HSF Challenge #15 - White ~ 1910's Petticoat and Chemise

It's a cold July morning and I'm sitting here in a flannel nightshirt with a cup of steamy tea, trying to stop shivering and looking up fashions of the year 1916. It's a pleasant way to spend the little hour or so that I have after David leaves for work and before the children wake up. While I'm loving the airy, frilly summer frocks, after this morning something in heavier material may be preferable - like wool. I'm loving this suspender skirt from Past Patterns.

I might have to actually get this pattern. I can see it being very cute in something like lightweight wool, or corderoy or a heavy cotton twill. I'd try to make a similar style myself but do you think I can find any other diagrams, or patterns, or advertisements, or illustrations, or photographs, or extant garment example, of this type of skirt? No. All I have to go off of is this little illustration. So the pattern would be useful to have. 

But first - one needs the right undergarments, of course. I finished my petticoat on Saturday by adding a simple placket and a band at the waist. My 1917 book The Complete Dressmaker was helpful in instructions on how to make the placket and the waistband (just straight strips of fabric really. . .very simple.) I added a buttonhole at the waist and another one in the center of the placket and dug out two tiny antique china buttons from the stash to fasten them with. I really like these little buttons. Original buttons or good reproductions really helps things look real. 

After that I realized I still did not have a chemise. I remember being frustrated when researching this period earlier this year because it is hard to know exactly how the undergarments were worn. How were they layered? In the online 1919 book Garments for Girls, instructions are given for an "envelope chemise", which is described as being a combination of corset cover and drawers. So that would indicate they were worn over the corset, right? But what about a brassiere? Over or under? And what goes under the corset? Below is a photo of a c. 1915 chemise that was sold on Etsy (the listing is no longer up, so I wasn't able to see more photos of this garment, sadly!) 

I decided to make a plain chemise instead of a combination. I did not have a pattern or any real idea of how they should be cut, but decided to use the top portion of the diagram given in Garments for Girls for the envelope chemise, for the top portion of my chemise. I used my brassiere as a guide for the neckline and armholes and cut a wide tank-top shape. 

I used an old 1860's petticoat of soft cotton muslin for the chemise and the panels were not quite long enough to cut the full length I needed. I added a little flounce at the bottom of the chemise to extend the length. I wanted to know how the scalloping stitch would look on a 100% cotton fabric so I scalloped the edges of the armholes, neckline and the hem with the stitch. It worked much better on this fabric and I was very pleased with the little touch of femininity the scalloped edges lend to the finished garment. 

The last thing to do was to work eyelets along the neckline for the ribbon drawstring. I made 40 of them,  by hand, Saturday evening while David and I watched The King's Speech. (btw - that is like the best movie, ever.) The ribbon was threaded through them and the chemise finished! Finally a proper chemise!

Yesterday David took some photos. It is hard to see detail in these since everything is white but they give a general idea of the overall silhouette the foundation garments provide for the (hopefully soon forthcoming) outer clothes. 

For these pictures I am wearing the antique brassiere (or what I think is probably a brassiere) that I found at an antique mall back in the winter. You can see the support it provides is quite different from the one I made, though both shapes are probably okay for the time period. The original one provides little lift, but it does offer a bit of support without being stiff or unnatural and it keeps everything neat and contained. I really need to make a reproduction of this! It's so simply made. 

In my 1917 dressmaking book I did find a description for a "circular flounce" as "a flounce cut to fit the skirt at about the knee, but which flares into a circle at the foot of the skirt". This describes the flounce on this petticoat quite well! 

I still need to make some drawers but I need to do more research before deciding which style to make. Below you can see the chemise, since you can't really see it with the brassiere/petticoat on over top! It could stand to be a tad longer but I had fabric limitations!

