Making an Embroidered Suit: Coat

An embroidered coat, c. 1770-1780, from Manchester Art Gallery.

In the 18th century, menswear was generally quite elaborate. Not only was it colourful (including pinks and purples) with suits of clothes often matching, but court clothes could also be extensively embroidered.

The coat of the late 18th century began to be cut further away from the centre front below the waist, revealing more of the breeches and waistcoat than it had before. This meant that the coat could not be buttoned up, and often had only one or two functional buttonholes at the chest level, or sometimes a few hooks-and-eyes to fasten it closed at the top.

The skirts were not as full or as wide as they had been previously in the 17th and early 18th centuries, but there was still a significant amount of fabric pleated at the back in the skirts of the coat. These “skirts” reached to behind the knees.

Court suits, including the coats, were made from silk and were elaborately embroidered. Silk coats were generally lined, whereas their woollen counterparts could often be unlined.

Collars, particularly small standing collars, were becoming more common as the 18th century progressed, and it offered a prominent place to put embroidery for those coats designed for court use.

Fabric was very expensive during this era, more expensive than the labour to make the clothes, and so fabric would often be pieced together when the panels were not going to be big enough to fit the body. This is frequently seen in the skirts of the coats of this period. With embroidered coats, the join could also be performed for the purposes of conserving the look of the embroidery.

After I had finished (mostly) embroidering the jacket onto lengths of fabric, I was ready to turn it into an 18th century coat.

The finished panel, showing the two fronts at the top, the pocket flaps on the right, the buttons (unfinished here), and the cuffs at the bottom.

Pattern

I used the pattern from the book, Costume Close-Up, by Linda Baumgarten, as a guide. I did a mock-up and fitted it to check and see what alterations to the pattern were needed. Extra width around the middle, extra length to the skirts, and extra over the shoulder area were the major changes I made to the pattern.

Construction

Step 1: I began by cutting out the pieces of the body of the coat. These were: Front panels, back panels, pocket flaps. (I saved the sleeves, cuffs and collar for later!)

The front panels have been cut, along with a strip to serve as interfacing. You can see the join in the fabric on the right.

Step 2: The back pieces were sewn together, for both the lining and the outer.

The back panels are sewn together at the centre back seam. The vent is left open.

Step 3: The front pieces were sewn to their lining pieces at the centre front. At this stage, I have also sewn the lining fronts to the lining backs along the side seams.

The front panels have been sewn to the lining pieces (with a strip of cloth for interfacing). In this photo you can also see the pocket flap being put in place.

Step 4: The pocket flap was sewn, pinning the embroidered panel right sides with a lining piece.

The pocket flap sewn, but not turned the right way yet.

Step 5: A slash was made for the pocket bags. I make a slash that has a sideways V at each end, and looks like this: >—-<

Then I folded over the raw edges and whipstitched it to the pocket bags, which also had their raw edges folded outwards.

The finished pocket with flap raised and bag attached to the slash.

The pocket flap, finished.

Here is the coat so far, with the centre back outer panel still not sewn in.

The coat so far, laying spread out – inside down – with the outside showing.

Step 6: The back outer panel was then sewn to the front outer panels. To be honest, this could have been done earlier (more in the manner of making a normal coat with lining!) but I had really wanted to sort out the front panel with the embroidery first. In some ways it would have been easier to leave the back lining off and then slipstitch it in place, rather than leaving the back outer off and then fiddle around figuring out how to sew it on. I think I did it this way because the lining was a bit sturdier than the outer fabric and easier to do fittings with. The shoulder seams of the outer layer were then sewn.

Step 7: The sleeves were cut in two pieces, as sleeves were in this period, and sewn together. The sleeve lining was inserted into the sleeve outer and then sewn to the coat as one layer.

The two-piece sleeve outer, with the lining inside.

Step 8: The cuff panels were cut out. Firstly I sewed the cuff to its lining along the embroidered edge.

The cuff has been sewn to the lining along the embroidered edge.

Then it was opened out and sewn along the side seam. This meant that the raw edges on the side seams of the cuff would be contained.

The cuff and lining have been opened out, folded over and sewn along the side seam.

Then the seams were pressed open, the lining was folded over to properly back the embroidered panel, and it was ironed again. Then the cuff was sewn to the bottom of the sleeve.

The cuff is pinned ready to sew. The RIGHT side (embroidered side) of the cuff is pinned to the WRONG side of the sleeve. This means that when the cuff is folded to the right side, the raw edges of the seam will be not be rubbing on the wrist.

Step 9: The collar was cut out. I did not embroider this part initially, as I was not confident of it fitting correctly! I had planned to do the embroidery once it was fitted, however I ran out of time. My consolation was that another collar can be attached later!

The collar is cut out, from top to bottom: the pattern piece, the outer, the interfacing, the lining.

Step 10: A horizontal slash was made at the back for the back pleat, and it was pleated and sewn. Then the raw edges of the back panels were folded in and slipstitched together. The same was done with the front panels. Once all the raw edges were dealt with, the skirts were pleated, ironed and held in place with tacking stitches and buttons, as is outlined in Costume Close-Up.

The back view, finished. You can see the horizontal slashes and pleats at the centre back.

Step 11: The buttons were embroidered and covered and sewn on. I used some plastic pirate money for the button base! I ran out of time to do the centre front buttons, but all the others were done.

The finished buttons

Once the coat was finished and tried on, I discovered something was wrong with the fit around the shoulders, neck and arms. This necessitated it being unpicked and reworked, which was very annoying!! This meant that the centre front no longer meets as I had wanted it to. The importance of fitting is restated again!

The front view, shown on a female dress form (which alters how it looks a bit).

However, there are many portraits of men wearing their coats open that look the same as this one, so I am slightly mollified!

The side view

The cuffs, all finished.

This was an extremely challenging project. If I were to repeat the process, I think I would have made a plain 18th century coat first. Then I could have dealt with all the pattern alterations on something that could be easily altered, and then had a good pattern to work with when starting the embroidery.

The embroidery of this coat took 2 months, sewing almost everyday for up to 5 hours. The bits that were not completed were the collar, the front buttons, and embroidery at the back vent. As this was for an event (so I had a firm deadline), I just had to do as much as I could manage.

I am really happy with how it turned out, but I would love to finish off the rest of the embroidery at some stage. Stay tuned for my next post on making the waistcoat – coming soon!

Related Posts

Making an Embroidered Suit: Embroidery

MY Mr Knightley: Making a Regency Tailcoat 

Sources and Relevant Links

Image Source, An embroidered coat, c. 1770-1780, from Manchester Art Gallery

Costume Close-Up, by Linda Baumgarten – buy on Amazon

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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

To all my readers, I wish you a belated Merry Christmas and a wondrous New Year, full of costuming and historical goodness!

