Early natural form transitional skirt support

This is a quite long post. In short, it is about my research about what types of skirt supports and petticoats that could have been worn under a trained 1876 skirt - a transitional year between the very full skirts of early bustle era and the  narrow natural form.

How to get this shape of skirt, that is the question of this post.

Introduction

Somehow, my first historical sewing project of the year turned out to be an early natural form dress. Two months ago I did not even like natural form, but all it took to change my mind was an enthusiastic friend showing some pictures :-) As I want to do the transition between "late early bustle" and early natural form years, ca 1876, I have been thinking a lot about petticoats, crinolines and bustles. I could even go so far as saying I have been a bit obsessed by skirt supports lately... As usual for me, I concentrate on the fashion of those wealthy enough to follow the latest fashion.

Terminology:

Before I start properly, I will define some of the terms I intend to use. By structural support, I will be meaning any kind of skirt support that either has boning in it or serves only to add volume. This includes for example boned bustles small and large, crinolines, and the smaller ruffled horse-hair bustles. Petticoats on the other hand could add a quite considerable amount of support if they have ruffles, cording, tucks, is heavily starched, or some other trick used historically, but they are still basically a skirt. (Petticoats with built-in boned bustles will be structural support, for this post...)

The challenge

Transition periods in clothing are interesting but tricky. Nothing is as clear as for the typical dresses of an era.
For early bustle period, there is the typical bustle dress, and good patterns are available for bustles and petticoats. 

Day dress with the big bustle skirt 1870-72

1870's bustle (from the Met)

1870's bustle

For the narrower form of natural form, the only support needed would probably be a petticoat with lots of ruffles (and maybe a small tournure), or a slimmer bustle with small horse-hair ruffles 

1879 dresses from La Mode Illustre

1881 dresses from magazine "the Queen"

A slim 1882 petticoat with ruffles

Early 1880's horse-hair bustle skirt (from the Met)

 But in between? What happened to the bustle between these two extremes, as the skirt narrowed, and how fast did it happen? The shape I am aiming for is like in these fashion plates from 1876-1877.

Little addition at hips, quite a lot volume that needs support at knee height, and a train that needs some volume and protection. The question does not get easier by the fact that the choice of a structured skirt support (bustle, crinoline, ...) and choice of petticoat is by no means independent. For full blown bustle dress, you'd obviously need a bustle, but for smaller fashions, the same shape could most likely be achieved either with some structured support and a plainer petticoat, or by using petticoats with lots of volume.

Method 

In trying to figure this out, I have been reading blogs and webpages of other people making natural form underskirts, and I have been looking at fashion plates, advertisements from the period, and pictures of extant garments.

Other people's work

Searching and asking, I found some other people had been doing the same.
I will not put their pictures here, but follow the links to see their great work!
Historical Sewing made an 1876 trained and ruffled petticoat with corded ruffles, and made a good tutorial.
The Modern Mantua-Maker made a full set of underwear for first half of natural form era, including petticoat with ruffled train and a boned skirt support. 
There is the Truly Victorian 1879 Petticoat with Detachable Train.
And Yesterday's Thimble has a good tutorial for an 1876 Petticoat with train. 

Period options

 Looking mostly at advertisements from the time, I found a number of options, depending on how much support you need and where you need it (hip, thigh, knee or ankle height). 

Petticoats

Petticoats with more or less ruffles:

1876, from the Met

Petticoats From Demorest 1877-1878

Petticoats from Buttericks 1878

Trained Petticoat—Harpers Bazar, 1876

Bustles

1876 bustles from The Ladies's treasury

1876 petticoats and petticoats+corset cover, with built in bustle, from Le Moniteur De La Mode

Crinoline like type

A skirt support from a period source, reprinted in Fashion of the Gilded Age

A number of hoopskirts and tornures, 1883.

The latest picture is from 1883, a bit later than mine, but it is not improbable that this variations have been around earlier as well. At the least, it illustrates how many sorts of skirt supports that were available at the same time.

My conclusions

From reading other peoples work and looking at period information, I got the conclusion that just one petticoat would not be enough but that several probably could work. That meant that the choice was either to make at least two petticoats, both with lots of ruffles, or making a structured support and get away with a plainer petticoat, with only enough volume to hide the boning of the structured support. From what I could see from my advertisements, both options could be plausible. Comfort spoke for the second alternative. I find padding with petticoats to be a lot heavier and warmer than using a crinoline/bustle to get the same volume. Also, laziness did - I think it will take me less time and energy to make structured support+petticoat, than it would take to make several petticoats with lots of ruffles.

