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The hem facings have about 4 layers of stiff netting in them, and the layers made a lot of unpleasant papery-sounding noise when they rubbed together, so I had to sew six long stitchlines and essentially quilt the facings.

They are STIFF. The stitching makes them even stiffer. From what I can tell, they'll do a fabulous job holding out the skirts, even though the facings are only 8 inches wide. Here they are, sewn to the skirt but not yet turned to the inside:





They're all attached to the skirt; after two days of on and off handstitching I have just the two right rear and side-rear panels to hem. They will be done tomorrow. Photos will come soon!

[Heather]

Wow, that's it a lot of work! And I think that will work very nicely!

The hem is done, I've just been too exhausted to put the whole thing on again for photos.

I just have to hand-stitch the edges of the pockets so the pockets themselves will not stick out and show. Then it will be officially done. Of course, I may put that off until shortly before the convention.

The net may have been a little excessive. The hem holds a nicely rounded shape on the right side seams, but on the left side gore seam it wants to buckle inward. Perhaps the new petticoat will help; I got the main pieces of the skirt pattern traced and cut out again today.

What should I do to keep the petti stiff, aside from full-strength starch (which I will use)? I was considering doing pintucks, but then I realized the increasing width of the gores would prove problematic, and plus it would get very monotonous to do the necessary rows of them.

I want to fully ruffle the petti, but I don't want to sew them on in rows--I hate joining them at the ends. I think I'm going to experiment with my ruffler foot and make one very long ruffle and have it spiral gently up the skirt. The stitching to attach the ruffles and the ruffles themselves will help to stiffen the petticoat some, no?

I'm currently waiting for some money to transfer to my Paypal account; in theory it will be in tomorrow and I will be ordering the NF Cuirass bodice, Heather! I'm having major issues with the bodice pattern I drafted, so I thought it would be best to put it aside and start with a tried and true pattern (plus it gave me an excuse to order another TV one! ). The apron is going to take a lot of time and head-scratching, so I have to buckle down and get the bodice started as soon as the pattern arrives.

And I'm still working on the new petti...I came to the conclusion that it will be faster to figure out the spacing between individual rows of ruffles, rather than try and spiral one long ruffle 3/4 up the petti. I am using the serger extensively, and I've saved a ton of time so far.

I also want to make a cape (or two! ) in case we leave the hotel to go to a restaurant. Hopefully I'll have time to derive a pattern using the bodice--I have some pretty red twill and grey corduroy that I can use. I suppose I could make one, reversible, but how would I handle the front closure?

Reversable cape fastening, either use a brooch and chain fastening which can be swapped from side to side dependant on which colour your want out..

Or, inset a hook and eye system into the edges of the cape so it works both ways.

Tiffers

Thanks Tiffers.

I'll see what I can do for the cape(s) when I finish the bodice and apron.

I got my pattern on Thursday Heather! I'm so happy, I can't wait to make a mockup bodice.

The petticoat is getting closer to being done, as well. The bottom two ruffles are sewn on, now I have a few more rows to cut out, serge, and ruffle before attaching them. It might have to wait though; I only have access to a serger in school and I'm on break now.

Photos to come soon!

I sewed the twill mockup yesterday, and because I made the necessary adjustments to the pattern from my previous experience it fit pretty nicely--the waist was the right length, there wasn't any bulge behind the shoulder, and the front closed as it should. My only problem is that the bust was slightly too small--but I think that I measured myself wrong, since I had the same problem with the French Vest Bodice. I just have to take a little padding out of the bust area to make it fit!

The only things I can see that I will have to fix are the darts and waist seam shaping, but that won't be too hard at all.

I'm going to be authentic and just flatline it. That way I can easily alter it later, plus I won't have to sew up a lining. The downside it that I have to finish the seam edges, and I don't have access to a serger right now to do the flatlining..... So either bias binding or doing a hand overcast stitch.

Now for something that has been bugging me: how the heck do I make the detachable collar and cuffs? The sleeves are going to be closed with buttons from the wrists to slightly below the elbow so I can dress/undress easier and roll them up if I get warm.

I PM'd you and you didn't message me back...


What type of cuffs are they? If they're the same as the drawings, you can make them whichever size you live and then add - say 1/2 inch and put snaps on it and then put snaps on the inside of the sleeve. so you'd tuck the snaps up under so they meet up and snap, and then you fold the cuff up and over the sleeve.

I can do the same for the collar too.

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I missed your messages! I almost never get PMs and for some reason it said I didn't have any new ones. So sorry about that!

That sounds like a good method. My only qualm is that snaps weren't used on clothing until after 1900. I'm kind of OCD when it comes to period-authenticity, even if it's something that won't be seen in the finished garment. It would be great to use when time is tight, though.

Let's see....

From what I vaguely remember, dress shirts back then had very narrow mandarin collars onto which the starched collars were attached....with a stud at the back of the neck, I think?

It's almost 3 AM, I need some sleep so I can tackle this later.

I am so impressed with that stiffened hem!! Looks so authentic, too! Can't wait to see the finished gown on you!