I wanted to share with you my Christmas tree from this year. The lead-up to Christmas was a bit stressful for me, so lots of traditional Christmas things were left undone! However, I was particularly proud of my moment of inspiration for a quick and easy Christmas tree.

My Christmas tree for 2017

I have not blogged for the last half of this year, mainly because my time was taken up with a few commissions, but I have been still madly sewing for myself and my family. This means that I have a list of blog posts that need to be written in order to catch up!! So I hope to begin afresh next year and share with you some of my creations.

All the best for your creations in the New Year!

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Titanic Panic! – Making an Evening Gown

Evening gown, made from silk and linen, embroidered with metal and glass beads, c. 1913-1914, from the National Museum of Norway.

Talk about Titanic Panic! Work had to begin on the gown!

Gowns had begun to change in a new and different way during 1908. Waistlines suddenly rose. Skirts suddenly clung to the legs. And an entirely different set of undergarments were needed to achieve this hip-hugging new look.

Evening gowns during the early 1910s were all generally “built” on a bodice, which could often be completely hidden beneath all of the outer draped layers. This bodice was often boned and could reach from above the bustline to below the natural waist.

On top of this bodice was mounted all of the other layers. The skirts, often several layers in contrasting colours and different lengths, was sewn or tacked to the bodice. The first layer of skirt was most often a soft, flowing silk satin, and was then followed by a lighter and more sheer layer, such as silk chiffon or netting. Sometimes there were several of these sheer layers, of two or more colours, to add depth or interest, and these layers were often beaded, sometimes very heavily. Evening gowns could be trained with either a square, pointed or rounded shape.

Evening gown, made from blue silk satin and chiffon, c. 1912, from Augusta Auctions.

The sleeves of this era were cut in the same style as a Japanese kimono sleeve, which gave a very draped and flowing appearance. These soft sleeves were often mounted on top of a fitted sleeve made from chiffon or net, which provided the structure to the outer sleeve to prevent them falling down. They generally reached to just above the elbow, but could be shorter. Sometimes these kimono-style sleeves even formed a part of the bodice, as the sleeve did not attach to the armhole, but rather the sleeve and the shoulder were one piece. This line of drapery was then just extended down to the waistband at the front and the back.

Once the sleeve-shoulder-bodice pieces were themselves tacked onto the under bodice, a wide waistband was used to cover it all. This waistband clearly marked the higher waistline of this period, and a sash could often be hanging from the waistband at the back.

Pattern

I used the pattern of an evening gown from 1909-10 (made by Madame Hayward), in Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion 2. There was some alterations I was keen to make, but it provided a good starting point.

An evening gown in ivory silk satin and black net, c. 1909-1910, from Patterns of Fashion 2.

This gown uses a small kimono sleeve, which has a larger bodice mounted on an under bodice which cannot be seen. I decided to use the underbodice from this pattern, making it a bit higher at the front, and then extend the sleeves so they came down to the waistband, and thereby do away with the outer bodice you can see in the picture. The skirts I intended to make were basically the same as this pattern.

The construction of this dress seemed very complicated when reading it all through, so I did skip some minor things that didn’t seem necessary to me. However, due to its complicated nature, the length of this post is much longer than normal.

I used a polyester taffeta for the dress (I was pleased to find one dress in this era made from taffeta!), flatlined with cotton broadcloth and overlaid with a silk chiffon. The undersleeves were made from soft polyester tulle.

Construction Steps

Step One: The bodice

First I drafted the pattern out, did a mock up and fitted it with my corset on. The calico mock up pieces became my new pattern.

The pattern for the bodice, showing the original pattern below and my adjusted calico pattern above.

I flatlined each panel with white cotton broadcloth and sewed all the panels together. The raw edges were neatened as one.

The bodice panels are all sewn together.

Then I attached boning channels to the seams. I used some twill tape and sewed each side of the tape to the seam allowances, so the channel sits in the centre of the seam but is not seen from the outside. I used solid nylon (plastic) boning.

The bodice seams are all boned.

As per Janet Arnold’s instructions, the top of the bones stand free.

The boning channel stands free at the top. You can see that I have hand stitched the top of the casing to hold the bones.

Note: It was clear to me when I fitted the bodice with the boning attached, that the original gown was probably meant to go over a mid-bust corset, rather than an underbust, as there is little bust shaping in the bodice. As I had made an underbust corset, the boning in the bodice did not behave as it normally would have. I ended up increasing the length of the boning strips in three of the seams; the centre front and the two side-front seams. This helped the front of the bodice to conform to my shape better.

A thin flat metal bone was put in the centre back edges. Then I attached hooks and eyes on the centre back seam, which met edge to edge. (Later on I did sew a little flap on the inside so that any gaping on the centre back seam was less noticeable.)

The hooks are attached to the gown beneath a facing. There is also a facing on the “eye” side, which are both slipstitched down.

Step Two: The net undersleeves

The pattern for the net undersleeves, cut in polyester tulle.

The undersleeves were sewn together. The pattern indicates that a line of elastic is sewn along the neckline edge to help the sleeve stay on the shoulder.

The undersleeve sewn, with the elastic sewn on the lefthand edge.

The undersleeve was sewn to the top edge of the bodice. A fitting at the point is good to establish that your sleeves are in the right spot for your body.

The undersleeve is attached right-sides-together to the bodice. There is a bit of extra netting fabric in the allowance to trim away.

To finish the top edge of the bodice, I sewed a strip of insertion lace which could be drawn up with a ribbon.

A length of lace is sewn around the top of the bodice to neaten the edge. The eyes can be seen on the left of picture. You can also see the lengthened boning on the right of the picture.

The bottom edge of the bodice was hemmed with a length of bias binding, sewn right-sides-together, turned to the inside and handsewn down to cover the raw edge.

A grosgrain ribbon (to act as a petersham waistband) was stitched at the natural waistline on the inside of the bodice. It was attached at the centre front boning channel and the two side-front boning channels with herringbone stitch. This waistband is fastened with a hook and eye.

The petersham waistband sewn in. You can see the lace inserts tacked in at the neckline too (Step Six).

The bodice was now finished.

The front of bodice

The back of bodice, showing the ribbon that ties up and keeps the top edge of the bodice tight.

Step Three: The skirt layers

I cut out the underskirt and sewed the side seams and back seam, leaving a bit open for a placket. There is also a small piece added along the placket edge to hide any gaps in the skirt.

It was important to re-fit at this stage, as the skirts are designed to fit fairly snugly over the hips but should still be roomy enough to sit down in.

The underskirt (with train) is cut out. You can see the placket “flap” already attached on the left.

I cut out the chiffon overskirt and sewed the seams together. (I always zigzag all raw edges of chiffon before I start sewing it too!) An opening is again left in the centre back for the placket.

