Mid-19th Century Chemise
Jul. 18th, 2013 07:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
atherleisureAfter Dickens of a Christmas, I decided I hated my Simplicity 9769 chemise as a chemise. I still think it’s lovely and makes a good nightgown, but the sleeves really misbehave when trying to wear them with a gown. That meant it was time for a new chemise.
I don't have any pictures, but here's what I did.
Materials:
2 ½ yd bleached muslin (36” wide) (from JoAnn’s)
Patterns:
I made the pattern using the instructions in The Dressmaker’s Guide: 1840-1865 by Elizabeth Stewart Clark. While the sleeve pattern was much pointier than the drawing in the book, it worked out okay. If I do it again, I’ll probably shorten the gusset bit of the piece by about 2”.
Construction:
This was an incredibly easy project and done almost entirely by machine. The only hand-stitching in the whole thing was sewing the inside of the neck binding. Maybe I should have hand-hemmed, but I really didn’t care. After all, it’s just a chemise and a plain muslin chemise, at that.
Thoughts after wearing:
This chemise was a vast improvement over my old one. I could have stood an extra inch or two in the neckband to make it sit a little further off-the-shoulder, but it wasn’t terrible as it was. I would definitely be willing to use this pattern again.
I don't have any pictures, but here's what I did.
Materials:
2 ½ yd bleached muslin (36” wide) (from JoAnn’s)
Patterns:
I made the pattern using the instructions in The Dressmaker’s Guide: 1840-1865 by Elizabeth Stewart Clark. While the sleeve pattern was much pointier than the drawing in the book, it worked out okay. If I do it again, I’ll probably shorten the gusset bit of the piece by about 2”.
Construction:
This was an incredibly easy project and done almost entirely by machine. The only hand-stitching in the whole thing was sewing the inside of the neck binding. Maybe I should have hand-hemmed, but I really didn’t care. After all, it’s just a chemise and a plain muslin chemise, at that.
Thoughts after wearing:
This chemise was a vast improvement over my old one. I could have stood an extra inch or two in the neckband to make it sit a little further off-the-shoulder, but it wasn’t terrible as it was. I would definitely be willing to use this pattern again.