After way too much thinking (obsessing?), I chose to base my work on this one:

 It has some support all the way down, including some for the train, which means minimal need for petticoats with heaps of flounces. For petticoat, I chose a simple one with only one ruffle, and gathers in the back to control the amount of fabric. It is based on this one, and very similar to the one on Yesterdays Thimble:

I made mine with a longer train, to support and protect the train of my skirt. I decided I did not need the versatility of a floor-length petticoat with a separate button-on  train.

Limitations of this work

I have not read any text sources, only looked at photographs and pictures of structured supports and petticoats. This means that I have no period information on how thay were actually worn and which combination of support and petticoats that would have been common, only own conclusions. Also, I have never handled a petticoat properly made to give lots of support (for example a starched one with lots of ruffles and cording). Thus, I do not know for sure how much support they actually gives - I might be underestimating them.

In next post, there will be pictures of my bustle and petticoat!

1888-1890 walking dress

In Oktober, I posted that I had started a 1880-1890 walking dress based on a fashion plate. (Actually, the plate is not dated, but by the looks it has to be something like these years.) I managed to finish it in time for a the first intended wearing, a steampunk larp, but that also meant that I made a slightly steampunked version of the vest. Now I have made the more historically accurate (HA) vest I originally intended, so now I consider it finished. I posted about the finished skirt here.

This dress consists of a skirt with soutache embroidery, and a coat-like overdress with an attached false vest. Under, I wear a shirt and kind of tie. (And of course chemise, corset and bustle.) (I will probably make a better shirt sometime, but here I borrowed a modern shirt for the steam punk larp, and my Edwardian shirt for the photo session.)

Sometime, I might get around to describe how I adapted the standard bodice pattern to a coat-like overdress, but this time I will just put up lot of pictures.

A closer look with the HA vest:

I made a welted watch pocket, just as on the fashion plate! That was fiddly, and meant I had to do the scary thing of cutting a hole in the front and hoping I would not mess it up... But it turned out ok, and I like the look of it even while it is not nearly perfect.

 Then, in its steam punk version:

At the larp, with Stempunky Mystical Machines.

 

And the HSM facts:

 Challenge #1 2016: Procrastination

What the item is: ca 1888-1890 walking dress. 

Fabric: A soft blue polyester  fabric with some stretch, flat lined with old cotton sheets. Polyester velvet for collar, lapels and revers.
Pattern: I started with the Truly Victorian 1885 Cuirass Bodice to get the general shape, but then I changed the front totally, added a collar, and added a skirt to the bodice, so there is not much left of the original pattern. Truly Victorian 1885 Four-Gore Underskirt for the skirt.

 Year: 1888-1890  I would guess.
Notions: Soutache braid. Hooks and eyes for closure of the HA vest, those large hooks for closure of the steam punk vest (taken from all those useless key bands you get now and then as a student).
How historically accurate is it? The look and shape of it is pretty good, but construction methods is mostly made up as I went along. Materials is all wrong.

 Hours to complete: lost count. Something like 5 h for the soutache on skirt and a few more hours to sew the skirt. I think the soutache on the HA vest took 3 h. Maybe 5 h for constructing and testing the pattern for the coat/overdress. I would say, in total something like 25-30 h??
First worn: Steampunk version:  for my larp in last October and for my 30:th birthday masquerade. HA version: not yet except for photos.
Total cost: maybe something like 60-80 Euro?

Procrastinated for how long: Not so long, actually. I made it with its steam punk vest in October, but it took until January to get started on the HA vest.

Late 1880's skirt with soutache

I finished the skirt for the 1888-1890 outfit a while ago, but never got around to posting it. It took a while to make it, since I decided to finally make make a garment with soutache embroidery. I have been looking longingly at extant garments with soutache for a long time, so now I decided it was time to actually do it. For inspiration, I used pictures like this one:

From The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 I wanted something slightly organic, a feeling of leaves or sea grass rather than the stricter design found on military uniforms.(A bit unusual for me, as I am generally very fond of the military look.)

I worked out a design, and pinned a section of it to the fabric. I pinned free hand, just looking at one report of the pattern that I had drawn on a paper, and occasionally measuring to make sure that I didn't distort the pattern. I sewed it on by hand. I soon discovered that it looked much better if I used back stitch. Otherwise the thread pulled the band, making puckers.

For the skirt, I wanted to use thin wool fabric, but was not able to find any. Instead I found a polyester in exactly the color I wanted. It had good drape, but unfortunately also a bit of stretch. To get rid of the stretch I flatlined all pieces of the skirt with a soft cotton fabric. It seems to work well.

