Easter Sewing

Warning: lots of sewing details ahead!

We went to the Vigil, so, the only model shot you get for Easter is a bad post-Mass phone picture (with everyone still awake, though!)

Bean's jacket and vest are Burda 9781, with the pants being a bit of a frankenstein between that pattern and a flat-front one. There aren't exactly a lot of boy's suit patterns on the market, so you take what you can get, but there are definitely some tweaks in order for this one. I added a back vent (because, um, little boys move). The pattern runs from size 3-9, but there's a lot of differences in proportion between those extremes, so don't assume that the sleeve length is going to work (and the sleeve is tapered, so the side seam will need adjusting if the length does). The pants, for some reason, don't have elastic, darts, or belt loops (I added the latter two), so unless you have suspenders, one of those is going to be a must. Something I'd like to play with in future versions is to lower the roll line on the jacket, so that you can actually see the vest. Still, it's a decent foundation to work from, with a side panel and two-piece sleeves, like a real suit.

I used Jo-Ann's Grey Heather suiting for the jacket and pants. It was >$6/yd and easy to work with, but it had the unanticipated problem of being kind of slick, and he has trouble staying on laps in those pants, so be warned. The vest was their Linen Look (which actually contains more linen than some of the fabrics simply labeled "linen"... yeah.) in the required "reddish red" color. (I convinced him that an entire red suit might be a bit much, which is why he must never see this picture.) He's also been requesting a flower tie for months, and he was delighted to find this print in the quilting section. The pattern I used (which really ties, but has a hook on the back so you only need tie it once) seems to have disappeared behind a paywall, but might I humbly suggest that even if you go the three rectangles route for a bow tie, you cut the tie part on the bias? I've done both, and even though it uses more fabric, it's worth it because it stays much perkier.

L to R: Straight-grain, bias, real bow.

Peanut's jacket is the same one he wore last Easter, and the vest and tie are hand-me-downs from Bean. (He usually hates ties, but surprisingly, he was really delighted to have a bow tie like big brother, and insisted on wearing it around the house all afternoon when I tried it on him.) Knickers were from this pattern, I just cut them down to a 4" finished inseam and pleated the bottom edges to fit into a cuff.

Cap, with willing model.

He also got a matching gatsby cap from Burda 9507 (Simplicity's site has been seriously messed up since they redid it a couple months ago, so I'm honestly not sure if this is still in print.) I've been trying to find a good formula for stiffening cap bills. Kroger has oval-shaped ice cream cartons that I cut apart for baby hats, but he's decidedly toddler size. This time I tried cotton batting quilted between two layers of home dec interfacing, and it was okay, but I'd still prefer stiffer. I'm thinking buckram glued to craft foam for the next round? The fabric for both of these was a mystery synthetic herringbone mill end. A nice spring print, but pressing was nearly useless, and it needed a lot of top stitching to lie nicely. The hat turned out to be a good call, since we were standing outside in the wind for quite a while waiting for the Easter fire.

Vintage button score from Etsy. 

I played around with some dresses for me, but none of them were quite working out (too pregnant for this one, not pregnant enough for this), so in then end I just wore one of the dresses that has been in circulation among my sisters, along with a new hat I pulled together from Etsy supplies. This, along with the myriad stains my other spring coats have accumulated, gave me the push to finally haul out those fabrics I bought two years ago (really, that's a pretty short time in my stash),

The pattern is basically a lengthened version of Vogue 1037, with some more coat-ish details (hand-warmer pockets and a vent) imported from an OOP coat pattern I had handy. I still have to finish some details like sewing covered snaps on under the buttons, but as I couldn't close them anyway, it wasn't high on my list. The fabric is a stretch sateen that works reasonably well for the application, but can kind of resist pressing (I don't recommend it for set-in sleeves!) The body is lined in a quilting print that makes me happy every time I look at it, with actual lining fabric in the sleeves, so I can get them on! I found the green buttons on clearance at the same time as I was buying the fabric, but there were only four of them, so I added brooch-like vintage button on the top, which inspired the choice to use snaps instead of buttonholes (probably a good move, as stretch fabric buttonholes tend to get wonky-looking with use).

With all this deadline sewing, I really focused on what I could do by machine, which means I successfully bagged two jacket linings, with vents! I couldn't find a tutorial for the vent part, which meant a bit of flipping back and forth to get it right, but they're both hanging nicely. I may go back in and hand-stitch a few details, like sleeve hems, now that I can do it at a more relaxed pace, but overall, I'm pretty pleased with all the projects. Hooray for new skills!