HSM - A Good Start and an Apology

First of all - and this is long overdue - I would like to apologize to all those who signed up to participate in my 2014 Year of Foundations sew-along that I promptly abandoned very early in the year.  I wish I could use the excuse that "Hey, I got engaged and the wedding took over everything!"  But that is just not true.  I got engaged at the end of May in 2014, at which point I had already been neglecting my sew-along for a solid three months.  So again, I apologize to everyone who was planning to participate and/or watch.  I know I had very ambitious plans for making undergarments that went right out the window, and I feel bad about that.  But I feel worse about the fact that all of my promised inspiration posts, tutorials, and participant round-up posts were likewise never realized. I truly am sorry that I disappeared so thoroughly on that front.

Clearly I am not cut out for running sew-alongs.  I can, however, participate in them.  Which brings me to my first Historical Sew Monthly post of 2016 - the aptly-named Procrastination Challenge!  (This ties into my apology, because my focus for this challenge is 18th Century foundation garments.) 

So far, so good.

I was originally planning on finally finishing my 18th Century stays for this challenge, and I may still.  I have started working on them for the first time in two years, so they definitely fit the Procrastination theme.  This is how I've been storing them since March of 2014:

Zippered plastic bags - especially those with hooks - feature prominently in my sewing room organization system.

I started by evaluating the work to be done.  I had left off with the layers of coutil and blue cotton broadcloth basted together:

Another zippered plastic bag in a conveniently circular shape holds my collection of reed boning.

The next step is clearly to start stitching channels for the boning.  I chose to do this - starting with one of the center front pieces - in a somewhat unorthodox way.

I inserted a piece of 1/4" reed boning between the layers of coutil and nudged it up against the CF basting stitches, then began stitching right alongside the other edge: 

I'm using a spaced backstitch, which is one of my favorite stitches to use.  I decided to go with off-white thread for contrast - totally period.

I keep moving the reed as I go, creating new channels across the width of the piece.  This is how far I've gotten:

This will be slow going, I know.  But I think I'll be happier with the finished product than if I were to sew all of those boning channels by machine.  And with the bone inserted as I'm sewing, I know that the channels will be the same width and the bones will fit snugly.

Hand sewing hurts my left hand after a while, so I can't work on these continuously.  I have been very active in the meantime, though!

Ignore the mock-stays.  They will only ever be worn by my dress form, Anna.

I finally made a set of pocket hoops!  I had very well-intentioned thoughts of joining The Dreamstress's Panier-Along way back in 2013, but... Well, I didn't.  But I finally got around to it, and I made these in two days!  I took exactly zero pictures of the process, mostly because The Dreamstress did such a fantastic job of writing and illustrating the tutorial with her own pictures, that I thought mine would be completely redundant.  Anyway, they are done and they are fabulous!  Here's the breakdown: 

The Challenge:  Procrastination

Material:  Linen?  Burn test was inconclusive.  Also, 1/2" reed boning from corsetmaking.com

Pattern:  Panier-Along tutorial by The Dreamstress

Year: 1760s-1780s

Notions:  Cotton twill tape, thread

How historically accurate is it?  Pattern-wise, very.  Materials-wise, mostly.  I'm calling the fabric I used linen even though it suspiciously doesn't wrinkle.  Construction-wise, I cheated and sewed it entirely by machine.  So kinda?  Overall I'd say 80%. 

Hours to complete: Not including the overnight soaking of the reed boning, I would say three or four?  It went super fast. 

First worn:  Just for fun so far.  I have an event in March where they will be first worn. 

Total cost:  I believe I paid $1/yard for the fabric from the bargain table at the Costume Design Center, and I certainly used less than a yard.  The reed boning is $25/coil, which is approximately 90 feet.  I used 12 feet, so approximately $3.33 worth.  Thread and twill tape were in my stash, so total cost is around $4.00 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Year of Foundations: Basic Undergarments

I thought I'd do an overview post for each category of foundation garments, starting with basic undergarments - shifts, chemises, drawers, pantalets, etc.  Here's some inspiration to get us going:

Linen chemise embroidered with silk and gilt thread, late 16th century, The Met

Linen chemise, MFA

American, early 19th Century, MFA

Pantelets, 1830s, linen, The Met

1862-67, linen, cotton, The Met

1887, cotton, The Met

1890-91 chemise catalog

Drawers, 1880s, cotton, The Met

1910s, linen, The Met

Pattern ideas:

Simplicity's 16th Century Undergarments pattern

Reconstructing History's 18th century Women's Underpinnings

Sense & Sensibility's Regency Underthings

Simplicity's Civil War Drawers, Chemise, and Corset pattern

Truly Victorian's 1876 Combination Underwear pattern

Truly Victorian's 1885 Chemise and Drawers pattern

Truly Victorian's Edwardian Underwear pattern

Tutorials/Reproductions:

Making an 18th Century Shift

How to Make a Simple Chemise Without a Pattern

The Laced Angel's reproduction of antique drawers

Let me know if you have any patterns or tutorials that you've used or plan to use, and I'll add them to the list of links on the Year of Foundations page.