Free Pattern for Baby / Toddler Bolero or Waistcoat

A number of times, I have wanted to make one of the grandchildren a little waistcoat, either for dressing up, or as a little bit of extra warm or style. Each time, I've made my own pattern, so I thought it was time to share the patterns. This would be suitable for a boy or a girl.

Free Pattern - CLICK HERE for the first page and

 CLICK HERE for the second page.

BEFORE YOU CUT:

Above you have the links to the pattern, in 2 pages. It's free, and it shows a one inch square so you can check the printed size is correct. If it isn't, you could use some squared paper and redraw it. On the two pages of the PDF, BOTH SIZE PATTERNS ARE SHOWN. Pattern #1 is the smaller one, for approximately 9-15 months (more about sizing later). Pattern #2 is for approximately 18-24 months. However, boleros are quite forgiving, size wise, as they don't tightly enclose the chest, and the length doesn't need to be exact, either. I suggest if you have a small person to make a bolero for, you measure the patterns down the back fold, and across the back armpit to fold. Then measure your small person from neck to  waist or hip, and from armpit to armpit. Halve the latter measurement. Then see which of the patterns looks the best match, depending on whether you will need a seam allowance.

For the tutorial and more information, read on.

For Pattern #1, there are only two pieces, front and back. So, once you've checked the size, you will just cut round the smaller front and back on the printed pattern. But don't cut yet, till you've read all these introductory paragraphs. If you want a lined waistcoat, which needs hems, this size would probably fit a 9-12 month child best. If you want it slightly bigger, say for 12-15 months, add 1/4" all round to allow for 1/4" hems, before you cut. (Or sew the inner and outer together with double-fold bias binding.) However, if you are not making a lined waistcoat, the pattern as it is should fit 12-15 months. It fitted my grand-daughter from the age of about 15 to 18 months, but she was very small for her age.

For pattern #2, it's the same two pages as before, but this time, you're looking for the larger pattern. Because it is larger, each piece no longer fits whole on a single page. So you will find it is split, with the tops of the shoulder parts as separate pieces. You'll need to cut out all four pieces, two pieces for the front and two for the back. You'll cut round the solid lines and the dashed lines. Take care, because the pieces are almost touching. Then, join the shoulder pieces matching the dashed lines, getting the circled dots to match approximately. Make sure you attach the top front to the bottom front and the top back to its bottom! All pattern pieces should be the writing side up. This pattern INCLUDES a 3/8" seam allowance all round (and round the armholes), because I made this larger one as a lined bolero. If you didn't want a lined bolero, you could cut the pieces a little smaller - or assume it might fit a child nearer two than eighteen months.

CUTTING THE FABRIC:

For both patterns sizes, the back is cut on the fold, and you need to cut two fronts, one the reverse of the other. You can cut the two fronts by cutting through two thicknesses of material right sides together, or through a single layer with the printed side of the pattern facing up, then REVERSE THE PATTERN SO THE PRINTED SIDE IS DOWN, and cut another from a single layer of material. You will now have three pieces - a back and two fronts.

MAKING UP THE BOLERO / WAISTCOAT:

There are two methods, depending on whether you are making a lined or unlined waistcoat. Both size patterns could be used either way, bearing in mind my earlier comments about sizing. If you make hems, the garment will be a little smaller. As it happens, the first one I made was unlined and without any hems, using the smaller pattern, and the second lined, using the larger - so that's what you'll get in the photos!

Unlined Bolero

If you use a non-fray material, you only have to sew up the shoulder seams, right sides together, and the side seams, then turn it all the right way out and it is finished! So it's a ten minute job to make this little waistcoat.

The first I made was this little faux leather waistcoat to be part of a pirate costume. 

.Because I'd made it in faux leather, which didn't fray, I made it 'single skinned', i.e. no lining and no hems. So there were only the two shoulder seams and two side seams and it was done! Well, almost. You can't iron leatherette to flatten the seams (unless you want a melted mess on your iron), so I came up with this idea. I folded out the two sides of each seam flat, and zig-zagged along the middle.  

