Vogue 6435 Vintage 60s pant suit

A 60s does 20s lounge suit project….I did not know how much I would love a pant suit!

I started this project ages ago for the Vintage Playsuit Sew a Long with Stephanie Lynn who sews and blogs at The Girl with the Star Spangled Heart. You really ought to check out her posts as she works on her project, and shares loads of ideas, videos and images of lovely vintage play suits. I did not complete mine on time as a whole lot of things went down last year, so I’m very pleased to share it here now.

There were a few challenges with this project, I cut it all out in haste, and as I was working with the pieces I relised it really needed to be lined (and I didn’t have anything suitable in my stash) it was rather soft and ever-so-slightly see-through, and I didn’t want to limit wear of these to my actual lounge. So it was left to the to-do-when-I-have-a-clean-floor pile, those pants use a lot of fabric to create that volumunous flare! About once a month I have space and time to lay up and cut projects, so there was added delay…

Roll around 2015 and the next Vintage Sewing Pledge and I assess my unfinished projects for some inspiration, and I am reminded how excited this project made me. Getting hooked on Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries also had some influence on my sewing projects…… Add to the mix a Speakeasy themed Cocktail party and I have to finish this!

So, I found some fabric to line it. A late night and bored cat got me through, this is one leg, front and back, huge huh.

I was so nervous about joining the bodice and pants, so much more to think about in the fit department! Argh, so I basted them, fitted them, seemed ok, so went ahead. Phew, I am fortunate to be very close in proportion to the 50s and 60s patterns I use so fit is not such a big deal most of the time…

The zipper was a little tricky, I decided to machine the zipper to the pant lining and hand pick the rest of the zipper, it seemed to work well, here it is pinned with my faithful assistant Austin, not impressed to still be awake!

I think it worked out great and I’ll be making up another one real soon.

This is how I styled this little number for the Speakeasy, Nana’s pink mesh gloves (and I thought I’d never have an occasion to wear them…) pink scarf/headband, Nana’s red glass beads, and her paua and rose gold ring.

You need to see just how wide in the leg these are! (yes I know I need to press this outfit!)

Wohoo.

Gloves and ring….

That lovely necklace.

Plus my favourite green shoes!

Next time I will do a couple of things differently; lower the bust darts (much more obvious when I see these photos!) and take a little length out in the back (a sway back adjustment) if fabric allows I’d also allow an extra centimetre or two at the hem to help it sit better. I will go for a heavier fabric too, I found this lovely fabric a bit of a challenge to work with, it is rather soft and drapey, and I had a bit of trouble with it catching, and getting the right tension.

Overall, a really wearable outfit that is very comfy, by the time we did these photos it had already done a cocktail party and a day at the beach!