I need to get to work on regency outfits for my little boys, but I really do want to make another 19-teens garment for the next challenge, which is "Separates". I would like to make a simple shirtwaist, but we'll see. I am not sure what kind of fabric I would like to make it in, though one can never go wrong with a simple light white blouse, right? It goes with anything! There are very thorough instructions on how to both draft and construct a basic shirtwaist in Garments for Girls: 

Love,

Sarah

Recreating an Antique 1910's (?) Petticoat

Well, dear readers, back in January I made a 1910's corset and brassiere for a Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge. At that time I was gung-ho for a 1910's outfit and began the process of taking a pattern off an original petticoat that was gifted to me by Natalie. But, as it usually seems, life got in the way, my interest was diverted to other things and I never actually finished it.

I have lately been pretty interested in the 1920's again. I really like the transitional styles of the very early 20's. Anyway, I decided to finish this petticoat since it will work just as well under a late 'teens/early 20's dress as it would beneath an earlier style gown from the earlier 'teens.

I decided to start fresh and take the pattern anew, after examining the petticoat and taking some measurements and looking at construction techniques. These first photos are pictures of the original petticoat. Above you can see photos of the front and of the back. Here you can see the waistband, which looks like it is just a wide piece of twill tape folded in half and topstitched to the waist.

There is a center back opening with a slashed placket. There is no button at the waistband here; I am not sure how it originally fastened.

The inside of the placket has one buttonhole and one tiny button.

The seams were interesting. I at first thought they were french seams, but it appears they are not. It looks like the seams were folded under twice (like a hem) and then stitched down close to the fold. One side of the seam looks like this, with a line of stitching above the folded edge. The other side of the seam has just the line of stitching, looking much like a french seam from that side.

The circular flounce is definitely the most eye catching part of this petticoat! Sooooo much lace insertion! And whitework!

The overall cut of the petticoat is quite simple. The main body of the petticoat is made of shaped panels, or gores. There is one wide front gore that covers nearly all of the front. Then there are two side gores and one skinny back gore. The bottom is a knee-high circular flounce. Having tried on the petticoat before, I know the fit is good for me already, so I was good to go for taking the pattern!

My method of taking patterns isn't very professional, but it works (at least for me.) I have a big roll of wide brown paper I got at Menards, and I spread out a large section on the floor, on top of a carpet. (A solid wood floor would not work so well; I need to be able to stick pins into the carpet below the paper!) Then I begin to carefully spread out the garment, making sure the grain stays straight, and pin it directly to the paper and the carpet below the paper by sticking in pins along the seams, like this:

After one section has been pinned (in this case, the front gore), it is easy to pull out the pins and remove the garment from the paper. The little holes left by the pins are the lines of the pattern! After that, it is a process of connecting the dots:

And adding seam allowance:

I then double check measurements such as seam length, hem circumference, etc. Where anything is "off" I smooth it out. For pieces that are symmetrical (like the front gore and back gore and the flounce) I only pattern one half of the piece, so the center line can be placed on the fold when cutting out fabric for the reproduction. It's hard to see the lines, but here is what the finished pattern looked like before cutting it out.

And the pattern pieces all cut out and ready to go! (forgive the matchbox cars - but the paper wanted to curl and the cars were handy and so. . .I used them.

To make my reproduction petticoat (and I use the term lightly. . .this is not an exact copy of anything but the pattern!) I used some light weight white fabric David brought home from the thrift store a few weeks ago. He thought it was 100% cotton but I will confess to you, having now worked with it, I believe it is a piece cut from a large sheet and I really think there is some poly content. It is nice fabric, but it "slides" like poly/cotton is wont to do. But it was 50 cents and there was just enough fabric for this petticoat so, I used it.

I cut out all my pieces. One front gore, two side gores, and one back gore. Two flounces. Due to the width of the fabric I had to cut my back gore in 2 pieces, making a center back seam.

I sewed all the main body pieces together using small french seams. I decided to not try the interesting seaming method of the original because my fabric wasn't behaving. (this is why 100% natural fabrics are best! I'd love to try this petticoat pattern out in a lovely cotton lawn sometime.)

I sewed the two flounce pieces together using french seams.

At that point I wasn't sure how to proceed. The original petticoat has the flounce attached to the petticoat via insertion, and the whole flounce is intersected and crossed by lace insertion. I didn't have any lace on hand to do any insertion with and honestly, just sewing the flounce to the main body looked bad (I pinned it to see.) Many undergarments of this era were highly decorated. No lace. . .what about embroidery?

