There is one item in my husband's wardrobe he absolutely could not live without. I mean, he wears this vest at least once a week, sometimes more. He got it on a trip to Korea almost eight years ago and I'm afraid something will happen to it and we won't be able to replace it.



I searched high and low for a vest with a solid, fitted fabric back for his Christmas gift with no luck. I even looked for a pattern to make one for him and came up empty handed. Eventually I decided to use his existing vest as a pattern for a duplicate and embarked on the slow and tedious process of tracing each piece.




Since this was my first attempt at making a duplicate vest I simplified the pattern as much as possible and asked my husband to try it on at nearly every stage. After assembling the exterior pattern pieces and lining the vest it was time to add the buttonholes. I was nervous about making any cuts in the beautiful piece I had nearly completed so I practiced making many buttonholes on a scrap of the same fabric.


I was fairly happy with how the buttonholes turned out and even happier with the completed project. It was a big time investment, but low cost since the outer material was free to me. I used thread I already owned and only purchased lining material and buttons.







Isn't he so cute in this Valentine's Day outfit?! He wishes the vest offered him a bit more wiggle room and I would welcome any advice you might have on pattern tracing, recreating existing RTW pieces, sizing up patterns, and any vest patterns you have tried and liked. Happy Valentine's Day!