Hello again! It has been quite a while since I updated this blog. I've made a couple new dresses for my SCA wardrobe, including a second fitted dress and a t-tunic. I've also made my first attempt at an 18th century lined petticoat! I loved that project a great deal, and wear the petticoat often in my regular wardrobe.
Making that skirt (and watching a substantial number of historical costuming videos on Youtube) made me wonder if I could somehow bring the silhouettes and styles I love so much in historical clothing into my regular wardrobe. So, thus I began. I went to a local creative reuse store to pick up some cheap fabric to begin this adventure with, and got quite a haul for not very much money at all.
The fabric I made this skirt out of is the lovely rose and tan plaid cotton. It's a very soft fabric, and I'll be making a second layer under it of the darker tan fabric.
The skirt I'm making now is a nod to the 18th century pleated petticoat, but slightly more modern. I cut out three identical panels, one for the front and two for the back. I used the regular width of the fabric and just cut it at the right point along the length. Luckily, the width of the fabric was just about the right width that I needed for my pattern! I realized shortly after cutting that the fabric itself (which was but a piece of a larger bolt initially, I believe) was not cut straight across the plaid pattern, though. So one panel (a back panel) did not line up directly with the stripes of the others! Ah well. If anyone is nit picking the stripes of one panel of my skirt, then that's their issue.
Unlike 18th century petticoats, the length of this skirt falls just below my knee. I suspect that because of the pattern of the fabric, I may have to take some length off the top, which may raise the skirt a bit. I'm not worried about it becoming too short as it is a good length right now, but I don't want it to go much higher than my knee. I did leave about two and a half inches extra for hemming, but since I plan to make a separate waistband for the top, I hope to keep the length below my knee.
I began by sewing the three panels together, leaving about a six inch slit in one panel seam for a closure of the skirt. I then started pleating the skirt to bring it to the appropriate circumference for my body. I left a box pleat at the center front of the skirt, in keeping with 18th century tradition, although slightly less wide as I had a considerable amount of fabric to pleat. I tried valiantly to keep the stripes lined up with each other in this process so that it would provide a seamless visual effect. (I apologize for the quality of the photo.)
I pleated the front a little wider, allowing for there to be a little bit of the tan stripe showing in the pleats. However, for the back pleats, there was just too much fabric for me to leave any tan showing. I lined up the vertical dark grey stripe with each other. I would up needing to take out even more fabric from the back, so I started skipping every other pink stripe to tighten it up. This required doubling up the pleats of the grey stripes, so it had a nice thin double pleat in between the wider pink pleats. A pretty effect, indeed!
I managed to get the waist down to an appropriate length, and ran a top stitch along the top edge to keep them in place. I'm now going to handsew hidden stitches underneath the edge of the pleat to keep the pleats neat and in place about an inch and a half down the length of the skirt.
The current plan is to also cut an under layer that is NOT a lining for the skirt out of the darker tan fabric. I'm also hoping to possibly cut a waistband from the dark tan, as well, and include a 1 inch stripe about an inch above the hem of the top layer. This reminds me of the banding you will find on Henrician Tudor women's kirtles, which often sported thick black stripes of various varieties.
I'm also planning to close the skirt using a small zipper and a hook and eye at the top at one side. This closure is not historical at all, but I'm hoping it will allow for ease of use. I was initially planning to keep the 18th century tape closure, but sadly realized that without a bum roll to support the weight of the pleats, the skirt might sag in the back. So, while a waistband and zipper make this skirt more modern, I'm hoping that the darker bands and pleating will hearken back to previous eras.
These are my plans. I'm a long ways away from being done with this skirt, but I've made a good start! For now, we'll secure the pleats, and then continue on from there! Stitching down the pleats will take a good length of time, but I will check back in once I've made further progress!
So far, this project has taken me 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Making that skirt (and watching a substantial number of historical costuming videos on Youtube) made me wonder if I could somehow bring the silhouettes and styles I love so much in historical clothing into my regular wardrobe. So, thus I began. I went to a local creative reuse store to pick up some cheap fabric to begin this adventure with, and got quite a haul for not very much money at all.
The skirt I'm making now is a nod to the 18th century pleated petticoat, but slightly more modern. I cut out three identical panels, one for the front and two for the back. I used the regular width of the fabric and just cut it at the right point along the length. Luckily, the width of the fabric was just about the right width that I needed for my pattern! I realized shortly after cutting that the fabric itself (which was but a piece of a larger bolt initially, I believe) was not cut straight across the plaid pattern, though. So one panel (a back panel) did not line up directly with the stripes of the others! Ah well. If anyone is nit picking the stripes of one panel of my skirt, then that's their issue.
Unlike 18th century petticoats, the length of this skirt falls just below my knee. I suspect that because of the pattern of the fabric, I may have to take some length off the top, which may raise the skirt a bit. I'm not worried about it becoming too short as it is a good length right now, but I don't want it to go much higher than my knee. I did leave about two and a half inches extra for hemming, but since I plan to make a separate waistband for the top, I hope to keep the length below my knee.
I began by sewing the three panels together, leaving about a six inch slit in one panel seam for a closure of the skirt. I then started pleating the skirt to bring it to the appropriate circumference for my body. I left a box pleat at the center front of the skirt, in keeping with 18th century tradition, although slightly less wide as I had a considerable amount of fabric to pleat. I tried valiantly to keep the stripes lined up with each other in this process so that it would provide a seamless visual effect. (I apologize for the quality of the photo.)
I pleated the front a little wider, allowing for there to be a little bit of the tan stripe showing in the pleats. However, for the back pleats, there was just too much fabric for me to leave any tan showing. I lined up the vertical dark grey stripe with each other. I would up needing to take out even more fabric from the back, so I started skipping every other pink stripe to tighten it up. This required doubling up the pleats of the grey stripes, so it had a nice thin double pleat in between the wider pink pleats. A pretty effect, indeed!
I managed to get the waist down to an appropriate length, and ran a top stitch along the top edge to keep them in place. I'm now going to handsew hidden stitches underneath the edge of the pleat to keep the pleats neat and in place about an inch and a half down the length of the skirt.
The current plan is to also cut an under layer that is NOT a lining for the skirt out of the darker tan fabric. I'm also hoping to possibly cut a waistband from the dark tan, as well, and include a 1 inch stripe about an inch above the hem of the top layer. This reminds me of the banding you will find on Henrician Tudor women's kirtles, which often sported thick black stripes of various varieties.
I'm also planning to close the skirt using a small zipper and a hook and eye at the top at one side. This closure is not historical at all, but I'm hoping it will allow for ease of use. I was initially planning to keep the 18th century tape closure, but sadly realized that without a bum roll to support the weight of the pleats, the skirt might sag in the back. So, while a waistband and zipper make this skirt more modern, I'm hoping that the darker bands and pleating will hearken back to previous eras.
These are my plans. I'm a long ways away from being done with this skirt, but I've made a good start! For now, we'll secure the pleats, and then continue on from there! Stitching down the pleats will take a good length of time, but I will check back in once I've made further progress!
So far, this project has taken me 3 hours and 15 minutes.
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