The top edges of both skirt layers were neatened with a zigzag, and the top edge of the chiffon skirt was gathered to help with the easing of the skirt around the bodice. The skirts were then pinned in place, flat against the bodice, and handsewn through all layers with a running backstitch.

The skirts are attached to the bodice with a back stitch. (The lace at the bottom was eventually used at the neckline.)

At the back placket, the chiffon was hand stitched to the underskirt. Hooks and “thread loop” eyes were added to the back placket to close the skirt opening.

The back skirt placket, shown here half done up.

Step Four: The chiffon oversleeves

I cut out the chiffon oversleeves, first draping them to get an idea of how long and wide they should be. They are cut in the same style and shape as a kimono style sleeve.

The chiffon sleeves cut out, with the neck edge against the selvedge. The under-arm shape is yet to be cut out.

Once I had neatened the raw edges of the chiffon, I draped it on the stand to work out the under-arm shape. I made sure to test out the range of movement of the arm as well, as this can be adjusted by how the sleeve is pinned at the waistline.

The under arm section is pinned, ready to sew and then trim back.

The underarm seam goes down the underside of the arm, and then down the side of the body. The resulting side seam should mean that the bottom edge of the sleeve can be sewn to the bodice around the waist area. I sewed this edge down (already neatened) with the same running backstitch through all thicknesses as before with the skirts. This untidy looking midriff area will be covered with the sash in following steps.

I sewed overlapping sequins along the neckline of the gown. This had the double effect of attaching the chiffon sleeves to the net sleeves underneath, whilst also attaching the chiffon sleeves to the front and back of the bodice. I sewed a similar row of sequins along the arm edge of the sleeve, turning under the zigzagged edge to neaten it.

The sequins are handsewn around the neck edge of the sleeves (shown only on the right here).

Step Five: The waistband and sash

I cut the sash and waistband out as per the pattern given by Janet Arnold, only adding a bit of extra length in case I should need it. The waistband was a straight piece of fabric, 3 inches wide, which had to be pleated to fit the tapered angle of the high waist. Once pleated to my satisfaction (which took a long time!), and with the raw edges turned under, I hand stitched the waistband in place on the bodice using a slip stitch, making sure to go through all layers to properly anchor it. I also stitched the waistband pleats in place with small slipstitches, as the taffeta did not want to stay in its pressed position.

The waistband, side back view, showing the pleating to help shape it.

I cut two layers of each sash, sewing them right-sides-together and turning them the right way to get two sashes. I did an inverted box pleat in the top of each sash, making sure that the resulting size fitted the waistband area.

The two sashes, with a box pleat at the top.

The bigger sash was attached underneath the waistband (on the left side) with hand stitches, making sure to go through all layers to properly anchor it.

The larger sash is attached on the left side, underneath the waistband.

The smaller sash was attached to the left side of the waistband on an angle, which required some adjustment and pinning in place so that it hung down straight. It was hand sewn onto the waistband securely.

The smaller sash is attached on an angle on the right side of the waistband. It hangs down over the larger sash.

Hooks and eyes were added to do up the overlapping waistband.

Step Six: Decorating and embellishing

A beaded fringe was attached to the bottom edge of the chiffon skirts, with the zigzagged edge turned up to neaten it. Another row of overlapping sequins was sewn over the top of these stitches.

The beaded fringe is sewn on by machine, turning up the zigzagged edge.

Beading and sequins were then sewn in a graduating way up the chiffon skirt.

The beaded fringe, the sequins and beading, all completed.

Lace sections were sewn to the front and back neckline to conveniently cover some of the undergarments that kept peeking through. The raw edges of these lace sections were bound with cotton tape and then tacked in place.

Lace was cut to fit in the front and back neckline. The one pictured is for the front.

The back lace section was cut in half at the centre back and then had a hook and eye attached so it could be done up.

Step Seven: The hem and train

The hem was faced with a piece of cotton flannette (wool flannel in the original example), which reached up 12 inches from the front hem. This hem facing was sewn, right-sides-together, around the bottom raw edges of the skirt and up the side slit.

The front hem facing is pinned and cut to shape to match the skirt.

The back hem is cut to form a pointed train and the hem facing is pinned ready to sew.

The facing was then handsewn down from the inside. Any stitches that were showing are covered by the chiffon overskirt.

A lead weight was sewn into the facing to help weight the train down, and a hook and eye was attached so that the train could be folded up if needed.

The lead weight sewn into a little square of flannelette, with the hook shown.

I found this gown was quite complicated to make, but I was very pleased with my efforts when it was finished. There were many low points, like cutting a hole in it and struggling with fitting issues.

The front view

The back view

Finally, it is all completed and now its time for some real Titanic panic!

I thoroughly enjoyed my evening out!

I hope you have enjoyed my Titanic-costuming-adventure as much as I did. Now its time for a cup of tea and a lie down!

Related Posts

Titanic Panic! – Making a chemise/drawer combination suit

Titanic Panic! – Making a 1911 corset

Sources and Relevant Links

Image Source: An evening gown, c. 1913-14, from the National Museum of Norway (Nasjonalmuseet).

Image Source: An evening gown, c. 1912, from Augusta Auctions

Patterns of Fashion 2: Englishwomen’s dresses and their construction, by Janet Arnold – buy on Amazon

Evening gown (c. 1909-1910) made by Madame Hayward, from Museum of London.

How to do a running backstitch, by Felt Magnet

How to make thread loops, by Historical Sewing

Dressing for Dinner on the Titanic: Early 1910s Evening Dress, by Demode Couture

Free pattern from an extant evening gown at Chapman Historical Museum, made from silk and chiffon, c. 1911-1913, patterned by Cassidy Percolo.

“Titanic” Theatre Restaurant – Williamstown, Melbourne, Aus.

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Making a Robe a l’Anglaise: Closed Front Gown

The next part of my latest 18th century ensemble is the closed-front robe a l’anglaise, with en fourreau pleats at the back.

The robe a l’anglaise was fashionable for an extended period of time during the 18th century. Literally, “the English gown”, it was characterised most generally by a fitted bodice, in contrast to the robe a la francaise which had a pleated-and-draped back that flowed free from the shoulders.

During the 18th century, the Anglaise often had a long centre-back panel piece, extending from the shoulder to the floor. This back piece was then formed into a series of sewn-down pleats on the dress bodice (the “en fourreau” back) which were then released to form fullness into the skirt of the gown.

Towards the later half of the 18th century, the gown began to be seen with a closed front bodice, even though the skirt could remain open revealing a matching or contrasting petticoat. The front of the gown could be closed with hook and eyes, or by long pins. The skirts could be trained, or pulled up polonaise-style, or left at the same length as the petticoat.

A robe a l’anglaise with an en fourreau back, shown over a quilted petticoat, c. 1770-1780, from Patterns of Fashion 1, by Janet Arnold.

Pattern

The pattern I wanted to do for this dress was another of Janet Arnold’s patterns, in Patterns of Fashion 1. It has a closed front bodice, with an open skirt. The back is cut en fourreau, and the skirts are gathered up in a polonaise-style. The gown is shown over a quilted petticoat, whereas mine will be over a matching petticoat.

The pattern is made up of several pieces:

• Front bodice panel
• Front bodice lining panel
• Back (bodice and skirt) panel
• Back bodice lining panel
• Sleeves
• Shoulder band
• Skirt Front

A few points to note: Janet Arnold’s patterns do not include seam allowances; and I always do a mock up of the bodice over the correct stays before I begin. In this case, I did a mock-up of the lining pieces so I had an accurate idea of how it would fit me and could adjust the pattern accordingly.

This gown is made with a printed cotton fabric and lined with white cotton broadcloth. It is entirely hand sewn.

Construction Steps

Step 1: The first place to start seemed with the en fourreau pleats in the back panel. I happened upon a great article by The Merry Dressmaker (En Fourreau Back – The Lazy Dressmaker’s Version) and decided that this was a great way to do it.

The back lining piece had a curved centre back seam to allow for fullness at the bottom of the bodice for a false rump, so this seam was sewn first. Then I began pleating the back panel, making sure I had the back lining piece to use as a comparison of finished size.

Most of these types of gowns had 3 pleats on each side of the back bodice. The first pleat was generally pleated into the middle of the back, and the second and third pleats were turned to the sides, however there are some instances where they were all pleated in towards the back. They tended to be curved pleats, which accentuated the slimming look of the waistline. It took me quite a few tries to get the pleating to look right.

The en fourreau pleats have been pinned down to the lining.  The first pleats are curved and have been drawn into meet at the centre back. The second and third pleats are straight and have been folded in towards the centre back. (You can also see in this picture that the front bodice panel has been pinned to the back panel at the sides as well.)

Then I laid the back bodice lining piece underneath (wrong sides together) and did a running stitch through all layers to secure the pleats. The pleats are secured down to where the skirts begin, and are then released to allow the fullness into the skirt.

Step 2: The front bodice panel was then sewn to the sides of the back panel. I did this by laying the outer-fabric front panel with the outer-fabric back pleated panel, right sides together. The front lining panel was put with the back lining panel, also right sides together. This created a seam with four layers. Then the seam was pinned and sewn through all thicknesses.

The front panel in the outer-fabric can be seen on the left. The front panel in lining fabric can be seen to the right. The seam (in the middle) is sewn through all thickness, which means the seam allowance is pushed towards the side.

This means that, once the front panels are placed together, the raw seam allowance is already hidden within the lining of the garment.

Step 3: The skirt panels were sewn together, front skirts to back skirt-bodice piece. I left a 10-inch gap in the top of the side seams for a pocket slit.

The skirts are then pleated and sewn (right sides together) to the outer fabric. The skirts do not meet in the front, as there is a large opening for the petticoat to be seen.

Interestingly, Janet Arnold comments that the skirts of her gown were sewn to the lining fabric and then the outer fabric was pulled down, the raw edges folded in, and then caught down to the waist seam (on the outside of the garment) with some stitches.

The skirt is pleated and attached to the bodice. You can see the second row of stitches that holds the pleats in position.

Step 4: Once my skirt was sewn on, the bodice lining was pulled down, with raw edges folded under, and stitched down with a slip stitch.

The lining is pinned down ready to sew. You can see the running stitches that secure the en fourreau pleats on the left. On the bottom right, you can see that the skirts stop very short of the centre front.

Step 5: The centre front bodice could be finished by folding the raw edges in and edge stitching. Instead, I folded the outer fabric over the lining and sewed it down with a slip stitch. I then inserted a very thin piece of boning down each side of the centre fronts. Boning in the centre front does not seem to be a common practice, however boning was often inserted in the backs of these bodices. I just thought that a more firm centre front bodice would help me with fastening.

Initially I had wanted the centre front to be fastened edge-to-edge with hooks and eyes, but I changed my mind when I couldn’t get the hooks and eyes to sit properly. I ended up making a bit of overlap on the left centre front piece so that the right edge could be pinned over the top, to match up the stripes more accurately.

The centre front closure, shown with right overlapping left, and closed with only two pins. I had used about 6 pins during wear.

Step 6: The sleeves were flat-lined with cotton broadcloth, and the sleeve seams sewn through all thickness. The seam allowances were then folded under and slip stitched down.

The sleeves were then attached to the bodice with a backstitch, ONLY under the arm. For an explanation of how to fit sleeves the 18th century way, American Duchess has done a great tutorial which I found very useful!

There is also a great video on how to pattern sleeves to have greater mobility in garments, particularly in fitted bodices. I found this a great video, as it explains to me why the shape of sleeves look so different in historical garment pattern pieces. I used this technique in this gown, and it greatly increased my arm movement!

Step 7: The sleeve head was then pleated to fit over the shoulder and the shoulder band was stitched on top. Once again, see the American Duchess tutorial for a great explanation of this technique.

The finished sleeve head.

The bottom of the sleeve was hemmed and finished with trim.

Step 8: The back top edge of the bodice in Janet Arnold’s book was finished by turning the raw edges in and edge stitching, however my en fourreau pleats were sewn to the lining and prevented me from doing this. I decided to cover it with a “back-binder” piece, common for gowns of this period. There is a gown in Costume Close-Up (by Linda Baumgarten) that is constructed in this way.

The back-binder piece

If you look closely you will see that the back binder piece does not join the shoulder band properly, however by that stage I was happy that it covered the raw edges!

The rest of the raw edges of the bodice (along the neckline and along the front of the waist) were turned in and edge-stitched.

Step 9: Finishing touches! The bottom edge of the gown was hemmed, allowing for a slight train if left down.

The front edges of the gown skirts and the neckline were finished with trim.

The trim around the neckline.

Four tapes were sewn to the inside of the gown skirts; two on the bottom of the back bodice, and two on the skirts at the back. These can be tied together to create a polonaise effect over the false rump.

The tapes sewn to the inside of the skirts, and tied up to form a polonaise.

Here are some of the finished pictures from the Jane Austen Festival Australia, 2016. This outfit was worn on the Georgian Day of the Festival.

The front view; I ended up wearing my pockets over the top of the petticoat, but under the gown. This meant that they could be easily reached through the front of the gown, instead of through the pocket slits.

The side view

The back view. When the polonaise is down, the skirt trains slightly on the ground. And sorry, but the fichu is annoyingly crooked!

The gown is shown here with my pair of embroidered lawn ruffles, my embroidered muslin fichu and my embroidered pockets (sitting over the petticoat but hiding under the gown). I am very pleased with the outfit overall!

Related Posts

Does My Bum Look Big in This? – Making an 18th Century Rump

Making a Robe a l’Anglaise: Matching Petticoat

Sources and Relevant Links

Patterns of Fashion 1: Englishwomen’s dresses and their construction, c. 1660-1860, by Janet Arnold – on Amazon

En Fourreau Back – The Lazy Dressmaker’s Version, by The Merry Dressmaker

Setting 18th Century Sleeves the 18th Century Way – by American Duchess

How to modify sleeves for better arm mobility – video by Threads Magazine

Costume Close-up: Clothing Construction and Pattern, 1750-1790, by Linda Baumgarten- on Amazon

Classic Georgian Hairstyle – by Locks of Elegance

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An Anne of Green Gables dress

Anne Shirley (played by Megan Follows), in “Anne of Green Gables” (1985)

My daughter expressed a desire to go to Book Week as Anne of Green Gables this year, so after raiding my fabric stash I launched into making her a costume.

Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery, was set in the early 1900’s, in the Edwardian era. There was great variety in what girls would wear during this time, in terms of the embellishments and cut of the clothes.

Throughout the first movie of Anne of Green Gables, girls tended to wear dresses with long sleeves, reaching to mid-calf. Over the top of this they would wear a type of pinafore apron, which was commonly worn in the era to protect their dresses from the everyday rigours of children’s play.

Pattern

I decided to try the paper draping technique I had tried previously (for the Oliver Twist vest and the girl’s Regency gown).

This whole ensemble was made in a weekend, so I didn’t take any progress pictures.

Dress

For the dress, I worked mainly with paper draping for the bodice.

The bodice has a front bodice panel (cut on the fold) and two back panels, with a centre back button placket and 5 buttons to do it up. For the skirts, there is a front skirt panel (cut on the fold) and one back skirt panel with a continuous placket in the centre back, plus two long sleeves with puffy sleeve heads. The collar I drafted with scrap material to get the shape right. It is made of two crescent-moon-shaped pieces, lined with plain material. The neckline is neatened with a bias binding strip, which was all turned to the inside and handsewn down.

The only uncertainty I have with this dress is whether the waistline should be a bit lower – that is, at the natural waistline – as many dresses are from the Edwardian era. However, once it is covered with the apron it is not really noticeable.

The front view of the dress

The back view of the dress

Apron

The apron consists of a yoke, with a front panel (cut on the centre front fold) and two back panels, with a centre back button placket and 2 buttons to do it up. The skirts are made up of a front panel and two back panels, which are just rectangles of material gathered to fit the yoke.

For the apron, I actually just laid the fabric on my daughter and cut! I was a little terrified, but the shapes are fairly basic and there is no complicated fitting in these aprons, so I thought it was worth the risk.

The only thing that I had to ensure was that the neckline of the apron sat below the neckline of the dress, so that the collar would lay down neatly over the top.

The back detail of the apron

The front view of the apron

The back view of the apron

The side view; there are no gathers under the arms.

I was really pleased with the ease in which this costume was created, and how effective it looks. It is one of the great things about historical children’s clothing, that they tend to be so simple in construction! All up this costume only cost me the 5 buttons for the dress, as everything else I found in my stash.

I have never thoroughly researched children’s wear in the Edwardian period, so this piece is not really historically accurate in the sense that it is firmly based on what children wore in this era. However, it looks similar to the costumes in the Anne of Green Gables movie, which is what I was going for!

Related Posts

Drafting a Pattern for a Girl’s Regency Gown

A Bend in the Road

The Simple Pleasures in Life

Sources and Relevant Links

How to sew a Continuous Placket – by Sewaholic

Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery – read online

“Good Taste and Bad Taste in Dressing Edwardian Children” – at Victoriana Magazine

Children’s Costume 1900-1910 – at Fashion Era .com

Anne’s Wardrobe: What’s your favourite outfit? – at Sullivan Entertainment

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Making an Early 1870’s Gown: Evening bodice

The drawing in Janet Arnold’s “Pattern of Fashion 2”.

In the first part of this series, I concentrated on making the skirts of this early-1870’s gown. The skirts have such a nice drapery about them!

For this post I will be looking at the construction of the ballgown bodice. Ballgown bodices of this era often had short sleeves or were occasionally sleeveless. They were quite decorated around the bust and sleeve area, and often appeared to be almost off-the-shoulder.

Pattern

The pattern I am using is from Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion 2. This particular gown has three separate skirts (the underskirt, the overskirt and the basque), as well as two bodices (the evening bodice and the day bodice).

I normally post pictures of all the pattern pieces, but I have found this gown slightly more complicated than others that I have done, so I suggest purchasing the book if you are intending to make this particular garment. Instead I have listed the pieces below:

• Bodice front (cut 2, plus 2 lining)
• Bodice back (cut 1 on fold, plus 1 lining on fold)
• Bertha (left, right, front and back) (cut 4, plus 4 lining and 4 net)
• Sleeve (cut 2)
• Sleeve lining and gusset (cut 2 of each)
• Sleeve band (cut 2)
• Waistband (cut 1, plus 1 lining)

This garment was made from a printed striped cotton fabric and the lining was a white cotton broadcloth. The trims on the garment are made from a polyester shot maverick shantung.

I made a mock-up of the bodice first, just to sort out any fitting issues. I had to adjust the bertha quite significantly to fit it properly, and the waistline had to be enlarged.

Construction Steps

Step One: Once the pattern pieces were cut out, I mounted the outer fabric of the bodice pieces onto their corresponding lining pieces and treated them as one.

Step Two: I sewed the bodice side seams, then the front darts to fit. I sewed the shoulder seams.

The darts and side seams all sewn. The shoulder seams are yet to be sewn.

Step Three: The bertha has an outer layer (cotton), lining layer (cotton) and inner layer of stiff net. There are four bertha pieces (front left and right, and back left and right), so altogether you should have cut out 12 pieces (four bertha pieces each in outer, lining and net).

Note: In the pattern the bertha pieces are all the same shape (for both front and back) but I had to adjust this in order for the garment to fit properly. My front and back bertha pieces, therefore, are different shapes.

I sewed each of these four bertha pieces to their corresponding layers (outer, net, lining layers) together on the upper edge.

The bertha (front left piece) sewn to all its layers (outer, net, lining) along the upper edge. It is now opened up and pinned to the front right piece along the centre front.

You should now have four bertha pieces that are all attached along the upper edge. Now they need to be attached in the centre front and centre back. Do this by opening the pieces out and pinning right sides together at the centre front/back and sew.

