Cassell's Infant Petticoat

I have almost finished sewing the layet. My last items are petticoats and a cloak. 

I decided to explain in a little more detail how I have been approaching these patterns. Before beginning I always need to get my head around the measurements and instructions, as they can be straightforward or a little confusing. The patterns also can go on about advice that is not necessary in producing the garment. I start by reading, re-reading and the making dot points on what I believe is essential to constructing the garment. I also re-draw the diagrams and pencil in any essential measurements. I also use this stage to alter any measurements as needed.

I also make notes of changes as I work. This helps me when making future copies of the pattern.

This pattern was very straightforward in creating the skirt. I did alter the length, as one of my original gowns was a shorter than the length given. The panels are two different widths as the back is only a half width. The closure is a simple 7 1/2" slash that is narrow hemmed and has a buttonhole thread to strengthen the slash.

The bodice is a little more complicated. The bodice is a 5" x 26" rectangle that is folded into quarters and has the armholes cut out. 

The shoulders are simple 4" x 1 1/16" strips that are run and felled to either side of the cut out holes. The armholes and centre backs are then narrow hemmed. 

It is at this point I decided to deviate from the original instructions. The instructions are to hem the top of the bodice 1/4" and use a narrow tape to drawstring. The neckline at the shoulder straps is right angled, so I decided to bias tape and drawstring the neckline instead. This is also a perfectly period correct option used on other extant ladies underwear garments. 

The final step is to attach the bodice to the skirt with the use of a band. The band is 2 strips of fabric 1/2" x 19". The bodice is gathered into one of the bands at the center front and side backs. The skirt is gathered all round and attached to the band.

The pattern did not provide measurements for the bodice gathers. It did provide a general diagram. I decided to work it out by quartering the band and bodice and attaching the two with pins at these points. I then pinned them together  where there are no gathers. Once it looked correct I marker the fabric that required gathering and noted the measurements for the future. For me it was 3" on each side back and 6" center front.

The second band is used to face the inside of the band. Larger tapes are then either sewn to the band or threaded through to make the waist adjustable. The completed petticoats are simple and functional. The pattern was also very simple to construct.

Cassell's 1869 Infant Shirt

In making a spare infant shirt I decided to try the earlier 1869 Cassell's infant shirt pattern. The measurements were a lot easier to follow than the later 1880's pattern. There are three sleeve options provided. In the shirt instructions it has a sleeveless option and then later in the book it has an option for a one piece sleeve or a gusseted sleeve. The one piece sleeves were a lot easier as they are a single strip of fabric which is folded over itself to create an inbuilt gusset. All sleeves this small are fiddly, but it is an excellent option and fairly straightforward.

The only negative that I found was in the flaps being cut on an angle. This puts the seam on the bias, encouraging the fabric to twist. It also includes the added task of buttonhole stitch bars to prevent stress tearing on the flap seams. The points on the shoulders were also a bit awkward and clumsy in comparison to the clean 90degree straight lines on the later pattern. 

In future, I plan to use the fabric measurements from the '69 pattern, the flap measurements from the '80s pattern and either sleeve pattern. All of these options are seen in extant examples online. 

It is still a very cute little shirt.

**Update - since having my daughter and having tried these on her I have changed my opinion. Amelia May was born at 3.64kgs and 50cms tall, so she is an average sized modern baby and yet these shirts were very large on her. The pointed shoulders on the shirt made it sit better on her than the straight cut sleeves of the later shirt. I assume they were sized larger for the infant to grow into and for them to have a longer usage period. While the shirts are large, they do get pulled in by the adjustability of the flannel and petticoat.

Infant Flannels

With my baby being due in the middle of winter, it was essential to make some flannel petticoats. I wish that wool flannel was available in Australia, but it is not (to my knowledge) and the postage costs are higher than the cost of the fabric to order it from overseas. So, as much as I hate to, I had to compromise and use cotton flannel (whinge over).

For the construction, I used the pattern in the 1840s Work Women's Guide as the bodice is lined in cotton.  The similar pattern in the 1869 Cassell's Guide is unlined and the edges are bound. I prefer the look and extra warmth provided by the lined version. Both styles were still in use in the 1850s and 1860s, as seen in extant examples. The pattern is very simple and goes together very easily. I did change the construction of the shoulder straps and waist tapes in inserting them into the lining, whereas the pattern instructs them to be attached to the outside. Some of the extant examples do have the straps inserted into the lining and it looked more finished. I made it in two sizes (using modern infant sizing) to hopefully fit the baby from newborn to about 6 months of age. I also plan to make a cotton calico 'flannel'/petticoat later, as even in winter it can get very hot in Australia during the day time.

