Aestiva sleeveless vest by Wearologie in laser-cut alcantara and silk

Aestiva is the brand new sewing pattern by Wearologie. It’s a sleeveless vest, available in two different versions: the short one, more casual (the one I sewed) and the longer one, more elegant. Both versions were made to be worn open in front, the short vest closing with snaps on the waistband and the long version with a knotted belt.

Coralie, the fashion designer behind Wearologie, gave me this sewing pattern in order to review it…here is what I made!

As I told you, I chose to make the short version of this vest, quick and easy to sew. I decided to remove the mandarin collar and the piping finishing, because I thought they wouldn’t go well on my vest given that I had a see-through laser-cut fabric. You can find some pictures of the original short vest on Wearologie’s website or Instagram profile.

I used a powder-pink laser-cut alcantara fabric and a pink sand washed silk as lining ( I already used this silk as a lining for this blazer I sewed last year).

Alcantara is a high quality microfibre fabric that looks like suede. I bought this beautiful laser-cut fabric at Abilmente fair last October, at Progetto Quid’s stand.

Progetto Quid is an Italian ethical fashion brand that recovers Made in Italy high quality waste materials/fabrics and works with disadvantaged and marginalised people in order to produce sustainable garments. They sell their garments on their online shop and local shops, you can find more info on their website.

Being my fabric laser-cut, and so see-through, I had to modify the inside of my vest a little bit. I cut the front and back lining using the same pattern pieces I used for the main front and back and I sewed the front and back facings over the lining instead of assembling them together as usual and as showed in the instructions.

I made this variation for three reasons:

• Inside seams and facing/lining assembly are not visible from the outside in this way;

• I couldn’t apply fusible interfacing on my facings, because it’s a laser-cut fabric. So, sewing the facings over the lining helps my garment have a little extra support without fusible interfacing;
• I managed to apply a knit stay tape on the front opening, neckline and armhole without having it visible from the outside, because I sewed it on the lining’s wrong side (I used a knit stay tape instead of a fusible stay tape).

Here are some pictures of these sewing steps:

Moreover I had to change the waistband. The original waistband was a unique piece you have to fold in half lengthwise. Since that I had to use selvedges to cut my waistband (the only plain part of the fabric), I had to divide my waistband in two pieces and sew them together.

I didn’t follow the instructions for attaching my waistband because I didn’t have the piping. So after sewing the two flaps, I sewed the right side of the waistband on the right side of the vest and then I hand-sewed the inner side of waistband on the inner side of the vest.

Size-wise, I chose a C, perfect for my pre-pregnancy measurements. I decided to not adapt the pattern in order to fit my eight months belly, because I’d like to wear this garment after the delivery too. So, I only shortened the bodice by 5 cm to have it fitted on my waistline (my real pre-pregnancy waistline because I don’t have any waistline at the moment).

To fit my growing belly I simply hand-sewed three columns of silver metal press buttons (7 mm diameter) on my waistband, instead of two transparent plastic snaps as showed in the pattern instructions.

They look nice, similar to rivets, and I can close my vest in three different ways:

• The first one is the original fastener, in which I use all the three columns of buttons. Obviously I can’t wear it now, so you can see it on Penelope, my dress form!

• The second one is an intermediate fastener, because I use two columns of press buttons. I can still wear it, even if it’s starting to be too tight;

• The third one is the widest (I use only one column of buttons) and it fits me perfectly. It think it’ll fit me well until the delivery.

And I can also wear it open of course!

To sum up… the vest fits well and the instructions are very clear and comprehensive. I really appreciate that they explain the use of stay tape, that helps the stitch line have the extra support it needs to keep its shape and prevent it from stretching out with wear and washing (this info is usually not included in patterns). I haven’t tested the long version, anyway the short one is very easy and quick to sew! I don’t usually wear vests over summer, so it’s been great to have the opportunity to sew a vest…sometimes I like to try something new out!

Here is my outfit, made out of Aestiva vest, an old RTW black jersey top and a double layered elastic waist skirt I sewed some weeks ago.

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