Managed to get hold of a lot of black material with a slight sheen to it in a charity shop and bought some red lining to go with it - total cost £10. The skirt alone took up a lot of material as it has a 3 and a half yard hem! This with the lining makes it a pretty heavy item.
After upsizing the pattern to a length of 42 inches I cut out the pattern pieces which are:
One centre front piece cut on the fold from half a pattern
Two identical side pieces
Two identical back pieces.
n.b It seems to me that by altering the darts and size of pleats the size of the skirt could be altered by about an inch.
It would be an error here if you didn't cut the lining and top fabric EXACTLY THE SAME YOU CAN CUT THEM OUT TOGETHER. Cut all pieces the same way on the fabric so the stretch is at the sides you may be able to get some pieces out if you reverse them ie one top one bottom.
1. I started off by sewing all the top pieces together and then the lining pieces.
When I came to match them up though I had to cut them again as I hadn't made them IDENTICAL in size, allowing more for the seams on the top fabric than the lining. So I had to lay them on the pattern and trim to size. The main thing with this task is to get both seams the same so they match up when you put them together. I used a strip of paper half and inch wide to get a really accurate seam. The tacking was made more difficult because of the size and weight of the skirt so I had to lay the pieces flat on the table to tack them all together it also quite awkward to sew them because of this as well.
2. The next task is to place the lining inside the top layer with the seams together. Then tack the lining to the top fabric at the top.
Leave an opening 10in down the centre back seam. Next you need to do the plackets. Cut out one 4in wide the other 2in. Sew the larger onto the left-hand side and the the smaller on the other. This is the same as a trouser front before it has a zip inserted. Make sure you sew each piece to the same seam allowance as the centre back seam - i.e half an inch. Fold over the short piece to the back so you can only see the skirt material. Sew the other piece the same but leave it so it is all visable (this will overlap the short placket. Sew it down to the lining and neaten the bottom sewing both pieces together and folding over and sewing to the lining just below the centre seam.
Next sew the 2 darts evenly spaced by dividing the front piece of the skirt into 3 these dont need to be very big about half an inch or less in width. I sewed mine through the lining and top fabric though this may not be correct.
Add the pockets to the side-seams in lining fabric with 5in of top fabric sewn on the top part.
Make pleats in the back sections about 4in which will be about 1 and a half inches wide when folded over for a 29in waist. Check for size to your own waist measurements. Tack on and sew the waistband - this is your waist measurement plus the 2 in where the large placket is to be overlapped - I made the mistake of not allowing for this when cutting out the waistband. I tacked a piece of calico fabric to the inside of the waistband for extra strength one inch wide.
You can now fold the waistband over on the inside and over-sew it down mine I decided was 1 inch in width as 1 and a half looks too much. Neaten the two ends of the waistband and sew on two lots of hooks to hold it fast.
Now you need to sew up the hem. I dont quite know yet how far off the floor this is but I intend to do the lining and top fabric separately by hand (machine stitching would look unauthentic. Next Ill be onto the matching jacket.
I noticed that there is extra weight on the back because of the pleats and am not sure yet whether this will drag the material down.
VICTORIAN JACKET
As the large bolt of black fabric was enough for a matching jacket I started this project about 7 days ago and estimate it should take about 3 days more (20 hours total) Total cost £12
LEG-OF-MUTTON SLEEVES
The two-part sleeves are identical in design to those 100 years previous and closely resemble an actual leg of mutton in design (see 1700s jacket.) They are sewn together in pairs down each side and then gathered at the top n.b I started the gather 3 and a half inches in from the underarm seam, pure guesswork. What is different to modern design is that the lining of the sleeves is a different shape from the outer shell, the top of the lining pieces are not gathered but cut the same shape with a backwards c-shape curve at the top (back and fronts identical.
Research says that there can be a gathered frill sewn to the top on the inside of the outer sleeve to hold out the large puff-sleeve. Initially I thought the different lining was actually an alternative pattern so had to cut-down the "puff" part out of the one I'd made an error with.
Sleeves in the Victorian era varied in width at the top as fashion went up to massive proportions and then went smaller again.
SHOULDERS are still not at the top as in most modern bodice patterns but are not cut at such a sharp angle down the back as the 1700s. Thinking in the modern way I put them at the top of my tailor's dummy.s shoulders causing me to think the uppermost seam of the sleeve was making the puff top sag with the waight of its gathered top. This seam was actually about one and a half inches down the back.