Instead of snaps use buttonholes and buttons. Its a wee bit fiddly but gives a really neat look. Basically you put buttonholes into the hem of the sleeve then have a turned back section on the cuff which has a corresponding button on it. The buttons obviously slip into the button hole but as the edge of the hem is sewn down, they are encased in the hem section and cannot be seen, even if someone was looking down your sleeve for them!

Does this make any sense? I'll try to draw a picture if it doesnt!

Tiffers

buttons! clever! hahah... i'm so used to sewing things for stage where everything needs to be poppers and velcro, hahah...

Tiffers, that's an excellent idea! I would never have thought of concealing the buttons that way. I'll have to find some small buttons and experiment with the buttonhole sizing.

I got my copy of Costume in Detail today....the stuff inside is so interesting. I wish the entire book focused on the Victorian era, but now I have a resource for other time periods in case I need one.

In the book I found a sketch of the inside of an 1890s skirt--it uses tapes, like Heather's Ripple Skirt, to hold the folds in place in the back. I didn't understand how it was supposed to work when I read that on the TV catalogue page, and I left my drafted skirt without one. I think I might add one soon, because the gathers are very unruly and always get messed up when sitting and standing.

Apparently silk was also used for interlining skirts, not just cotton. I suppose that would help create the rustle effect, and make the skirt slightly less heavy.

I drafted the cape pattern. It turns out I literally have just enough yardage of red twill to cut out the pattern, with some odd-shaped waste fabric to use for the collar. I'm tired and don't want to keep working, but I need to so I won't run out of time....

And I have another trip to the huge Salvation Army planned for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll find a ton of sheets good for pettis and linings.

I had to put the bodice aside, thanks to my older sister losing the outer layer of the pattern pieces. If I can't find them all tomorrow, I'm making her pay for 3 new yards of twill, so the whole thing will match.

I have the cape partially assembled. But I have to draft the collar, and I'm completely stuck.


This collar is probably the easiest turn over collar possible, but I cannot visualize how to draw the pattern piece! It has to be a very tall collar too, since half of it is folded over (when finished it's about 2.5 inches high at the throat). The illustration does not have the normal neck seam, which my cape will have, like a normal bodice. So that's confusing me as well.

Does anyone have a better understanding of how to draft this than I do?

Thanks so much!

Take a dinner plate, draw around it onto some stiff card or similar (empty cereal box?) then draw another circle inside that so there is a gap of 2.5" between the 2 lines. Cut the centre out then cut through the ring you are left with in one place so you can get it around your neck. Then fiddle with it until you have it loking like you want it to. I expect you will cut out about a third of the ring before its the right shape. You may need to use a larger circle to start with but this should give you the right idea.

To make the folded over bit, I suspect thats going to be a straight strip attached to the inner edge of your collar then that will be attached to the top of the cape.

Does this make sense? Drawings can be supplied if you need them

Tiffers

I think I understand what you mean, but to be safe I would greatly appreciate a sketch. Thank you so much, Tiffers!

I'll do one tomorrow for you if thats ok

Tiffers

Tomorrow came and went and no drawing!

This is my take on what she said.



The blue circle is the big plate, the purple circle is inside that. The difference in the sizes should be the depth you want the collar. You said that you need it to be high up to cover your adam's apple. (yey me i don't have a visible one)

So that A is say 4 inches, the height of the collar.

That B thingy should be your throat measurement up there you want the collar to be. I'd suggest measuring over your adam's apple or it'll rub and not be the most comfortbale... let's say 15.5 inches.

You have to leave that bit below out... from the two green lines on the bottom. The outer edges need to be angled and open a bit. If not it won't pull together enough and it'll be too flat and just go straight out from your neck like a circle skirt when the girl is spinning around!!!

In drafting class one day, I needed to make a collar like this. I wasn't sure how to, so I took a piece of paper and made it into a cone, taped the overlap, trimmed it so it were flat around the bottom, like a dunce cap, and then drew another a few inches up and cut it again so I ended up with a round pyramid, sorta that was cut off part way up... so really it's a big paper ring... . Then I cut it straight up and it sprang open into a C-shape. did that makes sense or d oi need to make a video of that? LOL


Anyway, again to the collar...


You will need to play with the inside curve. It wouldn't really be too round, but you'll see that in the muslin. If the inner curve is more straight or curved, youll have a different angle on where the leaves your throat and meets your shoulders.

[Heather]

That collar is going to be way too curved for what you want.

I think the best place to start would be to make this a two-piece collar, with a stand and a fall. The stand can be any mandarin style collar, like the ones from the patterns, but it will need to cross over in front, rather than just meet edges. It can be as tall a you want, just add to the top edge. The you need a fall. This piece should be slightly curved, but not too much. Think of your standard dress shirt collar. The fall is actually straight for most modern shirts. But if you want a tad of flair over the shoulder, you need a tad of curve.

Heather, that sounds about right. I can probably find time to work on the collar this weekend, and finish the whole cape soon. I got the bodice sleeves cut out and flatlined with three layers of cotton organdy.

Next, in order to be able to assemble the sleeves, I need to figure out how long the opening in the inner seam should be to determine how long the placket should be. Plus how to insert the placket and sew in the fitted lining.

Costumer, while I can't use that collar right now, I'm sure it'll be useful in the future. Thanks for the diagram!