Vogue 8499 is another Marcy Tilton pattern. This one has been in the catalogue for quite some time, and it’s actually been in my stash for quite a while too. During one of last year’s Sewjourn visits there were a couple of people sewing skirts and pants from the pattern, which prompted me to finally have a go at it myself.
I started with the skirt. The fabric is a very stretchy jacquard woven (like bengaline) – I had plenty in stash, and you’ll be seeing more of it soon as I also have a pair of pants and a jacket cut out! I sewed size 12, and shortened the skirt about an inch and a half at the shorten/lengthen line.
From the pattern website: Very loose-fitting through hipline skirt with elasticized waist casing, back zipper closing, side-front deep pockets with zipper closing, above ankle length. Pull-up pants, above-ankle length, have side-front pockets and topstitch trim.
I decided that I didn’t need to include the back zip, so sewed the centre back seam up entirely. Elastic was threaded through the casing at the waistline. I was pretty confident that my comparatively small hips and the stretch of the fabric would mean that the zip would be redundant. I’ve heard from others with a greater hip to waist ratio than mine that skipping the zip is NOT a good idea for them!
I also didn’t include the zips at the top of the pockets, mostly because I didn’t have any that were the right length or colour. This is actually not an easy colour to match, either with zips and thread or with other clothes. It looks like a neutral, but doesn’t seem to tone all that well with most of my wardrobe. The top I am wearing with it in these photos is the Style Arc Ethel top.
As with all Marcy Tilton patterns, pay attention to the markings and read the instructions carefully. The way that the pockets attach is rather interesting!
Speaking of pockets, these capacious pockets do go a long way down, almost to the hemline. Which caused a little hilarity when I posted a short video on Instagram that included the following…
#winepockets!