At some point in 2020 or 2021 (it's all a bit of a blur these days) I bought myself Fig Leaf Pattern's DAR Museum vest pattern. I finally got around to making it in early February when my work schedule and the weather conspired to give me four days off in a row!
I had a plain-woven navy blue polyester/poly-cotton in my stash and a matching set of six large and six small gold buttons. I had to run to the store later for cording.
I'd say the pattern was easy to follow, but I honestly just glanced at the instructions and decided to go about it in a completely different order. I did go back and consult the instructions later in regards to hemming and such, though, and what I did reference was easy to understand.
Fitting
I did run into one issue, unfortunately - sizing. The smallest size available is a size 8, and my measurements fall about 2" short of the measurements for that size. 'No problem,' I thought, 'it's not a fitted garment so it's ok if it's a bit too big.' I basted together the front, side, and back bodice pieces (again, not what the instructions say to do), tried it on to make sure it wasn't too big, and... discovered that it was too small somehow.
I did some thinking, stretching, and twisting in the mirror before I came to the conclusion that the fit issue was my shoulders, and that adding a bit of length to the shoulder strap part of the bodice front should fix the problem. It took a few tries - adjusting the length and angle of the patch - but it did the trick nicely!
I then had to make up for the extra neckline length by re-cutting the collar to be longer. I adjusted it by adding length at the center back. I suspect I should have done this differently (like maybe reading the provided instructions on adjusting the collar), but I only have a slight wrinkling in the collar and it doesn't bother me enough to fix it.
Construction
I started by sewing the front shoulder straps to the center back. Then I attached the side panels to the front, and then the side panels to the back. Seam allowances were flattened toward the center back and whipped down.
The collar was next. I sewed up the short side seams on the collar, attached the outside to the bodice neckline, then flipped all the seam allowances inside the collar and whipped the free edge down to encase the seam allowances.
The peplum then got assembled and stitched on. The instructions say to hem the peplum pieces before attaching them to each other, and I regret not doing that. It was hard to hem them nicely with the seams in the way.
After that, I could attach the front bodice lining, right sides together, and turn it right sides out to give the front edge a nice clean look. The trick here is that the front lining overlaps the collar a bit, so even if you do most of the construction by machine, you have to do the top inch or so by hand.
Once all that was done, I turned up the bottom edge of the bodice and whipped the seam allowance down, including the peplum seam allowance. It's not a particularly clean hem but it's working so far, and the front lining covers up enough of the lower edge that you cant see this part of the hem when the vest is worn.
The armscye was treated in much the same way - edges turned in once and whipped down. This was a lot easier than I was afraid it would be, given the curve, and I'm not super worried about fraying here because so much of it is on the bias of the fabric.
Last but not least, a scrap of muslin was cut out and used to line the center back panel. I just held it in place, turned the edges under to match the center back panel, pinned it, and whipped the edges down. This actually encases a fair amount of seam allowances, including part of the armscye, giving a nice, finished look to part of the inside.
Trimming
The original vest has 20 buttons and is corded on almost every seam! I only had 12 buttons to work with, and I didn't want to buy 10 yds of cord, so I turned to Pinterest.
There is, of course, the riding habit of Queen Louise of Prussia, and this detail shot of the back of Before the Automobile's recreation of it. But there's also this 1801/1804 fashion plate or this portrait of Sophie Reinhard. And one of many fashion plates where you can see two buttons over the peplum, kind of like what you see on the DAR vest.
I decided to go with something simple since the trim I had is thick cording, not flat braid or soutache. I loosely base the front on the Sophie Reinhard portrait, and did the button and cord around the seams on the back. The design I settled on only used 3 yards of cord.
I stenciled out the design I was aiming for in chalk on the bodice and pinned the cord over the markings. Then I ever so slowly couched the trim down, trying to hide my thread in the twist of the cord. Buttons went on last to complete the look!
Admittedly, I let almost two months go by between finishing construction and doing the trim. This is partially due to me being indecisive and partially due to some career changes and getting used to a new schedule. But the vest was finally complete!
I really like how it turned out! It was nice without the trim, but the trim really adds a lot to it - that HBIC military-inspired vibe. It was quick and easy to sew too, despite how I dragged my feet on it.
The only thing I'm less than thrilled about is how wide it makes my shoulders look, which is a silly thing, but it sits so close to my neck and the straps aren't very wide so my shoulders just appear much wider than they normally do. I intend to use this pattern as a base for another sleeveless spencer, so I might experiment with widening the back panel and the straps slightly. We'll see.
I think it would make a nice walking ensemble with long gloves, a habit-style chemisette, and a well-structured hat. Or perhaps something suitable for the seaside with this ruffly chemisette and my straw bonnet...
Now that this is done, I'll be sewing outside of the Regency era for a while - I need new pillowcases, I have plans for some lingerie/loungewear, and then Edwardian combinations - but I'll definitely be back! I've got all the supplies to make curly clip-in bangs and I need to use up some of my stash after all!
Until then
Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay healthy.
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