#the pattern is from marquise.de

[badassindistress]

It is done and it is glorious!

This is a 1901 skirt for a promenade dress with added lace. I still have lace left over, so I may go back and add even more...

[extramachine]

Here it is, the first real garment that I can wear in public! (i.e. not an accessory like a hat, and not an undergarment)

I got this beautiful fabric from my Halmuni's stash (aka an Ikea bag my mom had sitting in the basement). It's very slippery and doesn't crease easily, but those creases you can see running horizontally really don't want to come out. I'll get around to properly ironing it someday.

I'm wearing the skirt over a "petticoat" which is really just a long white layered skirt that I found at Goodwill ages ago, with the waist clumsily adjusted to be a little smaller.

Construction details

Two rectangles, approx. 45 x 37 in (the fabric was 45 in wide), seamed together on both sides to make a tube.

6/10 inches on the top was left unseamed, for pocket holes (I made one shorter than the other; the longer length works much better, six inches is too short).

The waist was cartridge pleated to 34 inches around, or 17 inches on each side.

The ties were made of the same fabric, one much more messily than the other. (Let this be a reminder to myself to take the time to do things properly, even if it's annoying. It makes things easier later and looks nicer.)

Sources/patterns used

Burnley and Trowbridge's petticoat tutorial videos on Youtube

marquise.de pages: 17th Century Petticoats and How to Make an 18th Century Skirt

[badassindistress]

Instead of thinking about the corset question, I cut a flowy petticoat to show off my new 20 metres of lace.

[badassindistress]

Hello! I love your blog - your sewing projects are so incredible and inspire me so much.

I was just wondering if you had a database/collection of free patterns for historical clothing? (It doesn't need to be historically accurate)

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Hi! Thank you so much, my secret goal is to get people to sew stuff that can make them happy.

Unfortunately, there's no real collection or database. Some people have tried, but those are mostly broken link graveyards now. I mostly use paid patterns or draft my own nowadays because of this problem. However! There are some definite greater good creators who share their stuff that I've used a lot:

Marquise.de has a beautiful website with information, sources and cutting patterns organised by century. That's the shirtsleeve pattern I follow, and my latest petticoat is from there as well. They're all scaled cutting patterns, so you have to enlarge and amend to your own measurements, but it's still a great help

Aranea Black used to share her wonderful corsetry patterns for anyone to freely use. She closed down her shop, but as of now she hasn't asked people to stop sharing her patterns and they're /brilliant/.

Black Snail Patterns has free patterns for an edwardian belt and a bustle.

Bikes & Bloomers has free pdfs for Victorian bicycle fashion

The LACMA pattern project has some patterns of their extant garments scaled with a description, that's what I'm using for this newest waistcoat

There's also archive.org with their wonderful tailoring manuals, but I think they fall outside of the scope of this question. Sorry I can't give you a nicely searchable database, but I hope this helps!

[poldarkcostumingproject]

Love, Lust & Silk Stockings

Everyone was scrambling for a fan when Ross gives Demelza a pair of fine silk stockings in Season 2, episode 6. Unfortunately for the media, they missed the memo and are still stuck on the scything as the hottest thing on Poldark.  @doffiepoldark asked for more historical details on Demelza’s stockings. 

Silk stockings for women and men were an essential part of the 18th Century wardrobe. Although I believe the picture in Winston Graham’s head might have been closer to the stockings he gave his wife during the post-WWII era, the show and the novel gets the details right. This pair from 18th Century Sweden is the closest I can find to Demelza’s in terms of the lack of striping, embroidery, and other details. Larsdatter has a handy guide to more extant examples silk stockings. 

Stockings were avaliable in many colors. This Pinterest collection shows a wide variety of designs and patterns. The only difference between mens’ and women’s stockings in many cases comes down to color preferences and calf width. Here is a sample of a pair Ross might have had underneath his boots and George might have worn with his knee-length breeches. 

The picture above is an 18th Century engraving of a stocking frame. Most stockings, especially those worn by the upper classes were machine-knit in Nottinghamshire. For more info on how frame knitting worked, this link to the Frameworker’s Museum is very helpful. Contrary to modern hosiery, most 18th Century stockings were made with materials with very little stretch as the Marquise.de blog points out. Ribbon garters were the most common way stockings were secured to the thigh or upper calf. Larsdatter has a collection of art/documents that depict 18th Century garters. All stockings were made in two large pieces sewn together. Often, a third piece called a gore was sewn in between to adjust the fit. Many stockings for men and women had what was called “clocking” or knitted/embroidered designs. Hand-knitted and fabric stockings were not considered high fashion and were usually reserved for winter layering covered by boots or for those of little means. 

The way Ross ties Demelza’s stockings above the knee is consistent with Francois Boucher’s “La Toilelette” painting which is from the 1740′s. Any artwork from that time that shows stockings underneath a dress was probably old timey erotica. If you think about it, erotic is the perfect word for describing the scything scene. 

For those of you who want a pair of silk stockings like Demelza’s, you have two options. You can do what I did and buy a pair from American Duchess, or you can be hardcore and make them yourself.  Rebecca Manthey’s stocking tutorial is frequently used by living history reenactors. If you’re handy with knitting needles, Mara Riley has a tutorial for more Grandma-style 18th Century style stockings. If you want to DIY Demelza’s ribbon garters, The Pragmatic Costumer has a great tutorial. Unfortunately, none of these tutorials can tell you how to get your own brooding Cornishman to put them on for you.

If you’re burning for more information about 18th Century accessories, the Ask Box can put out that fire!