The BACK is in one piece now and is no longer narrow as 1700s were and it has side-seams which are fitted to the figure. This time I allowed for the thickness of the undergarments and not exactly to my 34in bust measurement.
COLLAR The collar is cut as part of the front jacket but although the pattern had this part drawn on I thought I should cut it off so I then cut a large banana shape in black and then lining, sewed it together with an interfacing of calico turned it rightside out and then sandwiched it between the lining and top fabric. This worked but was obviously technically wrong and a lot harder to do.
HAND FINISHING
A lot of work is contained in the hand finishing, securing the lining to the top part at the sides, sleeves and shoulders and adding a braid to finish. At this point I realised that the lining being red I would have difficulty not letting these stitches show on the back facing. The cuffs and bottom of jacket need also to be hand-finished and the hem of the jacket also. Luckily there are no buttons or hooks and eyes as the jacket doesnt fasten shut.
BUSTLE DRESS
Dress parts 14 in all: 2 narrow backs, 2 fronts, 2 pieces for side, 2 further pieces . (2x2), 1 placket to be pleated top and bottom and buttoned to the fronts,
4 skirtto meet at back (2x2). Apron front. 4 sleeves, 4 fitted undersleeves, 2 wider oversleeves gathered at tops.
The pattern needs to be half an inch wider on each piece and an inch to the length to fit a size 10.
PLASTRON
The centre piece is called the PLASTRON and this is by far the hardest piece and needs a detailed description.
It is best done in an alternate fabric in this case a pink, synthetic, Japanese silk. DO NOT cut the zig-zags at the top at this stage. After trying various ways of doing the tucks (8 at top and 8 bottom.) The best way I found was to pin the marked pattern (the lines are 2in apart) and tack the lines to the fabric by folding over each tuck. Too many pins ruin the fabric and a washable marker pen will too. Use long tacking stitches. You then need another sloping line for the placement of the tucks one side of the horizontal one. Pin and tack these in place. 2in down the pleats at the top, and 10in up at the bottom. The top piece as an inverted V the bottom comes to a point. Make up the Plastron-facing with a centre seam to join the two sides and tack the plastron to it with the raw edges
innermost. As the sides of this need to have the button holes strenghten the plastron with a strip on canvas as the edges and turn them in by 1in. Sew a line 1in in vertically.
THE BODICE
1. Sew the shoulder seams
2. Sew together the 4 shaped side/back pieces and sew them to the back/front. Note there is a small flat piece on the body start sewing just below this as it is part of the armhole.
3. Sew the centre back.
4. Sew the darts uncut at this stage you may need to alter them
when you fit the bodice.
5. Sew the sleeves, the outer one has puffed sleeves the inside on is a curved
shape. these will be put inside each other with the Witedged facing each other.
6. Cut out a piece of canvas half and inch smaller than the collar at sides and top. With the collar facing sewn to the top fabric sew the top and bottom fabrics leaving the bottom open.
this in not finished
SLEEVES
These ar the same method as for walking outfit, gather the top and make the lining, fit the lining inside the outer piece, attach to armholes together or attach outer shell first then insert lining with wrong sides facing, turn in half an inch and oversew in place. Make up the cuff with an outer layer, a lining and an interfacing. Attach to cuff so that the outer fabric is facing upwards from the cuff. Overlap the points where indicated. Neaten lining on the inside.
APRON FRONT
This is one piece, the middle part is almost identical to the centre front piece you have already assembled on the skirt. The outside edges are pleated to face towards the waist. Mark the positions with long tacking stitches.
indicated by broken and solid lines. Details of attaching - either to the
waist or horizontally
HOW IT OPENS
The dress opens at one of the seams of the front panels. Leave open the front panel/ lining and the apron front slits and sew one side into the side-seam of the centre front. Tack the front panel, the lining and the apron together at the opening, neaten this seam for eyelet fastenings. In order to put the dress on open the buttons and eyelets.
seams to the horizontal line about 10ins and turn inwards to neaten
SKIRT OF DRESS
Sew all the pieces together (centre front, 4 side panels, 2 backs. Leave open at centre front to vertical tack mark ? inches. Use the easy method of tacking 2 outer and two linings together then open out like a book. You will still have to
turn in two of the seams by hand. Or make up the outer and lining separately and put in right sides together. Tack the centre back pleats.
Measure the hem and neaten - If you have used the
simple method just turn both edges to the inside.
Attach the bodice to the skirt from centre front of plastron. Leave the opening
of skirt. Attach the back bodice so that the pleat is held in place.
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