Monday, September 10, 2012

Underwear for 1770s and 1780s

Last week was all about making underwear for the striped robe à l'anglaise. I sewed a new big bumpad, shift and an under-petticoat. My old shift was in a very bad condition and a way too loose around the arms for 1770's and 1780's sleeves so that's why I needed a new one. I've always been quite lazy about underwear because all those garments won't be seen but it was just recently when I realized that you actually need proper underwear for good costumes. I've been in a hurry because the deadline for the 1780's robe à l'anglaise is in 19 days so I just machine-sewed pretty much all the undies.

First off, the shift. Sorry for the modern underwear showing but the fabric is just so sheer I had to wear something there under for the photos for the sake of modesty. The shift pattern is based on the variation A of  chemise in Garsault's L'Art de la Lingerie, found on La couturière Parisienne.


The new bumpad. I made it a lot bigger than my earlier two bumpads. Also, there's a ruffle around the edges because I thought might give the skirts more smoother line. It works. The bumpad is cotton and stuffed with some old pillow stuffing.






The first under-petticoat. I forgot to wear stockings for the photos. It doesn't matter, though. I just wanted to see the effect of the new bumpad and petticoats.




The second under-petticoat. It's an old one, made to be worn with the smaller bumpads so the hem isn't even with the new one.



I'm actually a bit ashamed to admit that I still don't have a pair of hanging pockets after five years in this hobby. I will sew them... eventually. But now I'm off to start making the dress itself!

18 comments:

  1. That is one huge rump! Love it!

    And I don't have pockets either... :)

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  2. I love the bumpad! I'm not too happy with mine -- it doesn't have quite the right oomph at the edges (feels like it adds bulk to my waist without the good effect at the edges), so your addition of the ruffle really adds a nice look to it. :D

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    1. I never liked my earlier bumpads because they were too small for my taste and also because they were kind of edgy or squarish around the edges and you could see the edges of the bumpad in the form of the skirt. Besides, like you said, the bumpad also looks nicer with the ruffle, even if it's not seen.

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  3. I love that bumpad! I'm still fiddling with mine, I can't seem to get it fluffy enough. :p And don't worry, I don't have pockets either!

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    1. Haha, really? :D Well, it seems it's quite common not to have pockets! Though, I really need them because you can hide your camera and other modern things there...

      Anyway, I never was happy with my earlier bumpads either. They always ended up too small. I always thought they were big as I was patterning them but then afterwards, when looking at the photos of costumes with my bumpads, I noticed I didn't like them because they weren't big enough! I like big and poofy!

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  4. I like the frilly bumpad, its quite sexy

    I don't really do this period, but I've always been tempted by embroidered pockets

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  5. Looks very nice!

    I made my pocket when I needed to do a test embroidery and a pocket was just perfect to try it out. :)

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    1. That's such a great idea! I need to practice chain-stitch for one of my future projects so embroidering pockets with that stitch would be good. Thanks!

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  6. Good morning, Miss Sanna! I have a little surprise for you! :) Follow the link to my blog - http://themerrydressmaker.blogspot.com/ (Sorry to post this in your comments, I could not locate your email addy) ~Angela

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    1. Ooh, wow, I am surprised indeed! Thank you so much!

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  7. Another thing to do for me... but the summerholidays are coming^^

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  8. I really like the petticoat with gathering section. I hope to make it to make my Martha Washington costume look better. Thanks.

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  9. This is the perfect silhouette, thank you for showing how you achieved it

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