 An open pair of cotton drawers in the style of the 1840's (but dated late 1850s to 1860s), with delicate whitework embroidery, sewn on a chain stitch machine.
 The underwear situation in the Natural Form Era was.... complicated! Ladies had an outfit for every situation and time of day, and underwear to go with it. To further add confusion, the "Dress Reform" movement was at its height: its main focus was on changing corsets and what was worn underneath them, all in the name of health. So what did women wear under their dresses? It all depends on a variety of factors. I'll walk you through all the different layer options starting from the skin out, with variations in necklines and politics. Next month I'll complete the layers and show you how to combine them. Bonus DPP article from YWU  Some underwear is easy to date by the cut or the decoration, other items are almost timeless. This month I share with you a knitted silk undervest with a crocheted yoke that could date anywhere from 1880 to 1910. The eBay seller I purchased it from described it as a "vintage tank top", but ladies in the Victorian and Edwardian age would have recognized it as a vest or an undervest.  Marion shares a linen chemise circa 1879 from her collection.The chemise is simple in construction with delicate hand embroidered eyelet work around the neck, minute white threadwork buttons, and an eye-opening combination of machine sewing and delicate hand stitching. If you're looking to get a head start on your Natural Form Era undies, you can't miss this!  Last month we covered drafting the pattern for this unusual corset design. This month I take you, step by step, through the construction, including how to sew some very tricky seams! (Suitable for beginners.) I used the drab coutil that I wrote about last month for the corset fabric, so if you were curious about how it would work made into a corset, read on.  If you read historical fashion magazines looking for corset ads, you'll see these words over and over again: "Available in white or drab coutil, or fast black sateen". But what color is "drab" exactly? And where can you get that coutil that color today? The answer is that you can dye it yourself using a very easy process. No toxic chemicals are involved, just a very cheap material from the health food store.
After the October issue, in which the article Pattern Challenge- Thomson Glove-fitting Corset about Patent 611,116 issued to T.S. Gilbert was published, David in the UK wrote to me asking: "Are you certain that this patent is for a Thomson Glove-fitting Corset? This led me to look more closely at the patent and realize that he was right! So I did a little (ok, a lot) more research into T.S Gilbert, the owner of patent 611,116. I'll share what I found about him, along with my method of patterning this corset, and next month I'll show you the finished piece.  On this page you can ask questions about any aspect of corsetmaking or historical underwear, however basic, advanced, general or technical, and receive answers both from our contributors and from other readers. We'd also love to publish your own tips, techniques and stories. This month Suzannah asks about corset mannequins, Laurie inquires about the different site look and Natalie wonders how adaptable the corset drafting tutorial could be for other styles of corset.  The Pattern Challenge feature on Foundations Revealed will inspire, challenge and encourage you to stretch your corset making skills. You're invited to participate and create your own corset pattern and, if you wish to complete the garment, send pictures of your finished corset for our Reader Showcase Gallery. This month's Pattern Challenge is Thomson's Glove fitting corset. We'll look at the 1898 patent, advertisements, a few extant corsets in collections and work on putting the pieces together. In November, Marion will share how she created a pattern from the evidence and show her finished corset. |