I am *not* an embroiderer at all so I decided to try out machine stitching in place of hand embroidery. I know ready made trims at this time in history could be machined, so I was not too concerned about the authenticity/lack thereof.

Now, my machine is super basic. It is the cheapest Singer model you can get at Jo Anns. Nothing special. But it works great for what I need, which is mostly basic straight stitch. It does have a few other decorative stitches though that I hadn't really tried to understand before, such as a scallop. I remember using this stitch the dolly boots I made for Anne's doll back at Christmastime. I wondered if it would work as an embroidering stitch. I decided to try it.

I overlapped the raw hem of the main body onto the flounce by about 3/8". I set my stitch length and width and started chugging along.

It worked!

Now granted, the scallops came out a bit puckery. I think this is due to the fact that my only needles at present are "heavy duty" needles and they are ill suited to piercing the tight weave of this poly/cotton sheet fabric. But I was still happy with how it looked. It looked decorated.

Because just one line of scallops weren't enough to make much a visual impact, I added a few more. Then I scalloped in several rows around the bottom hem of the flounce, to match. Then I scalloped down the sides of each gore. Then it took a long time to carefully clip away the fabric below the bottom line of scallops on both the flounce hem, and the hem of the main body. But finally it all was done.

And so here is the petticoat so far!

And the back:

The lines of scallops don't align perfectly with each other. I think this is because the hems are shaped - not straight lines. But from a distance it looks good and it feels more 19-teens-era-decorated-undies to me now than simple-quick-and-plain-costumers-make-do.

I still need to put in the back placket and sew on the waistband. But it will be done for the challenge tomorrow, I promise!

And oh! In other news, I have put my pattern blog back online again. It's been offline while I updated it and rearranged it. I still have lots to add to it but for now, it's back!  I added a new costume gallery and lots of my favorite links and my friend Christina is working on something for the blog that I think will be pretty awesome when its done!

Love,
Sarah

1910's Foundation Garments

Well, I didn't get my chemise or drawers made, but I did at least finish my corset and brassiere for Challenge #1 of the Historical Sew Fortnightly. And since I originally intended to just make a corset, I figure I met my goal. (even though I really wanted to make an actual dress or blouse/skirt outfit! But that will be made. In time.) 

Since you all have seen pictures of the corset I will not burden you with additional ones. Here is the finished brassiere. 

It is made of two layers of white linen and is topstitched on the seams. The bones are inserted between the layers of fabric and the brassiere is boned at sides, front princess seams (up to the fullest point of the bust) and down the center front. 

I found a bit of lace in my stash that seemed suitable to trim the neckline with. I did not have enough to go around the whole neckline but I had enough to at least do the front neckline. 

I sewed this mostly by machine. It's so nice to be able to use the machine and not feel guilty about doing so. The only bit of handwork I did was some binding finishing and I hand sewed the hook and eyes to the front opening. 

For these pictures I am wearing my regency chemise, since I did not have time to make a period 1910's style one, and an antique petticoat that was given to me by the lovely Natalie of A Frolic Through Time. 

The petticoat is exactly the right size for me and I have taken a pattern off it (it is a 5 gore style with a subtle flounce) to make a repro petticoat to wear for the final outfit. I still have to make drawers. 

Here you can see how the foundation layer looks with a dress on over top. I made this white dress over five years ago from the Sense and Sensibility 1914 Afternoon Dress pattern. I do not often wear this dress as I have felt it is not very flattering but it does look better when worn with the proper underpinnings. 

So that is that! The next challenge is due in two weeks time and is for a UFO (an unfinished sewing project) so I think I will finally finishing David's plaid wool fall front trousers. . .they have been *so* close to being done for *so long* (needing only hemming and buttons at the moment) but I have procrastinated. I will get those done!

Love,

Sarah

The Challenge: Something from a year ending in "13". (So, this could have been worn in 1913)

Fabric: White linen for both corset and brassiere. Corset is lined with white cotton duck. 