The bertha is sewn at centre front (and likewise at centre back, not shown). Clip seam allowances and turn right side out and press.

The front and back bertha pieces are now sewn at the shoulder seams.

Step Four: The bertha can now be attached to the bodice. Match centre fronts and backs and shoulder seams. Sew the bertha outer layer (including the net) to the upper edge of the bodice (right sides together). Press the seam towards the bertha and turn the raw edge of the bertha lining under. Slip stitch it down.

The bertha is attached. The bertha lining is being turned under and hand sewn down.

Step Five: Sew the sleeve seam. Gather the top and bottom edge of the sleeves (outer).

The sleeves are gathered top and bottom.

For the sleeve lining, slash the mark and insert the gusset. Sew the sleeve seam.

The lining sewn, showing the slash with gusset inserted.

Mount the sleeve outer on top of the sleeve lining (wrong sides together) and pin. Attach the sleeve band, turning the excess to the inside and slip stitching the raw edges under.

The sleeve mounted on the lining and sleeve band attached. The raw edges of the sleeve band are pinned under and are ready to hand sew.

The sleeves can then be attached to the bodice.

Step Six: Attach the waistband to the bottom edge of the bodice.

Step Seven: Attach lace around the bottom of the sleeves and around the neckline. I used a 2 inch wide insertion lace. A thin cotton cord can be used to draw the fullness of the lace in so that the bodice does not fall down over the shoulders.

The front of the bodice, showing the cord lacing up the insertion lace at the front. The trim is also sewn down.

Step Eight: Make the trim (the same as is detailed in “the skirts” post) and attach it around the sleeve cuff, and around the bertha as per the diagram in Janet Arnold’s book.

Step Nine: Attach hooks and eyes down the centre front of the bodice. The centre front of the bertha meets edge to edge with the trim hiding the hooks and eyes, but further down on the bodice I created an overlap to more effectively hide the hooks and eyes.

The hooks and eyes sewn to fasten at the front. They are tucked behind a slight overlap in the fabric.

Three waistband/trouser bars were also sewn to the back of the bodice waistband to correspond to matching hooks on the basque.

The back of the bodice, showing the hooks and bars sewn to attach the basque.

All finished! My dressmakers form is not the same shape as my corseted body but hopefully you get the idea.

The front view

The back view

My last post in this series will be about making the day bodice for this ensemble. For more information on my costuming, go to my Costumes page.

Related Posts

Making an Early 1870’s Gown: Skirts

Making a Victorian Corset

Sources and Relevant Links

Patterns of Fashion 2: Englishwomens’ gowns and their construction, by Janet Arnold – buy on Amazon

Setting a gusset – by Sempstress

Attaching a waistband – by Fashion Freaks (This tutorial is for a skirt, but the same principles apply.)

1871 ballgown – by Before the Automobile (See this beautiful version of this dress made by someone else!)

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Making a Steampunk Shirt

Pinterest is full of ideas on how to upcycle button-up shirts into steampunk outfits!

I have recently enjoyed a little excursion in the world of steampunk. I suddenly came up with the idea to go to a steampunk event with some friends and I needed to make a quick and easy costume. I started with a skirt and then moved onto a blouse made from an ordinary shirt.

Steampunk is the name given to a new and modern reinterpretation of Victorian clothing. Essentially, Victorian clothing elements (such as lace, corsets, bustles and flounces) are combined with industrial themes (such as metal, leather, and dark colours) to create a very modern and often burlesque look. As I don’t really like black, I have come up with a bit of a lighter and brighter idea, but I feel it is still worth sharing.

I started with an ordinary button up shirt that I bought from a second-hand shop.

The shirt I started with; long-sleeved, button-up, with cuffs. Cotton spandex blend with a “tucked” texture woven into it.

Construction Steps

Step 1: Cut off the sleeves at elbow length. Cut out two “windows” on each side of the upper chest. Trim the bottom edge to desired shape.

The shirt trimmed back

Step 2: Sew lace onto chest area. I tucked the raw edges of the lace underneath the shirt and topstitched through all layers. But the scalloped edge of the lace I placed on top of the shirt and topstitched through all layers.

The lace placed in the cut-out section.

Step 3: Sew lace along bottom edge of shirt. I pressed the seam upwards and topstitched to hold it in place.

The lace sewn to the bottom edge.

Step 4: Out of the scraps I made the new cuffs. I needed 8 quarters of a circle in order to make two full-circle cuffs. I cut 2 quarters from the bottom of the shirt, 2 from the upper part of each sleeve and 1 from the bottom part of each sleeve. (Total = 8)

The cuffs being cut out. Top: the bottom part of the shirt. Middle: Sleeve one. Bottom: Sleeve two.

I joined the cuff pieces with some insertion lace.

One cuff sewn together, containing 4 quarters of a circle pieced and joined with insertion lace to form a full circle.

The cuffs were then sewn to the bottom of the sleeve. I also hemmed the cuff by attaching some more lace trim.

The full-circle cuffs

Step 5: In order to make the shirt more fitted, I decided to add some lacing at the back. Using the placket sitting just above the sleeve cuff, I added some eyelets and sewed it to sit in the small of the back. I added pink lacing to match the skirt.

The back lacing

All finished!

The front view

This was quite a quick and easy up-cycling project. The total project cost $1 (!), as I tried to use only items that were in my stash or leftover from other projects. And the limits to this type of costume are only your imagination!

Related Posts

Making a Steampunk Skirt

Making a Victorian Fan Skirt

Sources and Relative Links

Image Source: from Pinterest

How to sew insertion lace – by Wearing History

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Making a Steampunk Skirt

Steampunk is the name given to a new and modern reinterpretation of Victorian clothing. Essentially, Victorian clothing elements (such as lace, corsets, bustles and flounces) are combined with industrial themes (such as metal, leather, and dark colours) to create a very modern and often burlesque look.

A steampunk skirt sold by Retroscope Fashions.

I – rather suddenly – decided to go to a steampunk event with some friends and needed a rather quick and easy costume for it. My idea was that I could draft a pattern of a relatively simple Victorian skirt and use some of the steam punk ideas to dress it up. I looked at several skirts on the internet and came up with a look I was happy with. Now, before sharing this quick little project, I must say that I have never made a steampunk outfit before. I also don’t really like black or brown and revealing or skimpy clothing are not really my cup of tea (probably because I am not that young and slim anymore!). So this little steampunk adventure doesn’t really feel “punky” enough to deserve the name! However, I felt that it was still worth sharing.

Pattern

After looking at several skirts online, I decided that I could use a similar pattern as my Victorian petticoat, with all the ruffles at the back. I also wanted the front cut shorter at the knees, and I wanted some draping to imitate a bustle at the back. I really liked the wider waistband (more like a yoke) that lots of steampunk skirts have, with the addition of possible lacing to imitate a corset.

