At last we come to the buttonholes. I’m just going to do a brief overview here, though you can follow along with my in-depth tutorial The Art of the Buttonhole if you’ve never made them before.

Your buttonhole positions should have been marked out in the pattern and transferred to the cloth as you were cutting out the waistcoat. Unlike a single-breasted waistcoat, the double-breasted version has buttonholes worked on both foreparts along the edge.

Baste around each with a diagonal stitch to keep the layers from shifting Cut the buttonholes open with a hollow punch and a chisel, making them about 1/8″ longer than the button you’re going to use.

Overcast around the cut edge of the buttonholes to keep them from fraying.

Now attach your gimp or four-cord to the top of the button about 3/16″ from the edge using a couch stitch.

Work the buttonhole stitch around, passing the thread from the needle end clockwise under the needle to form the purl.

And continue finishing the buttonhole as normal with a bar tack at the end and passing the needle along the underside of the stitching.

With the neck complete you can now top stitch the edge of the waistcoat to keep everything in place during the life of the garment and prevent the seams from rolling. Start at the bottom of the side seam, stitching along the bottom edge, with a 1/8″ seam allowance.

Continue along the front edge.

And along the collar and back down the other side.

Top stitch the armscye as well. Alternatively, you could have done this before attaching the back assembly, to keep the ends of the stitching hidden.

We’re nearly there! Here’s the waistcoat after top stitching.

With the vest turned right side out, we can being work on closing up the back of the collar. This isn’t very difficult, though there are a lot of small steps, the accuracy of which depends on how well you’ve sewn the previous step.

First, remove the basting stitches from the center back of the collar to just beyond the shoulder seam.

Lay the waistcoat on the table with the back facing up. Open up the collar ends flat, and lay them smoothly on top of the back neck. There should be a little extra collar that we added to the pieces that needs to be trimmed off now.

With the collar laying in place, mark the center back of the collar where it hits the center back seam. You can square this across the entire collar lining if you want.

Then use your ruler to draw a line square across the end of the collar, 3/8″ beyond the mark you just made.

Trim the collar through all layers to this second line. Repeat the same process to the other half of the collar as well.

Open up both halves of the collar and place them right sides together, aligning everything as closely as possible. Baste across the center back of the collar, and sew using a 3/8″ seam allowance.

It’s tricky to get into this small area though it becomes easier with practice.

Press the center back of the collar seam open.

Working on one half at a time, lay the collar canvas in position on top of the wrong side of the collar lining. Crease the canvas along the roll line, and overcast along the roll line, catching a couple of threads of the lining underneath.

Lay the other half of the collar canvas into position, overlapping the other canvas, crease, and overcast the roll line.

With the collar canvas in position, you can secure the loose ends together with a small diagonal stitch, catching both layers of canvas and the seam allowance of the collar lining underneath.

Now lay the loose stay tape in position along the outer edge of the collar, baste, and stitch down using a small felling stitch.

Fold the remaining tape in position and repeat the basting and felling. This should conclude all of the inner details that are so difficult to work with.

Turning to the outside of the collar at the back, crease the back seam allowance under at the neck 3/8″ (not pictured).

Then baste the back onto the collar lining using a 3/8″ seam. This can be a little fiddly, and accuracy will pay off here.

Fell along the back neck, including about 1/2″ of the seam on each shoulder.

Now turn to the inside, fold under the lining seam allowance, and baste that to the collar in the same manner.

Fell the lining, being careful not to let the stitches show through to the other side.

And that completes the neck and the closing up of the waistcoat.

With all of the components of the waistcoat complete – the forepart and back – we can now begin assembling them into the final piece. Begin by laying out the back lining, unfolded, with right sides up.

Place the corresponding forepart half in position, aligning the side seam. You want the seam line, 3/8″ from the edge of the forepart side seam, to align with the creased edge near the waist, and also align 3/8″ from the armscye.

Baste the side seam using a diagonal stitch, keeping about 1/2″ from the edge, through the forepart and back.

Now position the shoulder seam, keeping the forepart armscye 3/8″ from the edge of the back armscy where the seam would be. Then pin the other edge of the shoulder so that the back extends 3/8″ onto the collar.

Here’s where the back shoulder seam should align 3/8″ beyond the lower edge of the collar.

You can see my mistake here that I mentioned previously when attaching the collar lining originally. The collar lining should be sewn all the way up to the edge of the shoulder, so that it can not be turned back as shown in this photo. Then the back lining simply overlaps the collar lining.

Here’s the waistcoat so far with the side and shoulder seams basted. The back lining should still hang free at this point.

Now turn under the lower front edge of the waistcoat just to get it out of the way.

Fold the back lining into place, sandwiching the forepart between the two back layers. The wrong side of the back should be facing up at this point. Align the center of the back and the back edges as best you can.

Now baste the back lining to the rest of the waistcoat assembly. I like to do this in stages for better control. Start at the top of the side seam and baste the side seam closed. Make sure the layers are aligned as closely as possible.

You may have to make some slight adjustments as you work to keep everything aligned.

Now baste the shoulder seam from the armscye to midway along the back neck just to keep everything in place.

Finally, baste the armscyes together. You’ll want to make sure the forepart is kept away from the stitch line here (3/8″ from the end), which can be a little tricky near the bottom of the armscye. Also, the layers sometimes want to pull away from each other and not align properly, so you can gently pick up the waistcoat and give it a gentle tug to help align the layers.

Here’s the armscye and waistcoat in general after completing the basting.

Trim away any excess fabric from the back belt, if necessary.

Now we have to mark the points where the stitching will turn or stop. Flip the waistcoat so that the back of the waistcoat is up (not the lining side).

At the top of the side seam, use your fingernail and crease the fabric along the edge of the forepart that’s underneath. If you’ve worked accurately this should be 3/8″ from the armscye.

You can also use a white colored pencil to make the mark more visible.

Do the same at the top of the armscye near the shoulder. Crease right next to the forepart edge and mark with the pencil.

And finally, mark the neck side of the shoulder seam, 3/8″ past the bottom edge of the collar lining. Again my mistake here and the collar lining should not be folded out of the way here.

Now begin sewing through all layers using a machine stitch from the bottom of the side seam, pivoting exactly at the point at the armscye that you marked.

Continue sewing the armscye to the shoulder point.

And continue sewing across the shoulder seam to that point 3/8″ beyond the collar. If you look carefully in the photo you can see my mistake again with the collar lining being folded out of the way of the stitching. If you’ve correctly sewed the collar lining to the edge of the shoulder, this is not possible, and your stitch line here will encase the collar lining instead.

After sewing both sides, remove all of the basting stitches you just put in.

At the top of the side seam, trim the seam allowance at a diagonal, about 1/8″ away from the stitching.

Do the same at the bottom of the side seam.

Trim the armscye seam allowance down to 1/8″ or 3/16″ if your material is more delicate and frays easily.

With all the stitching complete and the basting stitches removed, we finally get to the fun part! Turning the waistcoat right side out. Being very careful not to stretch the neck area, pull the forepart out from between the back and lining. Use a point pressing tool to get into all the various areas near the waist and side seam to ensure they are completely turned.

If you’ve done everything correctly, you should end up with something that looks like a waistcoat now.

Now begin pressing the waistcoat at the shoulder seam, using a tailor’s ham underneath since it’s a curved seam. Again, my mistake here – if you’ve done everything correctly the collar will be underneath the back lining here.

Press the side seam open as well.

And finally, press the armscye as well, keeping the lining side slightly to the underside so it is not visible when the waistcoat is worn.

To draw the pattern for the back belt, make a horizontal line equal to the length of the back plus 1″. The extra inch gives us a bit of extra room for adjustment, if necessary.

On one end, make a perpendicular line 3 graduated inches in length, and on the other, a line 1″ in length. The narrow end should be equal to the width of your vest buckle.

Draw a parallel line along the bottom edge, 1″ from the top. Complete the curves as shown in red.

Complete the pattern by adding a 3/8″ seam allowance along the rounded end and bottom of the buckle. The top edge is cut on the fold.

Here’s my completed pattern. I ended up including the seam allowances as I drafted, so there are no indications for that.

Lay your pattern on the folded edge of the fabric, trace, and cut out two belt pieces. I actually like to double the doubled fabric, if that makes sense, and cut out both belts at once to save a little time. Here they are after unfolding.

Sew the belts along the bottom and curved end using a 3/8″ seam allowance.

Trim the seam allowance to 1/8″ around the curved end.

Turn the belt right side out. I like to open up the rounded end and use a blunt pencil to help with this. Press firmly.

Then lie the back flat on the table and determine the position that you want the belt – usually at the height of the natural waist or slightly higher. Then draw a line across the back lightly with chalk, or just make a few dashes to keep it less visible.

With the back belts in position, baste across the width of the belts to keep them secure while we finish everything else.

I forgot to take a photo of this somehow so he’s a shot from my other waistcoat course.

With the forepart completed, we can finally turn our attention to the back of the waistcoat and putting everything together.

First, cut out the back piece (in brown polished cotton) to the size of the pattern.

Next, cut out the lining piece, keeping the center back and waist seams the same size, while adding about an inch or so to the neck, shoulder, armscye, and side seams. This will allow us to trim the lining later to the exact size of the back.

At the center back, just where the curve begins, measure and mark a point denoting the bottom of the center back seam, and apply this same measurement to both halves of the back and lining.

Sew the back seam from the neck to the mark, using a 3/8″ seam allowance. Press open. Repeat for the lining.

Cut two strips of cotton from your scraps, about 1 1/4″ wide and a couple of inches longer than half of the back waist. Lay them in position on the wrong side, flush with the waist seam.

These will help the back of the waistcoat maintain its folded edge without top stitching.

Baste each strip across the back, then trim the excess off each end.

Now pin the lining to the back, right sides together. Begin at the center back, ensuring that the bottom of the center back seam aligns through both pieces. Then work your way out, pinning towards the side seams.

Now this is the tricky section. We’re going to sew each half of the back waist seam one at a time. The stitching begins at the bottom of the center back seam. Fold all of the seam allowances out of the way so that you can properly sew the seam.

Make sure the strip is lying flat as well.

Sew from the mark to the side seam. Repeat for the other half, and then trim the curved areas to about 1/8″ to help turn neatly right side out.

Turn the back assembly right sides out, pushing the underside reveal back about 1/8″ so that no lining shows on the right side. Press firmly.

Now to help ensure that the lining is the same size as the back itself, baste up the back seam using fairly large stitches, making sure everything lies smoothly.

Then baste each half across the neck, shoulder, and armscye in the same manner.

Trim the lining flush with the back.

And this completes the back assembly.

Instead of making a paper pattern for the forepart lining, I like to simply cut the fabric a bit larger than necessary and gradually trim it down.

Lay the forepart on your lining fabric and cut out a rectangular piece roughly the size of the forepart.

Now trim away the fabric about 1″ to 1 1/2″ away from the edge of the facing.

Now begin basting along the edge of the front facing, keeping the stitches off the facing itself by about 1/2″.

Now fold the bottom edge of the lining under itself and crease the fold with your fingers when you’re happy with the position. It should cover the permanent basting stitches in the facing without any pulling or tension in the fabric.

Baste along the folded edge of the lining. When you get near the front edge of the lining, fold that under in a similar manner and continue basting to the shoulder.

Now flip the forepart over and trim the lining at the armscye about an inch larger than the forepart. And at the side seam, trim the lining completely flush.

At the armscye, clip the deepest part of the curve to within about 1/4″ of the forepart itself.

Baste about an inch away from the armscye through all layers, catching the lining underneath.

Turning to the wrong side, fold the lining in on itself along the armscye and baste in place. For the deepest part of the curve, I find that gently stretching the lining with my fingers helps get everything to lie smoothly.

Using a small stitch, carefully fell the folded edge of the lining to the facings along the front, waist, and armscye edges.

Along the waist seam of the lining, it’s very easy to sew through both pocket bags, sewing the pocket closed, so I like to insert my hand into the pocket as I’m stitching here to prevent that from happening.

Finally, stitch along the armscye lining edge as well.

We’ve got to finish the armscye now before installing the lining. Begin by measuring and drawing out the seam line 3/8″ from the edge.

Carefully trim away the linen canvas from the seam allowance.