This shows the outside, which I think looks quite neat, and it did hold the seams pretty well flat. 

For a quick and easy dressing-up waistcoat, you could do as I did and use faux leather, or any similarly non-fray material. Felt is also ideal (though it won't really be possible to wash it). I've also made a black felt one with very long fringe around the circumference as a cowboy or cowgirl waistcoat. Yee-haw!  

Back view of fringed bolero

A version with a bobble trim

Here's baby Jane in here pirate outfit (without the pirate headscarf). I wrote about the whole outfit in this post in more detail.

It would also work well in red, perhaps with a white fur trim, for a Christmassy look. 

If you want to use other fabrics that might fray, you've two alternatives. One is to put double-fold bias binding all the way around, and also around the armholes. That would work best with a thicker material. I have some nice red tartan ready-quilted fabric that would make a lovely Scottish themed waistcoat. (Granddaughter Jane was born in Scotland.) Or you can add a trim and turn a bare hem outwards, to be covered by the trim. There is a third alternative, which is to turn a full hem all the way round, but I don't personally  think that looks very neat. I'd prefer to line it, so we move on to the......

Lined (Reversible) Waistcoat

The next time I wanted to make a waistcoat for Jane, it was not intended as a dressing up costume, but part of an outfit I was making her for her second birthday. There was a little dress, a hat, and a waistcoat to set it off. The whole outfit is written up here. (She has a winter birthday, so it was also useful for added warmth.) So I wanted to do a more formal, lined version. But, of course, she'd grown by this time, so I made a new pattern. 

You can do the lined version with either size, though.

The fabrics I used were a thin denim, and a lovely stretch velour with a reindeer and snowflake print.

There are several ways of lining a bolero, but here's how I did it.

1) Sew any special decorations on the individual pieces before you put things together. You'll see from the above picture that I decided to embroider some snowflakes on the denim outer, to tie the style of the fabric in with the dress (and the lining).

It's much easier to do things like this before you get started in joining bits together. As it happens, I also had to piece the lining of the back, as I was running short of the reindeer fabric. The waistcoat was fully reversible, and in this picture you can see the pieced lining from the back.

2) Next, sew the side seams (NOT shoulder seams) on both the lining and the outer fabric.

3) Pin the lining and the outer right sides together, round the neck, the armholes, and all the way round the front and bottom bar a four inch gap at the bottom. Don't sew across the tops of the shoulders. (In practice, I think you probably can, but it's easier to turn the right way out if you don't.)

If you want a trim round the edge - like piping, a fringe, lace, or bobbles - you can either do that at the end, or, if you are careful, you can pin it between the lining and the outer with the edge that you won't want to see on the finished garment sticking out, and the fancy bit inside. Then when you reverse it, the trim will be the right way round and will be neatly attached.

4) Clip round all the curves and give it a nice press (assuming you've used fabrics you can iron - I only pressed mine on the denim side).

5) Then turn it right side out, using the gap at the bottom and the shoulder seams to get it all through. I often use a narrow-ended chop stick to poke out corners. Press it again. While doing this, aim to press in the edges where you have gaps, i.e. on the shoulders and the bottom hem. (I sometimes remember to do this before I sew it together!)

6) Sew up the shoulder seams  - I did this by hand. See my other post.

7) Finally, oversew all round the edges, closing the bottom gap. 

Here is the waistcoat with the denim front showing.....

.....and now, 'inside out', with the reindeer front showing.......

.... and a view of the front showing the lining,

I tried really hard to take photos of Jane wearing the outfit, but she was so excited that she just kept running, so they are pretty blurry! But hopefully you'll get some idea of how the bolero looks on.

Here she is wearing the bolero reversed. Sorry, that's REALLY blurry. (You can also just see the hat on the floor.)