Imma Plaid Matching Mutha - Simplicity 4079 Review

I finally decided on making a vest, mainly due to my new found YouTube channel obsession: Gentleman's Gazette. I have always loved the look of men's wear on ladies and I'm so glad I found this dude because he tells you how to take care of your clothes, what pieces to splurge on, how to tell the difference between quality garments and crap, etc. That's how I found him. I was watching a video on how to look expensive on a budget, which was surprisingly interesting. It was more about primary colors, simple jewelery and nothing too flashy, like lots of prints or weird style elements like those damn cold shoulder tops. I cannot stand those and they're big at the moment. Anywho, that led me to their video on the difference between a $30 shirt and a $300 shirt which was also surprisingly interesting.

Aaaaaanywho, I love the way this guy dresses (and talks. That accent, tho) and a lot of times he wears a nice vest with his suit. I looked and I actually own 7 vest patterns, including one men's. I debated on all of them and finally decided on Simplicity 4079 because of the length and the neckline variations.



I wanted view F because of the pocket flaps, rounded neckline and collar. I had this piece of plaid that was perfect for a vest because it had bits of blue and green and brown so I thought it would go with a lot of different outfits. I really wanted to wear it mostly with a white shirt and jeans, but is nice to have options. haha. Anywho, I wanted this to look good so I wanted the plaid to match all the way around. This took some planning and drawing, but it is worth it. I read somewhere that to match plaid easily, make a paper copy of the pattern piece and draw the plaid on the copy. That way, you can match the fabric with the paper copy and make sure everything will line up correctly. I actually loved this part of the cutting process because I knew it would all match, so it made me extra happy when I was cutting the fabric.


Can't really tell from here, but upon closer inspection...


... you still can't see it very well. But I only drew near major intersection points, like the side seams and the very front.

I wanted the design elements to match the plaid without going full plaid on the whole thing, so I chose this dark green semi-medium weight fabric for the collar and pockets. I also wanted a nice lining and back fabric, so I chose this lightweight brown fabric that I had an ass-ton of. I thought it all went together very nicely, color wise.

The construction was very easy and fun until I got to the lining insertion. I could not figure out why it would not flip out correctly when it came to pulling the lining through the shoulder area until I re-read the instructions (a handy thing to do) and saw that I was supposed to leave the side seams open to assist in the turning. I re-opened the side seams, turned everything right side out so that the lining seams and the vest seams were all enclosed, making it look all fancy. Then I went off instructions and opened a little at the bottom and sewed the side seams closed through it, instead of slip-stitching the sides closed. I figured it would look nicer to have a major seam like the side seams sewn with the machine and the bottom part sewn by hand. I ended up also sewing the bottom hem by machine, but it looks like the top-stitching, so that's cool.




LOOK AT IT!!! So matchy.


The sides match on the horizontal plaid, but the vertical was a bit more tricky. Who will be looking that closely anyways? Haha.



I am so happy with this! I made sure the inner facing even lined up with the outside and I cut the back strap on the bias to give it a little extra.


Inner facing on the right matches the outter fabric on the left. Squeeeeee!


Ooh... bias cut plaid.


The inside lining looks pretty good, too,


I made the fabric buttons for this in the same plaid, but it's hard to tell from far away. I don't care because I know it matches and that is all that matters.

I would definitely love to make another vest, maybe in this pretty mauve-y fabric I found at the thrift store. It screams suiting fabric to me. Maybe a matching skirt is in the works for the mauve-y fabric, too. Ok, now I am getting excited. haha.


Will I be a matching vest and skirt set? Will I become a blazer? What am I?!