Completed flannel lying open

Outside closeup of side and wrap overlay closure

Inside lining closeup of side and wrap overlay closure

Preparing for Our New Arrival

Now that I am entering my third trimester, I am busily preparing for the arrival of my little one. I have loved looking at lots of pictures of Victorian babies and extant garments. I have decided against a full living history clothing approach for the child. I will make all the correct clothing and outerwear, but I will not be putting the baby in period correct pilches/nappies. Instead, I have decided that I will use modern re-usable nappies under the baby's clothing (very farby I know :-P).

I have already purchased an original infant dress from an antique store. I will try to make further garments at a later date, but as these are more complicated and fancy (the ones I like) its nice to not have the pressure of making the gown straight away.

Close up of Bodice of Original Infant Gown

Full Size Image of Original Infant Gown

Unfortunately, the best infant patterns by the Sewing Academy do not ship to Australia. The postage is also astronomical and costs more than the cost of the pattern if I purchased from other online sources. Thankfully, I was able to use two original pattern books available online for free.

Workwoman's Guide 1840

Cassells Household Guide 4th Edition ca 1880 (the first edition dates to 1869).

There are also numerous original extant infant garments available to view online. I found that in the 1850-1860s there seems to be a combination of both the earlier and later designs of infant undergarments.This meant that I should be able to select instructions and diagrams from both books.

Infants undergarments are very simple, but also complicated in the tiny nature of the sewing. I will never complain about sewing gussets again since sewing one that is 1.5" square. I cheated a lot on the bonnet as I decided to machine sew the majority of the cap. I also found that extant examples from the 1850s were a lot simpler than the earlier bonnets in the Workwoman's Guide. I am very happy with how it turned out. I also added 3 pin tucks to match my nightcap and trimmed the brim with some vintage net lace. It is very cute and I already have plans to make some more caps in different designs. I just hope the baby will keep them on its head.

Infant Cap

The second item that I have made is an infant shirt. From my understanding, these function as a chemise for small infants. I like that they are short waist-ed, so they should not add to much extra bulk on top of the nappy. I used the measurements and design from Cassell's, but I did have to make the shirt smaller as I found the original measurements to be way to large for a newborn infant. For the sleeves I added the three pin tucks to match the cap and a trim of vintage eyelet lace from my stash. This was completely hand sewn. I found it very quick and calming to make and the narrow hemming is a lot softer than the machine hems on the bonnet.

Infant Shirt

Infant Shirt

Close Up of Sleeve and Gusset

On a side note, Nic and I found the most adorable 1850s infant plate in an antique shop. It has the alphabet around the rim and a transfer of a girl and boy playing hide and seek. We have hung it on the wall of the nursery, as it is too precious for our baby to actually use. 

I am having a fantastic time so far planning for our baby. I have also been busy working on the nursery. It is not perfect and I still need a crib and a change table (a friend has one for me that she is planning to sand and stain to match the room). I have also used my wedding veil for the bassinet. I love personal touches like that.

 Challenge #2 2016: Tucks and Pleats

What the item is: Mid Victorian Infant Shirt and Cap
The Challenge: Tucks and Pleats
Fabric/Materials: Cotton Voile
Pattern: Self drafted and adapted using a combination of The Workwoman's Guide (1840) and Cassells Household Guide (4th edition ca1880) as well as extant examples available online.
Year: 1850s-1860s
Notions: Cotton Thread, Vintage net lace, Vintage Eyelet lace
How historically accurate is it? Cap is about 60% as it is machine sewn, the Shirt about 90% as I had to adapt the measurements given.
Hours to complete: Approximately 3hours
First worn: It will be worn when the baby arrives in May
Total cost: $0, it is all small scraps from my stash.

1790s Jumps/Transitional Stays

In researching my early turn of the century Napoleonic impression, I came across this Jump in the V&A museum. It is dated 1790-95. In the V&A Undergarment book it provides a lot more information including how stays like this are useful as decorative outer wear as well as a functional/practical undergarment.

I loved the look of this transitional corset and decided to try and copy it. I was also very proud as in undertaking this project I had my first attempt at dying fabric. The cotton sateen was a cream colour to begin with. I ended up making two batches of fabric to get the colour right.

 This photo actually distorts the colour.

The toile, I had to actually draw the boning channels onto it to get it lined up correctly.

I was really excited to complete this process completely correctly (or as correctly as I could). Therefore, it is completely hand sewn.  The only part that is incorrect is the boning. As I can not use real whale bone, I chose to use some spiral boning for the 8 bones. These were wider than the original bones, which resulted in the widths of my channels being wider. I am not overly concerned about this as I still thing that it looks amazing on. I also found that it is very comfortable as well. I found the visible stitching very challenging and I look forward to undertaking more projects with decoration and maybe even some embroidery in the future.

The eyelet holes were made using a belt hole punch and then was embroidered using a blanket stitch. I copied this detail from the V&A undergarment book, which has close up photos. The offset coloured holes look really nice and are also very useful in lacing up the corset.

