Found a good, simple waistcoat pattern

[usonian]

I have some PV tartan earmarked for a bias-cut waistcoat, so I went looking for a pattern without any shaping on the front, so there will be no darts to break up the tartan.

I found one that has the added bonus (for me) of being about as simple as it gets :

Simplicity 2346, variation A (minus the tacky appliques, unless that's your thing.)

The pattern comes in two sizes: AA (which covers sizes 34-42) and BB (sizes 44-52). Variation A includes one left patch pocket. It wouldn't be hard to make a duplicate right pocket, but I opted to leave it off altogether.

I spent most of today working on a waistcoat of Murray of Atholl ancient PV tartan from Marton Mills with black cotton sateen for the lining and back (the pattern and instructions assume you'll be using the same color front and back.) It went together pretty quickly and easily (the instructions are good, and pretty much all of the sewing is done by machine) and I would probably have finished it by now, if I hadn't realized after trimming the seams and turning everything right-side out that I totally bungled the tartan alignment, despite what I thought was careful planning and triple-checking.

Hindsight is always 20/20 of course - I wasn't taking into account the ABAC repeat of the tartan, I did not adequately account for the overlap for the buttons, and I totally forgot to take the 5/8" seam allowance into account. Good thing I bought extra tartan, almost like I expected a goof-up first time out. Before attempt number two I'll probably do some small-scale tests to make sure I lay the front pieces out correctly next time.

However, you can get a sense of what the finished waistcoat would look like from the photo below - I didn't bother pressing the seams and the sides are only pinned, but when I tried it on as-is it fit pretty well... The pattern is definitely a keeper, and a nice weekend project: