Dressing

One of my jobs is to take school groups around at night to different shops in the historic area and give a ten minute explanation of the trade.  It always helps me to remember how much knowledge I just assume people know.  So, even though it seems a very simple and obvious thing to some of us, there are tricks to getting dressed that most people don't know.  I was getting ready to go to work last night, so I took pictures of the process that I go through.  Keep in mind I'm dressing to work outside for 3 hours at night, the temperature being around 50 f.

Shift and stockings.  I generally leave the shift neckline open.  You don't want to see it above your outer garment, it is underwear after all.  If you want modesty, wear a kerchief instead (I always do!).  Using tapes to keep your stockings up is a must.  These are just yard long pieces of wool tape, not the fancy loom woven tapes (that I really want).  I double knot mine, if you want to use a bow cut the tape longer. I've actually got two layers of stockings on for warmth; a light cotton and a light wool pair.  Tie them while sitting or with your knee bent or they'll be too loose.  Always below the knee, they'll just slip down to the point otherwise.

Stays.  Mine are back lacing only.  I lace them up in front of me, loosely, and turn them to the back to be tightened.  I'm currently using 1/4" linen tape for lacing, although it really doesn't hold up very well.  I would prefer a braided silk cord (without a core), but that isn't really found easily.  A bodkin (large blunt needle) makes lacing quick.

I lace and tighten from the bottom up.  I know many people that prefer the other direction, usually because reaching the top to tie off can be difficult.  For some reason though, I just can't do the other way, it hurts my back.  Side note that I do have Spondylolisthesis, so that may be part of it, but interestingly stays prevent me from having major back pain when standing or walking for long periods of time (it's a condition where a lower vertebrae slips out of position, mine is due to dancing and over stretching the muscles).  To tie off the top I pull a loop up behind the top horizontal lacing, make another loop below and tie a bow around that last lacing.  All I have to do is pull on the tail end and it comes undone.

I place the underpetticoat over my stays, although you can put in on before.  I find it uncomfortable that way, but it's just personal preference.  Under does help reduce bulk of ties, however.  For that reason as well, I tie the petticoat on the sides rather than around the waist.  If I tied every part of my garment center front and back I'd have huge lumps!  It's fine to have it sit a little low because of looser tying method since it's covered up completely.

Pockets can be placed in between a number of layers.  I prefer them under my petticoat so there's no chance of them being accidentally seen, but there's no reason to have to fish through the underpetticoat slits as well!  I tie these on the side with a bow (usually I pull one loop through so there's less bulk in the knot).  Granted, I might pull the pocket out to show off occasionally, even if it's not appropriate behavior!  And if you're going to specific events take a look at the guidelines.  When we do Under the Redcoat in the summer here at CW, costumed women are asked to place modern items on the right side.  Why?  Because if you harass the British troops, they will detain and search you!  And they know to not go into that pocket and start pulling out your keys and cell phone.

Outer petticoat.  This I do tie around the waist.  The back comes up first with the tie on the side.

Then the front comes up and ties center back.  If you're wearing a jacket or have long strings you'll want to tuck the bow inside the waist.

I usually place my kerchief under my gown, so that goes on next.  There are many other ways to wear one, some of which happen after the gown has been fastened.  I'm currently looking for a small silver brooch to keep the neckline pinned together (like what we call trade silver today).  Men often used them to fasten the slit of their shirt closed as well.

The gown is pinned closed, allowing for adjustments in size.  I insert the pins horizontally weaving between layers and finishing the end towards or even in the stays.  Usually I place them ever 2" or less, about eight for a gown bodice of this length.  Some of my gowns and jackets fasten left over right, others the opposite.  It doesn't signify anything at this point in time.  I prefer left over right for ease of pinning, but usually it comes down to which way I cut the bodice when I wasn't thinking.

Aprons can go on over or under a gown or jacket depending on style and preference.  Leave a little slack in front for a dip.  And try tying in front.  I've often seen portraits where the bow is visible in front, others where the ties are clearly doubled around to the front, and ones where no bow is visible.  I've only seen a couple of caricatures where they are tied in back, and even one image that was tied on the side.  I think it looks prettier too.

Accessories.  One cannot forget those.  Loose the modern jewelry (I replace my 1930s wedding ring with a plainer engraved silver band).  A good cap can go a long way since your face is where most people focus their attention.  This one is a fairly heavy linen.  A nice pair of mitts or gloves, I like mine long enough to reach the gown sleeve.  And shoes, of course.  It might be easier to put the shoes on earlier if you have trouble reaching your feet to buckle or tie after the stays and layers of petticoats.

Last is the wool cloak.  It amazes me how warm this garment can keep you, and how dry!  I almost never use an umbrella unless it deluges because the water tends to bead and roll off.  I have a full length cloak for colder weather as well, but this length is much easier to deal with going in and out of buildings and sitting on the floor occasionally.  I've found that hooks don't stay properly closed, so I have two sets of wool tape ties to keep the front shut against the wind.

My photographer (my husband) got bored and decided to harass the sleeping puppy.  Your moment of aww for the day.

Revamping a Pair of Shoes

What to do with an old pair of black leather 18th century style shoes?  The leather is beaten, worn, wrinkled, and as I now know, of very poor quality historically.  That relegates them to being rough shoes to wear in the mud and dirt.  Only problem is, the sole is so thin I'd feel every bump!  More like dance pumps than anything.  Solution?  Pull out some fabric, ribbon, and hot melt glue!

First step was to choose fabric.  I had a scrap left over from my white stays, a rather heavy herringbone weave of linen and silk.  I pulled some matching white silk grosgrain ribbon and light-weight white leather (for the heel).
I trimmed the tongue and straps to points for some variety.  I didn't want to work around a curve on the straps and you so rarely see pointed tongues now, despite such popularity in the 1780s.
You can see just how beat up these poor shoes are!

Next I clipped the stitching that held the quarters and vamp together.  It will make it easier to lay the fabric on the vamp, then stitch it all closed in the end.

I pinned the fabric to the vamp first.  It's a rough cut, but I'll trim the excess off before attaching it.  I leave a scant 1/4" around the sole to be turned under and glued.  The rest will be trimmed off when I bind.  The key to this fabric was getting the lines fairly straight with the shoe.

I used hot melt glue to fix the folded edges down, poking them as far in the crack between the sole and upper as possible.  This is where a darker or more solid fabric would have done better, since you can just see the color difference around the edge.  But, it's what I had and it does then go with all of my formals!

You can see the edges better here.  Not too bad for the easy way out!

I then pinned on two rough pieces for the quarters.  I cut the edges at center back, not folding them or attaching together as you'll see why later.  I did put a small line of glue under each side though.  Glue down the bottom edge just the same as the vamp.

Next comes the part that really makes it looked professional: binding.  I folded the edges under at the base of the vamp tongue rather than bind and end up with more bulk.  The quarters get stitched back on to that section so it isn't visible.  The rest is trimmed down to the edge or just past.  If you leave any allowance the binding is more likely to push back at it and bubble unless you use dozens of pins.  I just used a running stitch to attach the ribbon (small dot on the outside, longer on inside).

Before binding the quarters I placed a small strip of ribbon down the center back to finish the seams.  Since there is so many extra re-enforcement layers in the heel I just stitched to the fabric and not through the leather (reason for small strip of glue).  The bottom edge is folded under, the top left raw to be bound over.

Once the binding was done around the quarters, I stitched them back down to the vamp at the sides.  The heel I covered using white leather (pliver) and rubber cement.  I used a small flathead screwdriver to push the top cut edge into the small separation.   I had to put new sole leather on the heels anyway, so I just removed the old and pasted the leather down around the edge.  I'm not sure if I'll use these buckles, but they were with the shoes.

No where near as pretty as a properly made pair, but they'll do for the next few months until I finish my first official pair.  As long as the sole doesn't wear through that is!

Quarter-back Gowns

Alright! Here it is, the instructional post on how to put together a quarter-back gown. I'll include a few asides on how to do the Robe a l'Anglaise, but I don't have any made to show images yet. You'll see two gowns in the images, both made slightly differently, but useful in showing that there's not a single right way to do this.

The first fitting is going to be for the front pieces, the back only if it's quartered, the sleeves, and knowing general petticoat/skirt length. I'll be posting a step-by-step fitting process somewhere in the future, so I'm not going to go into great detail on how to do that yet. Simplifying it, take the person and pin linen (or muslin) to their stays and start drawing lines where you want the gown to be!

After that fitting you'll be assembling the front pieces, sleeves, back pieces separately, and can start on finishing the edges of the skirt.

The front pieces: they should have longer shoulder straps than needed in the end for now (you'll fit that part in the third fitting). To assemble you'll use the under-hand stitch around the neck, front, and bottom to where your skirt will slip in (or all the bottom if you're laying the pleats on the lining like I did- more volume). Unlike modern techniques, you'll lay wrong to wrong side and pin baste some of the central area so they don't shift around. Baste the fashion fabrics seam allowance back first, then pin on the lining seam allowance.

The back pieces on a quartered-back are done just about the same. You can stitch the back seams up first with a back-stitch if you want or not. Otherwise, you'll assemble the four back sections individually just like the front, going around all four sides. *Note that you'll want to leave an extra 1/8" out of the folded edges for seam allowance later* So, make sure you know the back neck height during that first fitting. I also don't know a way to insert that skirt into a quartered back with this method, but the other styles make it much easier. If you want boning in the back of your gown, you'll either make casings on the lining before stitching down, or use the seam allowances for casings. You can see two bones CB in the striped gown. To assemble the back pieces, you'll lay right to right and back-stitch right next to the lining using that extra 1/8" we left out earlier. The side seams come after the second fitting, so don't worry about those yet.

*Side note: for other styles you'll do the pleating and apply that to a lining piece prior to second fitting, leaving the sides wide and not cutting the skirt loose yet or the neck line.

For the sleeves you'll back-stitch the seams, making linings separate from fashion fabric. The sleeve hem will be done with the same under-hand stitch. The armscye of both the bodice and the sleeve is left open and raw. I recently saw a woman's jacket where they used the bodice lining to hide the armscye seam, but it had very odd construction techniques (we're thinking a tailor trained person did it). The actual fitting of the sleeve in won't happen until fourth fitting. If you're worried about arm movement, keep the armscye high on the bottom of the bodice and leave extra on the scoop of the sleeve. You can always trim it down later.

The second fitting is where you'll find where to attach the front to the back. Pin the back to the stays, pin the fronts closed and smooth it around the body. Don't worry too much about evening the side seams until you get it off the person. Then you can measure out their placement and make sure it looks balanced. You'll topstitch the fashion front to the back (through both back layers) with a spaced back-stitch. The front lining will fold back over this seam to hide it and be whipped down. You can now finish the bottom edge and apply the skirt. To finish the skirt, just do a 1/4" roll on the front edges and whip down. The top edge should be folded down before pleating. *Make sure to leave extra length on the skirt to account for an optimal two inches folded down and the fact that it also overlaps the skirt by 1/2".* If you are putting in a pocket slit, follow petticoat instructions and insert it in the reverse portion of a pleat so it's well hidden.

*Side note: if you're doing an english back, you'll cut the skirt free (angle from side seam down to under the outer most pleat) before stitching the side seams. The lining should be left free at the bottom of the side seam to insert the pleated skirt into the bodice.

The third fitting is for placing the shoulder straps, which are attached just like the side seams.

The fourth fitting you can fit the sleeves. This is not only making sure they fit over the armscye and arm correctly, but balance correctly. So, make sure you mark where their seam(s) hit the bodice so the wearer won't have their arms sticking out forward or behind them! You can whip the raw edges in the armscye if you're afraid they'll fray or leave them as is. Same thing with the raw edge folded down on the skirt.

This finished front, while two pieces of fashion fabric, only has one piece of lining. The fashions were attached at the beginning and treated as one. It uses buttons to fasten, which is rare. Most gowns will use straight pins (great if you have a tendency to grow or shrink or lace your stays differently) or hook and thread eyes. Hemming should use as little fabric as possible. Either a 1/4" to 1/2" roll hem or face the hem with twill tape if the fabric is thicker.

Under the Red Coat- the jacket will come up in a later post on construction.

Hello again!  I apologize for being out so long.  I've been training for an evening job as a tour leader and spending the last bit of time on wedding plans.  I'm going to try to get back to posting on here again, as well as starting to post the construction of the wedding on my other blog (screams silently about patterning a morning coat).  So, for now, here is an explanation of the construction techniques used in a riding habit shirt (also applicable to a shift or men's shirt):

The front is split all the way down and only fastens at the collar.

The back ends just above the waist and gathers into a tape which ties around the front.

Right side of collar.  The first step is to split open the neck "T" and insert the triangle gussets you see.  These can be whipped onto the shirt or back-stitched.  I noticed extants had a line of back-stitches just off of the edge on most of the shirt.  The gussets have a top and bottom piece, so the raw edges of the shirt are hidden.  On top of this is the shoulder reinforcement strip, back-stitched on.  Finish the front edge or slit with a small roll (and a bride if slit).

Left-side of collar.  At this point you gather the neckline up.  I attached it to the collar by whipping on each individual gather (inside and outside grab different parts, think corregated cardboard).  I did the back-stitch line about 1/4" above seam.  The collar is a folded piece with back-stitched, then flipped right side out, ends.  You can see the inside of the ruffle which is detachable.

Exterior view of sleeve and gusset.  The gathering is attached just like the collar.

Interior of gusset; left side is body, right is sleeve.  The side seam is felted (back stitched, one side graded, and folded over twice then stitched down).  It transitions into the gusset by use of a fabric strip reinforcement that goes all the way around the armscye and hides the unfolding of the felting.  It's whipped down.  The sleeve portion of the felted seam transitions differently.  Back-stitch the seams first.  Then the side that the seam folds too (up in this case) is actually clipped right at the gusset point.  The sleeve and gusset piece on the other side fold over the raw edges left.  So, one side felts to the sleeve piece and the other felts to the gusset.

You can see the stitching for the fabric strip on the inside.
Moving into the cuff is weird as well.  The interior folded piece just stays folded after the split, but the other side (bottom of pic) is technically rolled to the outside of the shirt.  The cuff is attached just like the collar.

I used thread dorset buttons (no metal ring) and my button holes were about 1/2".  The lace was gathered onto a bleached linen tape (just like the collar).  That way I can just whip the tape to the shirt and easily remove it if I need to wash the shirt.

I know there are a lot of areas of the shirt I didn't mention, but it's generally all rolled shirt-tail hems or felted seams.  I just wanted to talk about the problem areas I had to do some research into.  If you have any questions or want me to post about an area I forgot please ask!

Wintertime Blues

Alright.  I made it through the workshop, have bound my stays, and am almost over a nasty cold.  So I can finally update!  Between starting up my wedding planning and beginning an evening job this week (I finally get to wear the costumes!), the rest of the year will be me posting instructions on things I've finished more than building new.  I've just got the riding habit in construction as of now.  For the wedding there will be a Morning suit, both a 1930s and 40s evening gown, a 40s hawaiian wiggle dress, and possibly some top hats.  All of that won't be posted until after it's debut of course.  Now, on to the stays;

Through my local source I managed to get a pile of white oak scraps to use as boning.  I broke up the strips to approximated lengths and whittled them down to the right width.  I managed to not take off any fingers, but it did take me over two weeks.  The bottom binding was done just in time for the workshop, so my habit is fit over them.  Mark used me as the guinea pig wearing my older stays so we got the fun of comparing "patterns" later.  I haven't officially measured, but they were almost the same except for an almost 2" difference circumference in bust and waist.  Don't ask me where all of it went!  I got the top binding done today and just have to line.  Excuse the cheesy pics as always:

I eventually cut the straps further toward the front than the basting line.  After a weekend of wear they were bruising me (despite wonderful forced posture).

I haven't finished the ends on top because I'm inserting double bones into the last channels and haven't cut them to size yet.

The binding technique applies to all but very thick leather.  You put right side to right side and stitch 1/4" or so in from the edges.  Fold it to the back and stitch through all layers.  Since I used some metal bones I couldn't sew through those.  Traditionally you would go through the bone ends if possible to keep them from shifting (pre-flossing technique).  I used a back stitch on the front side and a prick stitch from the back.

I'm using ribbon to tie the shoulder straps, but still haven't found a cord that I like.  For now I'm just using linen tape or twill tape.  Optimally I would find a silk woven cord, seven strand without a hollow core, but so far as I can find it doesn't really exist anymore.  So, I might settle for cotton.

