New 18th century pockets
Jul. 27th, 2013 05:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
atherleisure18th Century Pockets
When I started making a muff for the Williamsburg ball, I decided it was time to make some new pockets as well. While the brown leaf brocade pockets are very pretty, they’re too small to be practical or accurate. While these may not be the height of accuracy (after all, they're only linen-look, not real linen), they're a great leap in the right direction.
Materials:
½ yd ivory linen-look polyester (from JoAnn’s)
3 5/8 yd 1” cotton twill tape (from Burnley and Trowbridge)
2 yd ¼” cotton twill tape (from Burnley and Trowbridge)
Patterns:
I used the pocket size and shape from pages 28-29 of Patterns of Fashion: The Cut and Construction of Englishwomen’s Clothes 1660-1860 by Janet Arnold.
Construction:
The pockets are a linen-look polyester bound with 1” cotton twill tape and threaded on a ¼” tape that ties around the waist. They were entirely hand-sewn. First I cut and bound slits in two pocket sections. Those became the pocket fronts, and the other two sections became the pocket backs. I laid each front on a back and bound them. Then I threaded a tape through the tops of the pockets and finished the project. It only took about three hours altogether.
Thoughts after wearing:
I didn't actually finish these before I went to Williamsburg so they didn't get their first wearing until Dress U. I didn't really use them that day since I carried a basket, which gives much easier access to things. Their first real trial was on Independence Day.
These are much better than my old pockets. First they’re free on their waist tape so they can be shifted slightly to line up with the pocket slits on different dresses, though I’ll probably tack or pin them in place while wearing them because the one holding my camera, wallet, and cell phone kept shifting around to the front. Second, they’re big enough to hold plenty and so are a vast improvement over the Butterick ones.
When I started making a muff for the Williamsburg ball, I decided it was time to make some new pockets as well. While the brown leaf brocade pockets are very pretty, they’re too small to be practical or accurate. While these may not be the height of accuracy (after all, they're only linen-look, not real linen), they're a great leap in the right direction.
Materials:
½ yd ivory linen-look polyester (from JoAnn’s)
3 5/8 yd 1” cotton twill tape (from Burnley and Trowbridge)
2 yd ¼” cotton twill tape (from Burnley and Trowbridge)
Patterns:
I used the pocket size and shape from pages 28-29 of Patterns of Fashion: The Cut and Construction of Englishwomen’s Clothes 1660-1860 by Janet Arnold.
Construction:
The pockets are a linen-look polyester bound with 1” cotton twill tape and threaded on a ¼” tape that ties around the waist. They were entirely hand-sewn. First I cut and bound slits in two pocket sections. Those became the pocket fronts, and the other two sections became the pocket backs. I laid each front on a back and bound them. Then I threaded a tape through the tops of the pockets and finished the project. It only took about three hours altogether.
Thoughts after wearing:
I didn't actually finish these before I went to Williamsburg so they didn't get their first wearing until Dress U. I didn't really use them that day since I carried a basket, which gives much easier access to things. Their first real trial was on Independence Day.
These are much better than my old pockets. First they’re free on their waist tape so they can be shifted slightly to line up with the pocket slits on different dresses, though I’ll probably tack or pin them in place while wearing them because the one holding my camera, wallet, and cell phone kept shifting around to the front. Second, they’re big enough to hold plenty and so are a vast improvement over the Butterick ones.
