The “¡Viva México!” Ensemble
Dreaming of Mexico
Fabric: Jacket – not sure, feels like a parachute (from stash), Tank – Crepe, Pants – Stretch Cotton
Simplicity 4192
Pattern: Simplicity 4192
Year: 2010
Notions: White Thread
Time to Complete: 5 hours for the jacket & top, 4 hours for the pants (used my rolled hem foot) to finish the pants edges & struggled a little to turn the ties inside/out.
First worn: Indoor photo shoot, it’s winter in NYC!
Wear again? Absolutely and I think I’m going to make a second pair of pants.
Total Price: Jacket material I had from a sample sale, I think the piece was $1, crepe & cotton $10, thread I had leftover from another project. So $11.
"¡Viva México!" Side
Ironically this challenge coincided with the first snow of the season in NYC. Dreaming of our next vacation in Mexico I used this pattern from my collection. The jacket and top were straight forward sewing and the pants allowed me to use my rolled hem foot. 
I practiced on scraps and found that by setting my stitch size small, my speed button to turtle and selected needle/down position made it easy to round the curves on the pants and feed the fabric for a tight clean roll over. The biggest challenge turned out to be turning the ties on the pants inside out, in hand with a tweezer and chopstick it was slow going, even my husband pitched in to help. He suggested “Don’t you think there is a tool for this?”. A quick google search and voila, yes there is. Next pair of pants won’t be so challenging!
Loop Turner by Dritz
"¡Viva México!" Front
"¡Viva México!" Back
Absolutely LOVE those pants!!! I could live in wide-leg pants — I’d wear them everyday like a prison uniform if it was appropriate. Extra kudos for making a three-piece outfit.
Hermosa! (I think that means “gorgeous” in spanish).
Hi Najah,
Thank you, I can’t wait to make another pair of those pants. Hoping to get the courage up to do a swimsuit by the time we head south.
These pieces look ready for a relaxing beach vacation – great job!
Hi Jennifer, thank you. It’s so oddly warm in NYC, I feel I could where this outfit today.
Krista,
Love the Outfit, Makes me want to go on vacation, you must continue to sew.
Keep up the good work. Happy sewing…
I love those pants — and am super impressed that you pulled them off. My only attempt at pants was a disaster. Great print with the white too!
Hi Valerie, I really a dress/skirt person. I don’t wear alot of pants unless their stretchy yoga pants but this are really comfortable on and you don’t even have to bother with a zipper.
Looks easy and breezy, cant believe you made three things – fantastic!
Thanks Trisha, I like a complete outfit and i didnt want to wear it with something RTW. I’m hoping to mix and match these pieces down the line. Let’s see how many things I can gear towards my vacation!
WOW!!! Absolutely wonderful ensemble. Your talent knows no bounds. :)
Thanks Kat. Gram would be proud. I’m having blast! I think Kimmy and Ellen would get a kick out of it.
Ooh – I’ve got this pattern and you’ve really inspired me to have a go at it. I’ve been considering those pants as they look easy and comfortable. Great outfit all round.
Jen, go for it. They are super easy, but if you have a roll hem foot for your machine, the stretch cotton works really smooth through it. I practiced on scraps, which really helps. My goal is to try to use every foot that came with the machine. Happy Sewing.
Oh my god! These pants are freaking awesome! So inspirational :D
Thank you Amanda. They were a lot of fun to make and so comfortable to wear.
Nice! I’m also trying to use all my presser feet. I have that loop turner tool, and I have to tell you it has only very slightly decreased the hassle of turning long pieces. Hope it works better for you.
I knew it was going to be to good to be true. I love sewing tools, so my curiosity wants to just try.
Very very nice ensemble, though you are braver than me, I drink too much coffee for white pants. My Singer 404 inherited from my mom has lots of attachments, I am going to research the usefulness more carefully, the rolled hem looks perfect.
Hi Liza, I googled images of the Singer 404 and that looks like a pretty cool machine. I bought a 1952 Singer 15-91 and it came with a box of attachment. One foot I can’t wait to try next iis the ruffler.
Krista,
Love the Outfit, Makes me want to go on vacation, you must continue to sew.
Keep up the good work. Happy sewing…