Dawn's Victorian Costume Diary
A couple days after coming home with my new bolt of bleached muslin I decide to start cutting fabric. I cut the pantalettes out according to the pattern, even though they call them 'pantaloons' which is the term for mens underwear. I note the open crotch seam on the pattern. All the patterns are like that. I understand the theory behind this, I'm just wondering how practical it is for late period victorian when there is no hoop to navigate around. I decide to do more research and come back to the sewing part later.
Then, because I have scissors in my hands, I lay out the purple satin and cut out the skirt front and back panels. I sew up the side seams real quick, try it on, and discover that I don't have enough fabric in the skirt. I've done something wrong.
The purple satin I have is in two pieces, each a 3 yard length and 40" wide. It's obvious from looking at it that I need an additional panel on each side to add fullness. Looking at the diagrams from Patterns of Fashion again, I see where some of them do indeed have three or more front and side panels in addition to the large full back section. If there had been more commentary or the measurements had been legible, I might have caught on to this fact earlier. The question now is, do I have enough fabric in my remaining 3 yard piece to do this and get all the bodice pieces and sleeves out of the length? Also, I need to reserve fabric for the swag and bustle I will be adding later. Hmmn.
After measuring some more, I come to the conclusion that I can cut the extra panels from the length of the yardage, and they will be the proper length for the skirt, or I can cut them from the width, and they will be short by an inch and a half. The second option is the one that leaves me with enough fabric to do the bodice and bustle drape later, a very important factor considering I cannot get more of this fabric.
I cut the panels the short way. The skirt now fits around my entire waistline, with a large semicircle of fabric to pleat into the back. It takes some fiddling to get the pleats evenly spaced, the satin is slippery, but by the end of the evening it is all sewn into a waistband.
On my trip to Joann's over the weekend I picked up a remnant yard of black velveteen. I plan to use this as trim on the dress. I had thought of using black velvet ribbon, but couldn't find any in my price range. So the plan is to cut strips of velveteen to use instead. With the skirt hem being too short by an inch or so, it looks like I will have black velveteen 'guards' on the hem of my dress. Velveteen is about $10 a yard around here, but a yard cut into strips goes a long way, a lot farther than the same dollar amount of velvet ribbon would.
I hang the skirt up to let the bias stretch out. Overnight it becomes nearly a foot longer in places.
I spend the rest of the week looking for lace. I don't stockpile lace trim because I never use it. Then, of course, when I want some I can't seem to find any I like. Tara points me to a website called FabricClub which has a great selection of laces, and the prices are pretty reasonable, most are about a dollar a yard. The drawback is that it's being sold by the spool, and the spools come in lengths like "175 yards". I suppose if I was in the wedding dress business that would be a great deal, but as I will only need a couple yards I'm not prepared to buy a spool.
I end up on Ebay, that giant yard sale in the ether. After a bit of looking I find a couple potential auctions for lace I like. Oooh, and sequin trim! And more venetian lace appliques! And a book on late victorian social customs and manner... No, I don't have a fabric problem, I can stop *anytime* I want to. Honest.
Well, a week later I've won the auctions, and I get the lace in the mail pretty quickly. (I'm still wondering where the rest is, by the way). The lace is gorgeous! It must be 5 inches wide and it is very delicate and pretty. It's also in pieces, some of which are only half a yard long! I'm angry for a while, as this little detail was left out of the auction description, but after thinking about it I come to two conclusions. First, I got the lace dirt cheap, considering the quality of it and I'll never find anything like this again for this price, and second, I can still use it, even in pieces. I was going to cut it up for the pantalettes anyway. So after an honest chat with the seller I decide to keep it. I don't think she was trying to rip me off, she was just clueless, and I decline to leave feedback, after explaining why.
Nearly the entire month of August has passed now and all I've completed are the pantalettes. I agonized over that crotch seam for a while, because as best I can tell it was a period design, even after the hoops had gone out of style. However, I couldn't get anyone with experience wearing late Victorian clothing to answer my emails about whether it was practical for reproduction wear. So I sewed the darn thing shut. I guess I'll find out in about two months.
The pattern went together pretty easily. They're a bit, hmmn, baggy in the ass. They fit, though, it's not that lose. I followed the instructions for the waistband, but I must have done something wrong, or maybe the measurements for my size were off. The waistband fit, but with only an inch overlap, and the directions say there are supposed to be ties sewn inside the waistband that you pull to tighten the fit. Also, it's supposed to tie in the back. I moved the opening to the front, and after trying them on, or rather, not because they wouldn't go over my hips, I made some more alterations. I had to slit the front crotch seam by 6 inches just so I could get them on. I suppose that's one point in favor of not sewing it in the first place. Ok, it's like regular pants, you need a fly opening in front. I still can't figure out why I need a drawstring on something that isn't that lose, so I just dispense with it and put in a button.
I was examining the front of the pattern envelope trying to figure out how the clothes fit on the model and I noticed she is a mutant. Go find this pattern and have a good look at the woman's appendages. There's something seriously wrong here. She's got an arm a good 6 inches longer than ought to be normal, and most of that is hand. And if you think that is creepy, have a look at her feet. Somebody in the art department did a frightening job with Photoshop.