HSM22 challenge 10s - my 1916 underwear

October: A Perfect 10: It’s the HSM’s 10th anniversary, so make something 10 themed. 10th century, the something-10s, something that incorporates 10 of something? Be creative with it!

The whole set with combinations, corset and petticoat

I have come to like the fashion in 1915-1917 more and more, and with the need for some underwear for my wedding gown it also gave me a reason to make a new set of underwear. I'm not going for an historical wedding gown, but I like the silhouette and want to make my wedding gown from that. Up until now I have made to with my Scroop Pattern Rilla corset that I patterned tested and an 1980's romantic skirt that I have turned into a petticoat. I had already made the Wearing History 1917 combinations, so now it was time for the rest of the underwear. 

When I pattern tested the Rilla corset I got the finished pattern as a reward. Since then Leimomi Oakes has made another set of sizes for the Rilla so that it now comes in size pack A, B and C. I had the size pack A and B, and I was just on the outside of the largest size in B. I still decided to try and work with that, instead of rebuying the pattern. I shouldn't have worried. The Scroop Patterns are really true to size, in fact I would say that they have a tendency to run a bit large. Every time that I have made a pattern and gone up a bit to be on the safe side I have had to take them in back to the size I should have picked from the start.

Since this is a pattern that can be bought I don't want to talk to much about the construction, it's all there in the very clear and good instructions. The only thing I get a bit worried about is to choose the length for the boning. I bought the boning before starting to sew and I picked the middle of the road in the size options given. It works, but if I hade sewn the boning channels first I would probably have chosen to have the back bones be the shortest option, they really go down deep on my bum. 

A thing that made the materials for the corset more expensive was that apparently it's impossible to find spring steel with plastic dipped ends in the EU. All the Swedish and contintenal sellers that I could find only had them precut and wanted you to put metallic end caps on them. I had to order the boning from VenaCava in the UK, and with Brexit that means that I also had to buy customs and toll cleareance for them.

The Rilla corset doesn't have a lot of reduction, it simply smooths out the curves. This makes it really comfortable. I am really unused to the longline corset though, and in that way I feel more restricted from the waist down, compared to Georgian stays or Victorian corsets. I definitely need to practice more about simply going to the bathroom, and being able to pick up the flap on the combinations so that I can button them to the front. I might have to adjust where I have placed the buttons on the combinations as well.

Since this is my wedding corset I made it from white coutil, and I also used gold details on the busk and lace. 

When the corset was done it was time for the petticoat, made from Scroop Patterns Ettie Pettie, that is designed to cover the time period 1900-1910 and goes really well with the Rilla corset. I loved the idea of making a really fluffy petticoat, and there are two ruffles with lace on the version that I made.

Inserting several rows of lace and using lace for the hems was tedoius, but I loved the result. There is a lot of lace, which is reflected in the price tag of the materials, there simply wasn't a lot of options when I wanted pure cotton lace. The lace also made the petticoat surprisingly heavy, considering that the fabric is a very light cotton batiste.

One mistake I made when cutting out the pattern was that I didn't adjust for my length. I have very short legs, but I'm used to being able to adjust the skirt length either at the waist or at the hem, which is possible when working with large rectangular pieces that are gathered to the waist. Instead of recutting the pattern pieces I made two tucks just above the first ruffle, which is a common detail on period petticoats. One of the pattern variations have similar tucks on the ruffle itself.

Another mistake I made was to simply don't read the full instructions. So keep in mind that you should mark out eight points and not just quarter points when it is time to gather the ruffle, and the outer ruffle is not attached exactly the same as the dust ruffle. The result was that the ruffle is not quite as evenly gathered as I would have liked, and instead of cutting away the fabric behind the lace covering where the ruffle is attached to the skirt I just sewed the lace over the seam as a ribbon. It works fine, and is an option in the pattern, but I really like the more delicate look when the fabric is cut away.

The one thing left to do now is to starch the petticoat to get it really fluffy and crisp, but that is for later in the summer.

The Historical Sew Monthly details

What the item is: - A corset and petticoat
How it fits the challenge: It is from the 1910s
Material: corset - 1 m cotton coutil, petticoat - 3 m cotton batist
Pattern: Scroop Patterns Rilla corset and Ettie Petticoat
Year: 1915-1917
Notions: For the petticoat -  7,5 m cotton insertion lace, 5,5 m hemming lace, elastic waistband, snaps, hook and eye, for the corset - 1 busk, 48 grommets and 24 spring steel bones in varying size, 1 m grosgrain tape, 6 m of corset lacing, 2,5 m bias tape
How historically accurate is it? I have follwed the instructions, so I think this one is pretty closee.
Hours to complete: one month for both
First worn: not yet
Total cost: $200 for both pieces