When it comes to lining I'm going use a regular linen.  The tabs are done individually and the bodice is made from as few pieces as possible (usually 3 or 4).  It's all loose and meant to be easily replaced.  The seams are butted and whipped.  Lining edges lay over the binding edge be it ribbon, fabric, or leather.  While you fold back before you get to the back (or front) eyelet line, you do have to work the lining around the strap eyelets.  Do it the same way you do regular ones, just use fewer threads to hold it back.  I'll get pictures up as soon as I finish that part.

Bodice Assembly

When putting together a woman's jacket or a bodice for a gown, the assembly techniques are generally the same.  I've already shown in a previous post how to lay out the front pieces and stitch them together.  Leave the seam allowances at the ends un-sewen (shoulder seams, side seams) so you can fold it over later.

When stitching the back seam I generally use a back-stitch on the fashion fabric.  The lining can be done the same or with a butted edge.  For that you fold over the seam allowance on both sides, put wrong to wrong side and do a very tiny whip stitch.  Grab just a few rows of the weave each time.  Don't stitch too tightly, but do keep it snug.  When finished you pull the two sides apart a bit and the seam should be able to lay out flat (hence why not too tight of stitching).  This same technique can also be used on selvages and I've seen it on shirt seams like that.  If you're doing a jacket, you can put the fashion and lining backs together and stitch around the neck and bottom hem up to seam allowances.

The sides can also be done a few different ways.  I like the method I found in Costume Close-Up.  Fold over the front fashion fabric and line it up on the back pieces.  You will stitch a spaced back stitch very close to the edge through all three layers.  The front lining will then be folded towards the seam and stitched down, enclosing the raw edges.  You can also use the same technique explained for the back seam, but use the back stitch on the fashion fabric seam instead.

Sleeves use the same techniques as the side or back seams (underhand whip the hem) and I've seen the armscye left raw and whipped, with all allowances sandwiched in the sleeve, and where it's inside the bodice.  It's all up to you and whether your fabric frays and if you want to see stitches externally (and where).

Exterior of a side seam for a 1790s jacket I'm building.  Shows the spaced back stitch on the side seam (horizontal in picture) and the underhand on the bottom hem.

Repeat imagery of the ever so useful backstitch I keep mentioning.
The overhand stitch.  Same usage as underhand, but shows up as a small dot on both sides.  Just up and down with the needle very close together.
Similar to over hand, but as a seam.  Resembles the spaced back stitch in form and function (just doesn't back up on the small visible stitch).  Use for side seams or armscyes.

The butted and whipped seam.  Not the prettiest of examples, but it would be the lining anyway. (Also used to piece together stays, but I'll be doing a workshop on those in November).

Just like modern stitching you need to find a technique that works for you.  Every extant garment is different and there are probably many stitches we haven't ever seen!

My caraco is nearly completed (one more cuff, then some details).  I'm hoping to do a pair of mitts soon, a 1780s gown workshop, a stays workshop, and eventually a riding habit workshop in January.  I move in two weeks, so if I disappear for a while I promise I'll be back!

Caraco 3

I apologize for the delay, things have been hectic with preparing to move soon.  Hopefully I will have more time for projects once October comes around.

I have nearly completed the caraco and hope to try it on and take pictures this weekend.  In the mean time, here are a few up-close images of construction techniques.  These can be used in any style of jacket or the bodice of a gown (or anywhere else you can imagine!).

This shows an interior shot of how to lay the lining to the fashion fabric.  In case of a jacket, you would use this along the exterior edges; front, neckline, bottom hem, and sleeve hems.  Simply fold over the fashion fabric at the seam allowance line, lie the lining on top and fold back the edges a small amount (1/16") past the fashion fabric.  I usually pin the lining in the middle area to make sure it doesn't shift.  The other edges I baste together flat (temporarily in some cases).

Here's a shot of how fold the corners.  I recommend the right side (where the fashion fabric shows more) used at the bottom as the front and as the neckline on top.

This shows the small "whip" stitches I described in one of the previous posts.  You can also do a spaced back stitch leaving a long stitch on the wrong side or do it pretty and make it look like a dot on both sides.  I recently did a workshop on hand stitching at work and will bring my book home this weekend to post up here.

In the near future I will try to post from the workshop, more comprehensive instructions on my caraco, roll hemming kerchiefs, and soon to start patterning and building my next pair of stays!