I used the same basic 1880's Truly Victorian skirt as I have used for my other skirts. And as with the other skirts, I added a pocket in a side seam, taken from the 1886 Patterns of Fashion dress. Following the strict feeling of my inspirational picture I made this skirt entirely plain except for the embroidery - no poufs at the back, no ruffles. And here is the result - a bit of a teaser, as I will publish the rest of the outfit soon.

Looking back at 2015

At the beginning of the new year, I will start classically by summing up the last year. Last was very productive for me sewing-wise. This was due to two things. The first was that I joined the Historical Sew Monthly (HSM), which meant a deadline each month. As I have only been sewing at vacations before, this meant that I got a lot more sewing done. The second thing was that I got in touch with some more historical sewing people here in Linköping. As sewing together is much more fun than being nerdy on my own, more people to sew with meant that I was inspired to keep up the speed in sewing. In all, I managed to get the first nine HSM challenges done. Then, my project did not fit the challenges.

So, what have I done? I started a new time period, Edwardian, with the practical 1905 outfit (that turned out to be not so practical, as the heavy underskirt pinched my stomach through the corset, the hat is large, and I could not dress myself as there was hooks and eyes at the back that I could not reach.) Still, I liked it. This project involved making an Edwardian corset (HSM challenge #1 foundations) and corset cover, an underskirt (HSM#3 Stashbusting), a skirt and a blouse (HSM #5 Practicality). 

For the turn of the century days I went to with some friends in August, I could not resist making a more upper class version, with a lace blouse (thrifted), reshaping the hat, and making a bolero and belt. I am really happy with the shape I managed to get by the use of lots of bust and hip padding.

Next big project was the 1860's afternoon dress from the book Patterns of Fashion - another new time period for me. Surprisingly, despite the large crinoline this turned out to be one of my most comfortable dresses. I modified my 16th century farthingale to get it more bell shaped instead of cone shaped. Then, there is the skirt, bodice, and undersleeves, and decorating the bonnet. (This was HSM #6 Out of your comfort zone)

In September, I started the last big project of the year - a ca 1880-1890 walking dress from a fashion plate. This will be a sneak peak, as I have not yet blogged it. As the dress neared finishing, I made the vest a bit steampunk by using large hook for fastening, as I was going to wear the dress at my Steampunk larp. I am currently making a period correct vest as well, so I can choose. This outfit consists of a skirt with soutache, and a coat with a false vest attached.

I also made some smaller stuff, to complement dresses I already had.
An over skirt and a new hat for the 1886 dress (This was HSM #2: Blue and #4 "War and Peace")

A "gröntröja", green bodice, for my mother's Gagnef folk costume. (HSM #8 "Heritage and Heirlooms")

Two Tudor caps, constructed in two different ways.  HSM #7 Accesorise.

Crazy stuff: A 18th century inspired dress in grocery store paper bags for a competition (sadly, I did not win anything...)

I also did a remake of the striped 1880's bodice, by adding a false vest and blouse. This way, it got a bit bigger (much needed!) and also a bit more fancy. I also added lots of trimming to the hat belonging to the same dress (HSM #9  Colour Challenge Brown).

After this year, I can confidently say that I have overcome my fear of making button-holes, after making a shirt and two bodices with buttons! I have also arranged a steampunk larp and a historical costume "fika", won a costume competition award, and been to at least five19th century markets or gatherings, so this have been a busy year for the historical costuming part of me! Plans for next year will come in next post.

Steampunk-lajv

I helgen hade jag nöjet att arrangera ett steampunklajv. Målet var ett litet pussel/intrig-lajv som skulle vara tillgängligt för både nya och erfarna lajvare, och inte kräva så mycket förberedelser av deltagarna. Jag började planera i augusti, och efter att ägnat de två sista veckorna åt intensivt intrigskrivande var det äntligen dags för mig och 15 andra att ha själva lajvet.

Vi började med att de flesta träffades för att strosa runt lite i Gamla Linköping, innan det var dags för lunch på Wärdshuset. Vi fick en del glada och nyfikna kommentarer när vi kom gående i våra fina kläder :-) Efter en något kort lunch (arrangörskan, dvs jag, hade tydligen en grovt optimistisk uppfattning om hur lång tid det tar att flytta på 10-15 pers, få mat, äta och flytta på oss igen...) var det dags att dra oss mot lokalen för själva lajvet. Efter en kort genomgång där jag lyckades få en nervsitets/stress-hjärnsläpp och glömma att jag ens hade en lista på vad jag ville säga började vi. Lajvet var uppdelat på tre akter om vardera knappa timmen, där varje akt utspelade sig under en dag. Miljön var en kemi-konferens i ett steampunk-alternativt Linköping vid sekelskiftet, men deltagarna var inte bara forskare och uppfinnare utan vi hade bland annat även en hypnotisör, en skådespelerska, en militär och två rika personer som allmänt lade sig i och ville köpa saker :-)