Pattern Pieces:

• Front Skirt Panel – cut 1 on fold
• Side Skirt Panel – cut 2
• Back Skirt Panel – cut 1 on fold
• Back Short “Bustle” Piece – cut 1 on fold
• Back Long “Bustle” Piece – cut 1 on fold
• Front Yoke – cut 1 (plus cut 1 for lining)
• Back Yoke – cut 1 (plus cut 1 for lining)

This is the pattern layout that I began with. Remember to add any seam allowances.

This is the pattern layout for the skirt. The dotted lines across the back panel indicate the cutting line for the “bustle” pieces. This means that this back piece will need to be cut three times, each on a fold line (once for the skirt back, once for the short “bustle” piece, and once for the long “bustle” piece).

I have used some notch marks to indicate how the skirt panels are pieced together. The fold line on the front panel is the centre front and the fold line on the back panel is the centre back. The skirt part is quite easy to fit to any figure. The curve line at the top of each of the skirt panels needs to measure about 1/5th of your total waist circumference. You can make the “waist curve” in back skirt panel a little longer than this if you like, which will give the back panel more gathers. You can make the skirt length whatever you like. I have made mine to scoop up at the front.

The yoke, however, will take a bit more fitting. Maybe you have a pattern you could use with a yoke that already fits you. Otherwise you can use some scrap material to make a toile or mock-up, which can be fitted to your body and then unpicked to use for your pattern. Or you could “drape” your yoke, which is what I did. To do this, set your dressmakers form to your measurements and then pin some fabric to the centre front waist, making sure the grain line is vertical. Smooth the fabric around to the sides of the dummy. In order to make the fabric sit correctly, you will end up with a curve at the top of your yoke and a diagonal seam at the sides. Do the same with the back. Cut or pin your yoke to fit, then sew it together and try it on to double-check. My back and front yoke ended up being different sizes, but they could be the same. Semptress also has a great tutorial to make your own yoke pattern too. Unfortunately, I didn’t take as many pictures as I usually do, so my construction steps are a little sparse with diagrams!

Construction Steps

Step 1: Firstly, take the two back “bustle” pieces and sew the ruffles and lace along the bottom edge. These two “bustle” pieces are then gathered separately and laid on top of the back panel, which has also been gathered separately. Pin all layers together along the waistline. It makes sense at this point to pin the side seams of all the layers together. This will mean that the raw edges of the bustle pieces will be hidden in the seams of the skirt. I forgot to do this and instead I did Step 2 first and then I had to topstitch the “bustle” pieces to the skirt.

The two “bustle” pieces have been hemmed at the side seams and then laid on top of the skirt. A top-stitch through all layers attaches the pieces. This is not the neatest way to do it unfortunately!

Step 2: Sew all the skirt panels together, flat-felling the seams.

Step 3: Sew the front and back yoke pieces together. Sew the front and back yoke lining pieces together. With right sides together, sew the yoke and the lining together along the top curved edge. Clip curves and turn to the right side.

Step 4: Attach the skirt to the bottom curved edge of the yoke. Make sure the front side seam is sitting at the yoke side seam so that a zip can be easily inserted. Adjust the gathers of the back panel and “bustle” pieces to fit. These will probably be fairly tightly gathered!

Step 5: Sew the zip into the side seam of the yoke and into the top of the front side seam. Then handstitch the yoke lining down, folding under any raw edges.

Not precision work, but a zip none-the-less!

Step 6: Sew the ruffle and lace along the bottom edge of the skirt. My ruffles were folded lengthwise (so the ruffle did not have to be hemmed) and then pleated.

The ruffle is cut on the straight grain and folded lengthwise. Any joins are made with a seam. The entire ruffle is pleated.

Step 7: Attach two lengths of cotton tape or twill tape to the inside of the yoke, where the two back side seams of the skirt meet the yoke. Attach a button to each point where the bottom of the “bustle” pieces meets this seam; a total of four buttons. Sew buttonholes in the tape so that the skirt can be drawn up and buttoned. You can add more buttonholes to the tape so that you have more options for draping.

The inside of the skirt, at the back. You can see the two lengths of twill tape which is buttoned to four buttons.

Other optional extras:

• I really wanted to add a lacing panel to the yoke somewhere, mainly because this dress will be leant to friends and it would provide a way to draw in any fullness (as well as being a bit decorative).
• I also wanted to have a drawstring casing or some sort of clip system to the front panel (on each of the front side seams) so that the front of the dress could be drawn up over the knees.

These can always be added later. For now it is all finished!

Front view

Back view

Stay tuned for my new steampunk blouse!

Related Posts

Making a Victorian Petticoat

Making a Victorian Fan Skirt

Sources and Relative Links

Image Source: Retroscope Fashions

How to draft a skirt yoke pattern – by Semptress

How to flat-fell seams – by Sew Neau

How to sew a yoke to a skirt – video by BurdaStyle (The skirt shown here has a centre back opening, but mine has a side opening.)

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Pretty in Purple

For the past two months I have been working on a commission costume for a friend. She is attending a “Battle of Waterloo Ball” in London to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the famous defeat of Napoleon by the English, and she needed a Regency outfit.

Stays

She decided that she wouldn’t bother about a chemise, so we jumped straight into making the stays. I drafted the pattern for the stays myself, using her measurements and following a similar method that I used to draft my own.

The stays are made from two layers of white cotton drill, with the boning sandwiched in between. For the centre busk I used two clear 30cm rulers and the boning is plastic imitation “whalebone” boning. The lacing is cotton cord and I used some thin cotton tape for the front drawstring around the top of the bust. The eyelets are hand sewn using a buttonhole or blanket stitch.

She was particularly concerned about her large-ish bust presenting a problem, so I used a double row of boning underneath and to the side of the bust area. The “cups” of the corset do extend a bit higher than normal to compensate for the lack of chemise. Traditionally, the corset holds the bust underneath while the chemise contains the bust from above. In this case, I used the bodiced petticoat to contain the top part of the bust.

The front view

The side view

The back view

Bodiced Petticoat

For the petticoat, we used the Regency Wardrobe Pattern by La Mode Bagatelle. I used the “DD” sizing for the bodice part but in hindsight I probably didn’t need to, as I needed to do a fair bit of adjusting because it turned out so big.

The petticoat is made from white cotton broadcloth, with cotton tape around the top edge to draw it in over the bust. The buttons are just plain modern plastic ones. The bottom of the petticoat is hemmed with some wide bias binding, which forms a casing for some large cording. This helps the petticoat stand out from the legs and prevents the gown from clinging.