 The tape is also stitched down using a green top stitch, which is a really nice subtle detail.

From the photos I was able to see that on the center back of the corset had stitches running vertically behind the crosses. I decided to keep this in decorating all of the cross sections. It really helps to strengthen and reinforce next to the boning.

 I did not have any details of the colours of the stitches in the back so I created my own colour combination for the cross stitching on the back and shoulders.

The Challenge 4# Embellish
Fabric: Cotton Sateen, White Cotton Lining

Pattern: None - drafted using squares and triangle layouts
Year: ca. 1790

Notions: Pink Cotton Twill Tape, Cotton Embroidery Thread, White Cotton Corset String

How historically accurate is it? I believe that this is accurate, minus using spiral boning

Hours to complete: about 40 hours (I had to unpick the visible stitches multiple times)
First worn: today to take the completed photos

Total cost: $4 for Thread, $9 for Corset String,  approx. $15 Spiral Boning, $8 for Twill Tape, $16 for Dyes and fabric from my stash

Late 18th Century Shift.. and Introductions

I know I am posting this very late, but I did have it completed on time, along with all the other challenges. The reason for the late posts has been my lack of photos. Thankfully, my friend Jessie was kind enough to take a few today so that I can post them up.

Unfortunately, my personal photographer and husband, Nic, has been away for the last 4 weeks. I guess that now is as good a time as any to introduce ourselves better. Nic is a doctor of Archaeology. He specialises in Australian Frontier Conflict and Indigenous Heritage. I am very proud of him. Unfortunately, it means that he works away from home at lot. At this current time he is working in Launceston, Tasmania. The team he is a part of are excavating an 1830s settlement. I am really looking forward to seeing his photos of the dig and the amazing 1830s finds.

As for myself, I am currently undertaking a Research based Honours Program as a part of the final year of my degree (Bachelor of Education, Junior Primary and Primary). I started university last week and I believe that this will be a very full on year for study. This means I have had to put many projects and events for the upcoming year on hold. Thankfully, I have been able to cram a lot of sewing into the last few weeks, in preparation for the Reynella History Event, in South Australia.  This is the first Living History Event being held in our state, so we are very excited.

Anyways, back to my sewing. In order to finally create my turn of the century working class/private wife's impression, the first thing I required was a shift. I wanted to attempt a squares and triangles layout, but I must admit that it at first seemed overwhelming and scary. Thankfully, there are many wonderful websites that helped in construction and historical changes in styles.

18th Century Shifts
Making an 18th Century Shift
How to Make an 18th Century Chemise

I was also very lucky in having a friend, who supplied me with this wonderful "Dodgy" drawing of different cutting layouts.

Based on the information from these resources and books in my library I decided to make my shift thin with long triangles up to the underarms. I also went with thin arms that gather into a band under the elbow that can also be raised above the elbow and tied when working. I also decided to fold over the fabric to make the drawstring on the neck. I was surprised at how easy it was to make the string casing without using bias tape. I learnt a lot in creating this shift and I am very happy with the results. It is very comfortable.

The finished shift, not very flattering unfortunately.

The sleeve detail.

The Challenge 3# Under It All
Fabric: White Linen

Pattern: None - drafted using squares and triangle layouts
Year: ca. 1800

Notions: white cotton tape

How historically accurate is it? I believe that this is accurate. I even 100% hand sewed it, a first for me

Hours to complete: about 28 hours
First worn: today to take the completed photos

Total cost: I believe that the cotton tape was about $8 and the linen was about $40.

Taminick 2011 and Last Minute Sewing

This year we were able to attend the Taminick Military Encampment Weekend in Victoria. It was during the second week of my mid semester break so I had a furious week of sewing to prepare. Nic required longer sleeves on his Brunswick Jacket and I needed a summer weight dress as I only have one for the cold, and new linen petticoat. As always I ended up sewing on site, which provided me with an activity while waiting for the water to boil for coffee and gun cleaning.

Thankfully the sleeves and petticoat were completed before we left for the event.

 Sorry I have no photos of the petticoat, but I do have some of my handsome husband in his new sleeves.

 Sewing my summer weight dress with the last of the light.

This dress was made for warmer days at the campsite for ease of wearing and with a shorter skirt to avoid the mud and wet grass. 

*Dress done now for the hat ribbons.

 The competed trimmed hat.

The weekend was very busy with constantly changing weather from rainy and cold, to sunny and warm,. The men were kept busy during the day with multiple black power musket, rifle, cannon and drill competitions. During the evenings there was entertainment to be had around the fires and on the Saturday evening we had an impromptu dance that was a highlight of the weekend for all who participated.

Nic shooting laying down, in the Sniper Shoot, he came first with a score of 94/100 at approximately 90 yards.

Parade on the final day. Unfortunately due to the poor weather on the preceeding days there was a lack of numbers as many left early the night before.