Lite bilder från lunchen:

Huvudintrigen handlade om ett dokument från 1500-talet som beskrev hur man skulle tillreda ett elixir för evigt liv. Eller var det möjligen ett livsfarligt zombie-elixir? För att inte göra det för enkelt för mina kära deltagare var förstås vissa delar skrivna med ett skiffer, som bara en person hade nyckeln till. Vi hade också respresentanter för den tyska Kaisern och svenska Krigsmakten, som var ute efter att lägga beslag på alla spännande uppfinningar - i hård konkurens med dandyn som ville köpa sig ett bättre rykte genom att finansiera forskning... Uppfinningar visades upp, ifrågasattes, stals och köptes. Arkeologen svimmade och blev hypnotiserad, vetenskaplig heder ifrågasattes och köptes, och vi fick till och med ett episkt relations-gräl som slutscen (Tack K och T!). Sammantaget var det ett roligt (ok, jag är arrangören, jag erkänner att jag är partisk!) och mycket intensivt lajv, och det kom upp trådar som gjorde mig som arrangör glatt häpen. (Vanför blev till exempel tolkad som vandöd, vilket blev mycket roligare :-)   )
 

Nästan hela gruppen samlad efter lajvet

Upfinnaren, herr civilingenjör licentiat doktor Otto Nilson från Otto Nilssons Ångkemiska Laboratorium, med sitt fantasktiska super-ång-pulver som rönte stort intresse

En hyfsat representativ bild av undertecknad - kändes som att jag var rätt speedad och sprang runt och körde med folk hela dagen... (Bättre bilder på min nya dräkt kommer i ett eget inlägg senare)

 Bilder från genomgången efteråt där alla fick berätta lite om vad det hållit på med under lajvet:

Är de inte stiliga, mina föräldrar?

Jag är särskilt imponerad över hur bra lajvet gick och hur snygga dräkter alla hade fått till, eftersom några knappt hört talas om steampunk innan jag berättade om lajvet, och många inte hade lajvat förut. Bra jobbat alla!

Sammantaget gav arrangerande mersmak, och jag funderar redan på vad temat ska vara på nästa lajv...

Big 1770's hair at the ball

Last Saturday I attended "Ball of all times" here in Linköping. We started the day with dancing training, with dances from 12th to 19th century. Then we got a few hours to change, and then it was time for eating lots of great historcial food and dancing. I did not take many pictures exept for those I did to document my Big Hair, so this post will be as self-centered as usual even while there was alot of very nice people and a lot of good looking clothing.

I had decided to use my 1770's silk Anglais a la polonaise, as I had only used it once, and I was not that up to making a new ball gown. (As I was all absorbed in making my 4th 1880's day dress. Maybe I should start to have a bit more variation in my projects? No! ) To get something new, I decided to try making a large hairdo. As I have lots of hair, I used no wig, but a lot of padding.

For padding, I bought a "hair donut", meant to be used for making neat hair buns. I got the XXL one, and simply pinned it on top of my head. As it is made of some net-like material, it was very easy to pin in it.  Then I used some of my hair balls as padding at the base of the donut. Then, I spent about one hour and three packets of hairpins on pinning strands of my hair on top of the donut.

Using all this...

... to make this!

I used hair wax instead of 18th century pomade. Then I used maize starch to powder my hair. It worked quite well to make the hair a bit lighter (greyer, in my case. ) In the back, twisted some of the strands before pinning them, to make it a bit more intresting. I had given up on those elegant rolls of hair beforehand, and chosen to make a quite simple hairdo. I had intended to curl the loose lock of hair, but run out of time and decided to leave it.

For once in historical costuming, the blue ends of my hair is not totally anachronistic (just a little bit, being way to bright) as the hair sometimes was powered in colors like blue or pink during this period. Historical or not, I like how the blue strands look. Surprisingly, this hairdo was also very comfortable. As the padding was very lightweight and I only used my own hair, it did not weight more than any modern hairdo. Also, having all the hair on top of my head instead of in for example a bun at the neck meant that the weight did not strain my neck at all.

The dress is still wrinkled at front, but I don't mind as much now that I have a better hairdo to pair it with.

And in soft light you can almost not see the wrinkles!

With some beautiful 18th century ladies :-)