The front view

The back view

Ballgown

I drafted the pattern for the ballgown myself, using a lot of similar features that I used in my own purple Regency ballgown. However, I used the sleeve pattern from La Mode Bagatelle (View C – short sleeve). My friend gained a lot of inspiration for how she wanted her gown from one she saw at Edelweiss Patterns.

The ballgown is made from purple dupioni silk and lined with acetate bemsilk lining. The piping around the waist and sleeves is made from cotton cord and cream satin bias binding. The buttons are self-covered and there is a ribbon drawstring around the lining of the neckline.

Side and Sleeve view

The sleeves are “smocked” by sewing thread in a 1cm diamond and then pulling and knotting the threads tight. This is repeated in a honeycombed pattern across the sleeve. This creates little “puffs” on the other side of the material (which I used as the “right” side), and my friend then sewed little pearl beads to. The hemline was embellished later with some cream lace drawn up in scallops and some “flowers” made from the same lace.

In the pictures below, the dress takes on a luminescent glow from the morning sun, but the colour is actually darker purple than this.

The front view

The back view

Spencer

The cuff detail

We used the La Mode Bagatelle pattern for the spencer, using View H (minus the sleeve caps and with the addition of the peplum).

The spencer is made from a beautiful cream silk that my friend had in her “fabric stash”, but not dupioni as it has no slubs. The piping is made from cotton cord and gold bias binding. The buttons are a gold plastic button with a military design; a larger size for the front and two smaller ones for the cuff.

Instead of boning the collar (which is instructed in the pattern), I used two layers of very stiff, woven, sew-in interfacing which has worked really well.

In the pictures below, the spencer is shown over the bodiced petticoat.

The front view

The back view

The side view

I am very pleased with this little project, as I don’t normally do pattern or gown drafting for other people. And my friend is also very pleased and is looking forward to her trip overseas in a few months!

Related Posts

My Regency Journey: How to draft a corset pattern

My Regency Journey: Making a Ball Gown – my own purple ballgown

Making a Regency Spencer – my own spencer

Sources and Relevant Links

Regency Wardrobe Pattern by La Mode Bagatelle – to buy

A Pink Silk Regency Ballgown – by Edelweiss Patterns

“Smocking” instructions – on Pinterest

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Making a Victorian Petticoat

An 1880’s petticoat, worn over a bustle. From The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Another one of the numerous undergarments worn by the Victorians were petticoats, and – depending on the particular decade of the 19th century – there could be many layers of them.

I needed to make a petticoat that was worn with a bustle, generally made with layers of frills to soften the line of the cage-like structure underneath. As my bustle was most similar to those worn in the 1880’s, it was no surprise that the petticoats that really suited my purpose were ones from the 1880’s.

The one I really liked is pictured to the left, with small flounces to add body and pretty lace that could peep out the bottom of the dress. It was really unfortunate that I had so little time to incorporate any of this into my own petticoat, but I had only two days to make mine!

My fabric choice was a white cotton broadcloth, 4 metres in length.

Pattern

I made my own pattern from the picture above, using the measurements of myself and my bustle as a guide for size.

Measurements to take (with bustle and corset on):

• Waist circumference
• Waistline to floor at centre front
• Waistline to floor at centre back
• Waist to floor at side

Using these measurements, measure out the pattern pieces on the fabric. The waist-to-floor measurements should correspond to the length of the pieces (minus the depth of your intended bottommost frill). The front area of the petticoat at the waist is not gathered so the front and side pieces (on the top edge) together should measure the same as the front part of your waist (or a bit further around). The back area is gathered, so the top edge of the back panel should be double this part of your waist. Add seam allowances too!

Pattern pieces:

• Front panel (cut centre front on fold)
• Side panel (cut 2)
• Back panel (cut centre back on fold)
• Waistband (cut 1: 2″ x 28″ or waist measurement, plus seam allowances)
• Frills for back panel (10″ deep, plus seam allowances) Each frill should be roughly double the length of the line (across the back panel) that it will be sewn on. I tried to cut these frills against the selvedge.
• Bottom frill (10″ deep x double the length of the bottom edge of petticoat, plus seam allowances)

These are my panels; (from left to right) front, side and back.

Construction

Step One: Sew the front panel to the side panels, neatening seam edges.

Step Two: Hem one long edge of each section of frill (those frills that are for the back panel) and gather the other edge (I gathered the selvedge edge to avoid neatening it). Attach the frills to the back panel, one at a time, by sewing it on top of the back panel, through all layers.

The first frill is attached along the upper edge of the back panel. Each frill is roughly twice as long as the section it is sewn to.

The bottom frill is attached along the bottom of the back panel. The bottom edge of the frill reaches slightly below the bottom edge of the petticoat.

Start with attaching the first frill along the top edge of the back petticoat panel and then do the bottom frill. Then you can space the other frills in between. There should be an inch or two overlap where the upper frill falls over the one under it. I had a total of four frills on the back panel.

Step Three: Pinning the edges of the frill to the edge of the back panel, sew the back panel to the side panel (making sure you catch the frill edges in the seam).

Step Four: Make sure the bottom edges of the petticoat are even. Trim off any excess if needed. You will notice that a little part of the last frill (in the side seam) is raw, and this was hemmed by turning under and sewing.

The frill at the bottom of the back panel is lifted up, and you can see where I am trimming the bottom edge of the petticoat. This is because I made the back panel much longer than the front panels so it would go over the bustle.

Step Five: Hem one long edge of the bottom frill and gather the other long edge (in small manageable sections). This gathered edge will be caught in a seam so I used a raw edge (rather than a selvedge edge as I did in the back panel frills).

Step Six: Attach the frill to the bottom edge of the petticoat. You will notice that a small part of the side seams will need to be unpicked (where the back frills are sewn into the side seam) at this stage so that the bottom frill can go around neatly. You may need to resew (or hand sew) these parts afterwards so they sit properly again.

Step Seven: Gather the top edge of the back and side panels. Attach the waistband in the normal manner, adjusting the gathers to fit.

Note: Because I had sewn all the seams closed, I needed to make a placket in the left side front seam. I just sewed (top-stitched) the seam allowance open, reinforcing it at the bottom of the placket, and then unpicked the seam.

I used a pair of hooks and eyes for a closure, but a button or waistband hook and eye would work too.

The side view, with the bustle underneath.

The front view

All finished! And I really like it! One very handy thing is that, if it happens to be too long, you can take a few horizontal tucks around the bottom frill to raise the bottom edge, as it was done in the extant garment pictured above. Mine is slightly longer at the back, but not enough to trip on when I am dancing.

My next item in my Victorian wardrobe is an early 1870’s gown. – coming soon!

Related Posts

A Victorian Bustle

Making a Victorian Corset

Sources and Relevant Links

Image Source: from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

An overview of Victorian undergarments

Attaching a waistband – by Sewaholic

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