HSM17 - Firsts and lasts - 18th C pocket hoops

It feels great to finally be able to post a HSM challenge again. It was obvious for me to go with the pocket hoops for my Lady Poe costume for the challenge. I have 18th Century stays, but I've only worn them with bum pads, now all the focus is on the hips. Without the pocket hoops, well it simply wouldn't be a 1770's robe à la Francaise.

I hav simply followed the instructions on The Dreamstress' Panier-Along tutorial, so for that reason I haven't documented my work with the pocket hoops. The only change I made was to use steel boning instead of reed.
The HSM facts

The Challenge: January - Firsts and lasts
Material: 1 m cotton
Pattern: The Dreamstress' Panier-Along
Year: 1770
Notions: steel boning, cotton tape
How historically accurate is it? Everything is done by machine, and even if cotton existed linen would have been a more likely choice of fabric. Ca 50%
Hours to complete: one day
First worn: Not yet
Total cost: $17 for boning and cotton tape, the fabric was from the stash

Pet en l'air sleeves

I'm not sewing a lot at the moment. I'm busy planning and working on redoing my whole kitchen, meaning throwing everything out and get new stuff, including floor and all appliances.

Still this weekend I got the chance to do two things. The first was that I invited some friends for a party on Saturday, and everyone should come dressed up/out. In the end it was more like a girls' film night, but it was fun and relaxed. I wore my old printed cotton Anglaise, but before we started to watch a film I slipped into something more comfortable. That's when I discovered that I couldn't get out of the Anglaise by myself. The sleeves were so tight, and with my lost flexibility in one of the shoulders I couldn't wiggle out as I usually do. Thankfully I had friends there who could help me undress. (We also discussed the lack of chambermaids in today's society, and that they wouldn't be satisfied with just room and board if I hired one).

With the problems of getting undressed in mind I set out to finish the sleeves of my pet en l'air. I had already sewn them on before Saturday, but it felt more important than ever to make sure that they are big enough.

For the sleeves I went back to my very first 18th century jacket. It's been long since I threw away the jacket, but before doing that I cut out the lining o the sleeve, since that was a well-fitting sleeve, and the most accurate thing with the jacket.

I used the old sleeve as a pattern, but also added a bit at the bottom to make it longer. The sleeves are unlined and I sewed them together on the machine.

I attached the bottom part by hand, using backstitches. I feel as if I have more control of tricky seams when I sew them by hand, and instead of a faster seam that I might have to rip up and redo I took the slower approach.

The top part was pinned on, and the excess fabric was gathered into a small pleat at the back of the sleeve.

A strap, in the shape of simply a rectangular piece of fabric, was pinned on top of the shoulder lining and sleeve seam. As you can see the strap is bigger than needed, I didn't measure it beforehand but simply folded and cut away fabric until there was just enough to cover all the raw seams. As you can see I'm working on my dressform. Even if I can't fit my 18th century bodices on it, I think it's a lot easier to pin curved shapes, like shoulders, on it, than trying to do it flat on the floor or a table. The strap was topstitched in place with running stitches.

To finish the neckline I added neck binding. It's also strip of fabric that was sewn to the right side of the back and then folded to the inside to hide the raw edge.

This is the finished back of the jacket.

As for the sleeve fit. It was really roomy until I added the neck binding. There must have been enough bulk of the fabric, the cotton that I'm using is very thick, so that the back width has shrunk a bit, and that affects the sleeves. I can get in and out, but I need to be careful about this for my next project, and possibly add a bit to the back to avoid the issue.

Starting a pet en l'air

I've always said that I won't feel as if I have a complete 18th century wardrobe until I have a robe à la francaise or sack gown. In order to make a full ensemble I will also need pocket hoops and petticoats. This weekend I decided to start on a pattern for it though, and I want to start with making a jacket version, or pet en l'air as it's also called. That way I can figure out the pattern before ordering a lot of expensive fabric, and I can wear the jacket with my existing petticoats and bumpad without looking too bad.

I have spending time looking for tutorials and inspiration on the web and I would like to recommend the two that I've used the most: La Couture Parisienne and The Fashionable past

I was thinking for a long time if I should order a pattern or not, but decided not to. I didn't start from scratch though. I started off with my Reconstructing History 822, that I used for my navy anglaise. I was after the fitted lining.

 I put the pattern pieces for the lining of RH822 on my muslin fabric and then opened p 34-34 of Patterns of Fashion, since that is a sack gown with all of my favorite elements, not the least that there is a seam between the bodice and skirt part in the front. I simply used the RH822 as a base and folded the pieces until they looked like in Patterns of Fashion. I sewed the muslin pieces together for a quick fitting and then used them as a pattern for the lining.

In the back of the lining I added ties so that I will be able to adjust the bodice. I had first planned to have lacing in the back, but this is a more simple solution from La Couture Parisienne. The vertical lines are boning channels, made from cotton tape and with a piece of plastic whalebone to stabilise the tied tapes.

For the back piece I used a full width of my main fabric. I cut out the shaped side seams, sleeve opening and shoulder seams.

I did my first test of just foldng the fabric to see if I was on the right way. As you can see I'm using my dress form. It is not the shape or size of me in a pair of 18th century stays, but it works as long as I'm just working with the back. I can't drape the front ont he dress form.

I attached the outer fabric directly on to the lining at the shoulder seams and the side seams.

When it was time to start draping I first marked the center on both the lining and the outer fabric, so that I could pleat one side at a time. The pleats are stacked box pleats. I could probably have stacked them more, now the bottom pleats are peaking out from under the top pleats.

The pleats are handstitched to the lining for the first ca 5 centimeters.

Here is the finished backpiece with the pleats. In the end it was a lot easier then I though. The pleats give quite a lot of freedom with adjusting. Now it's on to the rest...