HOW TO MAKE A VEST/WAISTCOAT PATTERN - THE Q EFFECTZ

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What is a waistcost?

A waistcoat often called a vest, is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men’s formal wear. It is also sported as the third piece in the traditional three-piece male business suit. However, nowadays, female now wear it for formal occasions or business-like events.

A waistcoat has a full vertical opening in the front, which fastens with buttons or snaps. Both single-breasted and double-breasted waistcoats exist, regardless of the formality of dress, but single-breasted ones are more common. In a three piece suit, the cloth used matches the jacket and trousers. Waistcoats can also have lapels or revers depending on the style.

However, in this tutorial, I’ll be showing us how to make a simply waistcoat pattern without lapels/revers for both male and female.

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WATCH THE TUTORIAL

Requirement:

Three super wide pattern paper: this could be scrap paper, brown paper, fabric, newspaper. Etc.
Shirt/ blouse pattern: see here to learn how to make basic blouse pattern for clients. For beginners, your already made shirt or blouse will suffice as a template.
Body statistics: The body statistics required are:

Chest/bust : place your measuring tape round your/client’s chest or bust and measure the circmference.
Shoulder length: place the measuring tape at the back of your/client’ s neck and measure from one end of the shoulders to the other.

4. Measuring tape and scissors 5. Hip curve and straight ruler 6. Tracing wheel and nocher 7. Measuring table.

Procedures

To make a waistcoat pattern for both male and female, this tutorial will be divided into

Making a waistcoat for males.
Making a waist coat for females.

How to make a Male Waistcost

This involves (a) Making the front pieces (b) Making the back piece (c) Inserting darts. (d) Adjusting for the “waistcoat” (e) Inserting pockets

a) Making the front piece: This section will be further divided into the following steps: Step 1: Fold your pattern paper into equal halves and then place the front of your already-made shirt (this could be t-shirts or polos) on it. This should also be folded into equal halves, with the sleeves/ collars tucked in or cut off. Trace 1.5 inches away from all the sides. This is to accommodate for ease, stitch and seam allowance. When done, remove your already made shirt. Your front piece should look like this:

With the dotted lines indicating folding.

Step 2: Label out the various parts of the body which include Shoulder, chest, waist, lower abdomen and hip.

Step 3: Fold another pattern paper into equal halves and place your old pattern 1.5 inches away from the folded line. This is to accommodate for the front placket of the waist coat.

N:B Plackets are openings or slits in a garment, covering fastenings or for access to a pocket, or the flap of fabric under such an opening. They used to fastening buttons to a front shirt, jacket of coat. And then trace all the sides of the old front pattern onto the pattern paper. Your new pattern paper will look like this:

b) Making the back piece: Fold your third pattern paper into equal halves. Place the back of your already made shirt, t-shirt or polo(which should also be folded into equal halves with the sleeves/collars tucked in or cut off) and trace 1.5 inches away from all the sides. When you remove your already-made shirt/tees/polos, your back piece will look like this:

c) Inserting darts: This section will be further divided into inserting darts (i) front piece (ii) back piece. i. Front piece: To insert darts for the front piece, measure 2 inches down from the chest level and mark. This will be your dart level.

From your dart level at the dotted line, measure (1/4 of your chest circumference). For the sake of this tutorial, let’s assume I’m a man. My chest measurement is 34 inches. ¼ x 34 inches = 4.25 inches. Therefore, measure 4.25 inches from the front of the dart level and mark.

Then make your dart lines towards the bottom of the front piece.

With your tracing wheel, trace the lines to the other side of your pattern paper.

ii. Back piece: Also at the chest level and at the folded area of your pattern, measure 4.25 inches and mark.

From this new point, measure 3 inches upwards and mark.

Then draw your dart lines from this new point towards the waistline and mark.

With your tracing wheel, trace this dart line to the other side of your pattern paper. d) Adjusting for Waistcoat: So because a waistcoat ends at the abdomen level, we would have to adjust both our front and back pieces to accommodate this. Thus this section will also be divided into adjusting for waistcoat for (i) front piece (ii) back piece. i. Front piece: At the neckline and at the front of the shoulder, draw a line to meet the chest level at the placket.

Then measure 3 inches upwards from the hip level and mark. Then draw a line to join your new point and the dart point at the hip level. Do the same also from the dart point at the hip level to the abdomen, as shown

And so, adjusting for the waistcoat for your front piece is done.

ii. Back piece: With your tracing wheel, trace the mark made at the placket from the hip level. And then using your hip curve tool, draw a curve from the point to the lower abdomen as shown below.

e) Inserting pockets: To insert pockets at the chest and at the waist, measure 2.5 inches from the chest level and mark.

Then at your new point, measure 5 inches and mark. Draw a horizontal line to join these two points as shown below.

At the abdomen level, measure 2 inches above the level and mark. Then trace duplicate the 5 inches pocket at the chest level.

Then with your tracing wheel, trace this pocket to the other side of the pattern paper.

Cut out what you have traced as well at the folded area of your plackets and your front pieces(now two) will look like these

Unfold your back piece and it will look like this.

MAKING A FEMALE WAISTCOAT PATTERN

To make a female waistcoat pattern, repeat all the processes in how to make a male waistcoat but use a female blouse pattern if you are making a pattern for a client (see here to learn how to make a basic blouse pattern for clients). If you are beginner, simply use your blouse pattern as already explained in Section A and B in how to make a male waistcoat pattern.

But unlike male waistcoat pattern where regular darts were used to add a little shape to the pattern, in a female waistcoat, we are going to use one of the basic slash and reduce methods in pattern-making to add shape to the waistcoat- Princess seam. See more on Slash and Spread/Reduce here. So to insert princess seam from the shoulders, at the bust level, measure (1/4 of your bust measurement) and mark. Using me as an example, this will be 4.25inches.