Complete C18th 'scummy' Kit.

Here is the complete outfit.
Yes, this is also proof that I travelled home, via the London Underground, in said kit.

Another Jacket: Part 2

Well, I managed to get my jacket finished before the new year. I cut out the wool and linen and sewed them up separately and then sewed them both together at the neckline and hem. I then patterned for some sleeves. I used the pattern I had for my polonaise gown to get me started and adjusted it to make them full length. I made a toile before cutting out the real thing and they fitted perfectly.

I used the sewing machine to contruct the sleeves, partly because I couldn't face hand sewing them and partly because the fabric is quite thick where there are seams! I sewed the wool and linen together at the cuff first before opening them out and sewing down the main sleeve seam. I then sewed them into the jacket with the seam at the back and about an inch of gathers at the back too - just like on my gown.

Then tried it on. Again, I needed to take in a lot of fabric on the jacket straps - I think it's time for me to draft a new pattern for these! And I also pinned the line I needed to sew down at the centre front. For this, I turned the wool and linen inside the jacket and ladder stitched it up. I then sewed on some hook and eye tape for the fastening.

It was after trying it on, to find it gaping, that the original jacket had concealed lacing. So this was what I did. I had some scrap home-made binding leftover and used 10" for each side and sewed in some eyelets. Using shoelaces as a temporary measure and cross-lacing it, it worked - no more gaping, huzzah! I'm rather pleased with the result. I also made a bow from some scrap wool for decoration.

Operation Petticoat

So I'm putting together 'lower orders' C18th kit as you know - see previous post on jacket (which is finished, but need a good photo). I bought some striped linen from Tinsmiths, it was cheaper than most of their linens, but the top end of my personal budget. To be honest, having looked about online and in local shops, there is nothing in the way of striped line. Cotton, yes, but no linen.

Anyway, I ordered it late last year and then found out a couple of days later that the shop is closed until 3rd January. I was really hoping I would get it by today (4th January) because I had the great idea and temptation to travel on the London Underground in my 'scummy' kit after dancing in my 'posh' stuff at the Twelfth Night celebrations at Dr. Johnson's House on 5th January.

Well, it turned up, as I hoped just before 10.15 this morning. I was now racing against the clock to get the petticoat made. After washing the fabric, drying it in front of the Aga, and then ironing it, at 1.40pm I made a start on measuring the length I needed. As the fabric is 150cm wide, I only needed to buy enough for the length I wanted for my petticoat, plus a little extra just in case.

Once cut, I pinned and sewed up the side seams on the sewing machine, leaving a 10" gap at the top to allow access to the pockets. As it was the selvedge, I didn't need to the neaten the seam, hurrah! With the seams ironed open, I turned up a 2" hem and hand sewed this. Then ironed the hem.

After this, I pleated the waist. I had a 2" box pleat in the centre and then fourteen 0.5" pleats either side. I pinned these first and then machine sewed them. It was now time to add the waistband.

I used 1" wide white cotton tape for this. I cut two lengths long enough to go around my waist and tie into a bow. I then machine sewed one length onto the back waist, folding it over the pleats to cover the raw edge, and the other length onto the front waist.

To some this may sound odd. The way this is worn is that the back is tied first (the ties brought round to the front and tied) and then the front (ties taken round to the back and tied). This allows for the pocket slits to overlap (noone wants their pocket slits gaping!) and also means it can be worn by pretty much anyone. And hey presto, the petticoat is finished!

Now, it may need some altering and its length, but I wont know that until I wear it tomorrow.
Here's a photo of it at the moment:

Another jacket.

An C18th one this time, 1770s to be precise.
This was quite easy to pattern seeing as I helped my friend with hers so it was a pretty similar process.

I used the bodice pattern pieces from my polonaise gown and adjusted them according to this pattern which looks like this when complete (You can just about see on the back piece the lines I've made where I've joined the two back pieces from my gown to make them one). The skirt of my jacket measures 9" at the CB, 7" at the sides and 6.5" at the front.

I made a toile and it fitted pretty much perfectly - I had to move the gore up to the waist line and the straps needed taking in (which I expected as I had to do that on my gown). I haven't yet patterned or made a toile of the sleeves yet. I shall use the sleeve pattern I had for my gown and lengthen it before I make a toile when I buy some cheap fabric!

So next thing I've done is cut out the pieces in the fashion fabric. I set aside the left over navy blue wool I had previously used for my early Tudor gown. I will take this away with me tomorrow as I have a 5 day event starting this weekend so it will give me something to do if I have a spare moment in the evenings!

This is as far as I have got at the moment. I plan to line the jacket in some white/ivory linen I had left over from lining my Burgundian gown (I see a theme here), I think I also have some left over hook and eye tape from my polonaise...

Jacket in action!

For the past couple of weekends, I have been at Holkham Hall in North Norfolk for some Victorian Christmas events.
I thought you would like to see my entire ensemble:

Zouave Jacket

I have a few Victorian events coming up (the next two weekends in fact) so I decided to make myself a Victorian jacket suitable for 1860s as that is the date of my dress. Having done a bit of research, I came across and fell in love with this one. I decided I would make my own version of the Zouave jacket.

For this I put on my Victorian garb and took all necessary measurements - bust, waist, hips, collar, armhole and the lengths between each one. I drafted up a simple pattern and made a toile. Wearing it over my Victorian stuff, it require a fair bit of pinning and altering until I got the right shape. It turned out that the CF has a curve to accommodate the bust, although having helped a friend pattern and make an C18th jacket around the same time, it seems quite normal to have a curve.

Anyway, once the pattern was sorted and I was satisfied, I could start making it! I used a fine black wool for the outer fabric and a cotton/linen blend for the lining. I made the outer fabric and the lining up separately and then sewed them together at the collar and down the front edges - it turned out I needed to make the collar slightly bigger as it was a bit tight on the neck!

For the sleeves - Pagoda sleeves - I used the pattern that came with my Victorian dress pattern. I measured my jacket armhole so I could work out which size to cut out from the pattern - it fitted perfectly - I did make the pattern a bit shorter though. Once I had cut out the outer and lining fabric, I joined them together by sewing along the cuff and then sewing down the sleeve seam. Afterwards, I then sewed them into the armhole. As the seam allowance for the sleeves was 5/8" and my jacket was 1" (just in case I needed to make adjustments!) this extra allowance was perfect for neatening the seam which I then sewed flat.

As for the jacket fastening, I cheated. I loathe hooks and eyes and I really didn't fancy sewing them every inch so instead I bought some black hook and eye tape.

For the decoration I bought some red cord. I then made up my own pattern as the one on the extant jacket is a bit complicated and fiddly! I think it looks rather effective!

Once I had completely finished my jacket, I tried it on with the rest of my Victorian stuff and took photos. I also found that I also had to add in a couple of darts in the back for a better fit.

ATS

Since finishing my C18th gown, I haven't really done much sewing other than alterations to my repro Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) SD uniform.
The skirt fitted fine, just needed taking up 3", but a fair bit of work had to go into the tunic. That too had to be taken up 3" and taken in at the waist by about 10"! From the leftover serge, I had to make a belt and when I get round to it, new epaulettes.
Here is a photo (courtesy of my friend 'Kitty') of its first outing at Norfolk Living History Fayre at Mannington Hall.