You can trim off the linen pocket stay as well if there is one.

At the deepest part of the armscye, clip into the seam allowance about halfway, every 1/2″ or so. This relieves the pressure when turning the fabric over itself.

Carefully fold over the seam allowance and baste securely closed. Press with an iron over a tailor’s ham to get a nice crisp edge.

Cross stitch the seam allowance to the canvas, taking care not to catch the right side of the fabric underneath.

Remove the basting stitches.

Here’s the completed armscye.

Let’s prepare the facing now in order to install it into the waistcoat. Begin by basting the two sections of the facing together at the bottom, right sides together. It’s easy to lose track of which way is which with the smaller bottom section, so compare it to your pattern to make sure it’s going the correct direction.

Sew using a 3/8″ seam allowance.

Press the seam open, keeping the seam allowances toward the back.

Now place the facing assembly on top of the forepart, right sides together.

You should have cut the facing a little over-sized, so allow the facing to fall naturally over the shaped forepart.

Begin basting the facing to the forepart about one inch from the forepart edge.

At the bottom of the roll line, try to work in a little excess fabric into the facing. This will give the extra length necessary to curve around the folded collar. Secure with a couple of extra basting stitches as necessary.

Continue basting across the bottom of the forepart.

Here’s the forepart so far after basting in the facings.

Turning to the wrong side, trim the excess from the facing along the front and bottom edges. Don’t trim the top or back of the collar or the shoulder area yet, however.

Here’s what you should have after trimming.

Starting at the top of the collar (or the waist depending on which side), sew the facings to the forepart using a 3/8″ seam allowance.

The feed dogs should help the excess facing be worked in evenly at the bottom of the roll line.

At the bottom of the front seam, instead of turning square across the waist, make a single stitch on the diagonal to make room for the seam allowances after turning right side out. Continue sewing across the waist seam.

Trim the corner at the center front / waist to about 1/8″.

Now remove the basting stitches and carefully turn the forepart right sides out.

Begin basting the facing in place about 1/2″ from the edge.

At the collar area, you want to make sure to arrange the fabric so that there is about a 1/16″ to 1/8″ reveal on the underside – so that you don’t see the underside of the collar when wearing.

Near the bottom of the roll line, about an inch on either side, keep the reveal even on both sides.

And below the roll line and across the waist, keep the reveal on the facing side so it’s hidden from the right side.

Here’s the collar after basting.

And the forepart in general so far.

Now we need to arrange the remaining fabric of the facing in a way so that the fullness is properly distributed around the fold of the collar and such. This will help the collar to lay close to the body.

First, open the collar, and with wrong side up, baste from the fullest point of the collar towards the roll line, trying to meet perpendicularly to the roll line, and continue the basting for another half inch or so beyond the roll line.

Now turn to the right side and with the collar folded into position, baste about 1/2″ away from the roll line the length of the collar.

Now I didn’t do this or photograph this step, but if you’re a beginner, I’d recommend turning over the forepart and stitching in the same manner along the other side of the roll line, from the wrong side. This will keep the fabric firmly in position and make this next step a bit easier.

Along the top of the waist piece, baste through all layers about 1/2″ from the edge. Try to keep everything in it’s proper position, no excess or pulling of fabric in any layer.

Now turn the forepart to the right side, and using your hand underneath to support the shape and structure, carefully baste the inner edge of the facing along the front. Keep the stitching about 1″ from the inside edge.

Be sure to distribute any fullness equally as much as possible. It’s a little tricky since you can’t really see it as you work, but you’ll get it within a couple of attempts.

You might have to move the collar out of the way depending on the widths of the collar and facing below it.

Flipping to the wrong side, take a look at your work and make sure the facing lays smoothly against the forepart. I got one side on the first try, the other side took two tries, so just keep working at it.

When you’re happy with how everything looks, take some regular sewing thread (not basting thread) and permanently diagonal baste the edge of the facing to the canvas below. Try not to let the stitches show through to the right side. The stitches are about 1/2″ in length and within 1/2″ of the edge.

Baste the waist section as well in the same manner.

Here’s the completed facing.

Finally, trim the facings at the shoulder only (keep the excess along the collar), and at the waist area.