Pattern: Corset is from the 1911 corset in Corsets and Crinolines by Nora Waugh. The brassiere pattern was draped using originals for inspiration. 

Year: 1913-ish

Notions: I used zip ties for boning, brass grommets for the corset and hook and eyes for the brassiere. I used a steel busk for the corset. 

How historically accurate is it? I hope it is fairly accurate. The corset is taken from an original so I think it is accurate in cut. In materials, it is possibly accurate (although coutil was usually used). In construction, I am fairly sure I used an atypical method (I used an 1860s method of construction) but it was a compromise I didn't mind as this is just a "for fun" outfit. 

Hours to complete: I don't really know. . .I worked on these fairly steadily for two weeks. Maybe 1-2 hrs per day? Probably 25-30 hours. 

First worn: Not yet, except for try-on. 

Total cost:

A 1910's Bra or Bust Bodice

It's been almost a week since my last post, and alas, I have been silent. I have actually been silently working on my 1910's corset and I failed to blog about the process of making it. I just. . .made it. I wish I had blogged about it because I don't really remember what I did, except that the pattern I planned to use (Jen Thompsons gorgeous pattern taken from an original) did not work out well for me or my figure so I ended up draping a pattern instead and I used the 1911 corset from Corsets and Crinolines as a guide for the shape of the pattern pieces. 

And it's done. It fits. I like it. 

But the problem with this style of corset is, obviously, bust support. Namely, there is no bust support. I definitely need support. So I have been trying to figure out just what women of this era did when they had bosoms. Because, obviously, not everyone had the slim, slender, slight figure that was in fashion then. And I am not just going to let myself flip and flop in careless abandon over the top edge of my corset. 

I was just wearing a modern dress under this, so had to crop the un-flattering, un-supported bosom part out. But you can see how the corset fits and smooths the figure. 

I discovered that bras were worn with corsets like these. I have come across quite a few photographs of original brassieres from this era and they look strikingly similar to some modern bras. It makes no sense to me to wear BOTH a bra AND a corset (why not just combine the two and have just 1 supportive undergarment instead?) but fashion does not always follow common sense. 

This is from earlier than the 'teens but wow - it really looks no different than a modern  bra!

It seems some bras were combined with corset covers and some were worn plain, with a corset cover on top. I am still trying to learn if bras were ever worn under the corset and chemise like a modern bra but it seems that sources would indicate they are worn on top of the chemise and the corset and may fasten to the corset to keep itself in place, as shown here in this advertisement from Lady Carolyn's interesting blog post: 

In passing, underwear of this era is really very frustrating and complicated. At least to someone coming from the early Victorian era, where a chemise, corset, drawers and petticoats were all that was needed to create a fashionable silhouette. 

After looking at a number of styles of brassieres, I decided I liked the look of this one: 

It is similar to the free pattern for a 1910's brassiere Jenni has graciously shared with us at Historically Dressed. 

I draped a bodice today that is meant to give a similar look. It is cut with princess seams since for me it is easier to get a smoother fit when using princess seams instead of darts. It is cut with the straps cut as part of the bodice instead of separately. It is fitted to my natural waist but I think for my final brassiere I will shorten the waistline a tad. The waistline of my corset hits me at about rib level so it is a little high waisted so as to give the fashionable smooth-hip look. 

I just don't know how much support is needed. Do I go for a medieval-style, bust-popping level of support or just a gentle, natural, slightly lifted support? The support of the current mock up is somewhere in the middle. It lifts the bosom up so it is above the rib-cage waistline of the corset but it is not so high as to be screaming "hey! look at meeeeeee!!"

This advertisement from Vintage Ad Browser seems to support the idea of having a moderate level of bust support although it is from the late 'teens. I like that it shows a real woman wearing a bra and corset instead of a drawn illustration. 

So, we'll see what comes of experimentation. There are so many freaking undergarments in this period. My gosh. I don't know if or when I will ever get to the shirtwaist and skirt I really want from this period!

Love,

Sarah