a beginner I was referred to the leftover fabrics which were half the price but you had to buy the full piece. So, I found one that was not overly long and got that (I still have half of it left and no idea what to use it for). For the lining we bought some polyester and the buttons I bought in a little yarn shop that I have discovered in Ealing, London.


Fabric preparations: I have never worked with woolly fabrics, so I was worried how to preshrink it. I found some advice in Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide, who suggested to steam the fabric. So I just filled the bathtub with hot water and left the fabric hanging over the railing for half a day. Believe me it was not niece to go in there, especially because it is quite hot in London at the moment! I then left the fabric to dry and done. I didn't preshrink the polyester in the hope it will not shrink/ the vest will always be clean and there will be no reason to dry clean it :P.

Too tight buttons.

Garment construction: As the pattern is a "learn to sew pattern", it came easily together. You just sew the right sides of fabric and lining together, leaving an opening on both side seams. Then you turn it right side out and press. The pressing took me ages, as I was trying to get a crisp edge so that the lining doesn't show. Then I was afraid I would shrink the wool by accident even when using a pressing cloth.
The instructions tell you to sew the main fabric side seams together and then hand stitch the lining side seams (buh). Here, I must have misread the instructions, because I had sewn the lining together and then hand-stitched the wooly fabric. All the while wondering why you would do it this way around because my stitches are not that perfect and they might show. Just when I started to hand stitch the second side seam I had another look on the instructions and realized my mistake. Hello Mr. Seam ripper! Having corrected that, everything worked out :)

Shiny lining.

crappy hand stitching.

Has my boyfriend worn it yet? No for two reasons: 1st it is a Birthday present and his Birthday is in August and 2nd it is far too hot (not that I am complaining).

Will I make it again? Probably not. I am sure one vest is enough, don't you think? You can't do much variations there except for fabric and buttons. Also, I am quite selfish and prefer to sew garments for myself.