Underpinnings Progress Report - 1860s this time!

[nuranar]

I cut out and mostly finished two 1860s chemises over Christmas break, as planned here (and in subsequent posts).  I finished the first at that time, but the second wasn't completed until a couple weeks ago, when bonatirer put a lovely buttonhole in the yoke for my Dorset button. :D

Chemise #1
Pattern: Past Patterns 707, View B
Fabric: Pimatex from Dharma (this is THE stuff for mid-century underpinnings)
Trim: Vintage whitework trim, found at the Mansfield antique mall on Christmas Eve

Lots of tucks on the front of this one.




I love the little puffed sleeves. I gathered the whitework just a little bit so it would flare, but I didn't want it heavily gathered.  (And I wanted to save enough for a petticoat and drawers.)


I love how the hand stroked gathering looks. And the trim matches the Pimatex perfectly; it's ever-so-slightly off white.



Chemise #2
Pattern: Kay Gnagey-licensed Simplicity pattern
Fabric: Cotton lawn (I just found out that lawn really wasn't used for chemises. Oops! Too bad! :D)
Trim: None. I kind of wanted some kind of fine lace, but didn't have any on hand. The whitework was definitely too heavy and off-white to look right.

The yoke on this pattern does run large. It's not a big deal, since it's not really going to go anywhere, but I wish I'd cut it a size or two smaller.  The button makes it possible to pull it down farther for very wide-necked dresses.


More stroked gathers, and bonatirer's buttonhole.  Finishing the placket was, alas, a little more awkward that I expected. But I survived. ;)

Comments

[suededsilk.livejournal.com]

Adorable! Love the whitework and all the tiny pintucks on the first one.

Out of curiousity, how did you make the stroked gathers? I looked it up, and this old sewing book (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20776/20776-h/chapter_1.html) gives instructions to make what I consider "normal" gathers, but with only one thread. Then it says to stitch them down with a second thread to hold them in place. Is that how you did it? My own method involves stitching two lines about 1/4" apart on either side of the seamline, pulling them up, and then pushing/pulling/smoothing the gathers so they look even before I stitch the garment pieces together. Maybe I was taught a modern variation on stroked gathering, only nobody called it that? :/

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Thank you! They're actually 1/4" tucks (pintucks scare me), but I love how they look. And I'm still thrilled about the whitework! :D

That book pretty much shows how it's done, except that I go ahead and do both threads at once. I have to make sure they're lined up, of course. The second thread isn't really holding the gathers; it's just a second row of stitching. I never thought of doing the second row after drawing up the first, but I can see it might be easier and simpler with most fabric. The pimatex is so tightly woven it was a little difficult to handsew.

There are really three kinds of gathering. Machine, hand plain, and hand stroked. The major benefit of hand gathering is that because there is one thread per row, the fabric is not squashed between threads. So by increasing stitch length, there's little limit to how far material can be gathered down. A secondary benefit is the neat appearance, since the little pleats are lined up in a way that the offset stitching and sandwiching of material that happens with machine gathering just can't duplicate.

What really makes stroked gathers, as opposed to plain gathers, is how they're joined to the rest of the garment. Stroked gathers are attached to the folded edge of the band one tiny pleat at a time: one stitch, one pleat. It's quite time-consuming (and sometimes hard on even my eyes), so that's why I'm rather proud of these chemises! ;) Plain gathers are sewn more normally, with a regular stitch on the band, and no particular attention to individual pleats. It sounds like that's what you were taught.

[christylee.livejournal.com]

Beautiful undies! I so hate working on undies though..

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

Totally unrelated, but I love your icon.

[christylee.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

I honestly haven't done enough to really hate it yet! Part of working mostly in one period. This was a very, very necessary addition to my wardrobe, as well as a stash buster. (Constant struggle around here!)

[fancyfrocks.livejournal.com]

Wow! Those are gorgeous! Look at all the teensy tiny pleats!

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you! :D That first one was surprisingly intense to make, even though they're just regular 1/4" tucks. I love it, though.

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

Beautiful. I would be tempted to wear the first one as a top sometimes just because it's too pretty to hide under a dress. :-p

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And yes, I agree. (If it weren't for awkward things like shoulder straps.) Chemises are such pretty garments. I do keep seeing chemise-like, corset-cover-like tops in catalogs these days... so tempting...

[girliegirl32786.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous work!

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! :)

[estelyn-strider.livejournal.com]

Beautiful work! And of course I wouldn't be me if I hadn't noticed the quilt underneath - did someone make that for you? Very pretty machine quilting!

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Actually, it's part of the bedroom set I bought for myself a year and a half ago. It's from a department store, but very elegant. It's reversible, so the other side is brown with pink quilting. I love it! Thanks for noticing!

[sakka.livejournal.com]

Fantastically pretty! :D I love the button.