Undergarments are often a problem in any good historical outfit. They take as much time as a gown and are never seen. This means that they are often forgotten and bypassed for sake of time and money. Even when they aren't, knowing exactly what you need can be difficult. When I was making up my muslin 1809 gown I already had a full set of undergarments for that time period. Unfortunately they don't work! One of the most difficult things about early 19th century is that fact that many gowns…

I’m still catching up on my historical sewing from 2018, but don’t get too excited, because the bits I haven’t blogged really aren’t that exciting. Like this petticoat. It’s useful, it’s helpful, it’s generally nicely made, but exciting? Not really. I based the pattern on the width of my fabric + the dimensions of the skirts in a couple of dresses ca. 1810 in Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion and Cassidy Percoco’s Regency Women’s Dress. I figure petticoat dimensions couldn’t have been that…

Part 1: Drafting the BodicePart 2: Sewing the BodiceAs I neared the end of the bodice drafting process, I realized that I had to figure out the circumference of the skirt so that I could draft the outer later of the bodice.Now, I'm not great at math, so I was venting my confusion on my Instagram stories. I know that 3x the waist measurement is standard for most gathered or pleated skirts, but surely that was too much for the sleek Regency silhouette? But 2x the waist didn't seem like enough…

A blog about sewing unique clothing from thrifted sheets, geeky crafts, and cats.

Learn about proper Regency underpinnings, including petticoats, stays and shifts...

An historical Regency"bodiced" petticoat . Basically just a sleeveless dress, made from super-soft white cotton batiste. ...

An educational blog devoted to historical sewing, weaving, and living history.

A part of my Jane-Austen sewing-a-thon* I decided it was finally time I made a proper set of Regency petticoats, and stopped just using my 1910s petticoats, pulled up to the underbust and pinned in place! The first dress that needed a petticoat was the ca. 1800 Madame Recamier gown. It’s sheer, so it definitely needs a petticoat. It’s also flat fronted, so the petticoat can’t have any front gathers, or it won’t sit smoothly over it. The Madame Recamier gown is based on the ca 1800 bib-front…

It’s almost time for the GBACG At home with Josephine at Malmaison event at the Bellvue Club. I actually purchased a costume to wear to this Regency event, a few weeks back at the GBACG Bazaar. Turns out the costume I purchased was worn in a BBC costume drama of some sort. More on that later.