Regency Project: Chemise

Back in July, I decided to use Halloween as a deadline and make a full historical Regency era outfit. I actually started off with the corset since I knew that would take longest and the other clothes would be based off the fit of that (I will post about the corset next, don't worry). After finishing the corset, I knew I needed a chemise to go under it. The chemise is basically a historical camisole or undershirt. It's the base layer for any era before the 20th century and only changes slightly over time. I knew a good chemise would come in handy for various eras if I decide to make more costumes in the future, so in August I made this chemise.

 

I went with Laughing Moon 115 for the pattern because that's what I used for the corset and the pattern included a chemise as well, so why not? For the fabric, I decided to go truly historical and use a lightweight linen. This is handkerchief weight linen from Fabrics-Store.com, which is seriously the best place to buy linen at a great price. When this linen came in, I knew it was a little too sheer for me to wear it as a regular shirt, but it worked perfectly for this project. It's thin enough to be breezy to wear and absorb your sweat to save your corset. I went with the higher neckline option on the pattern, but honestly I think the lower one would have been just fine too.

The pattern is only a few pieces and it involves sewing under-arm gussets. This was my first time actually sewing a gusset (I've seen it done before, but not done one myself) and it really wasn't too bad. I machine sewed the gussets and then hand sewed the seam allowance into a felled seam for a smooth finish. Next, I hand sewed the neckline so I could control where the cording went. I got the whole neckline hand sewed on only to realize that I had misplaced the back for the front of this chemise. I had to unpick the center front and center back, redirect the cording to come out the other side, resew the eyelets for the cording to come out of, and then hand stitch it all back closed. I was pretty miffed about that, but I'm glad I made the effort because it would have bugged me to no end having the cord tie at the back on this. 

Here is a closed up of that hard won neckline, lol. I used baker's twine for the cording because I have a ton of it on hand from other projects. It's a bit cumbersome to get your gathers evenly distributed as you put this on since you want it to gather up on the back and the front, but I'm hoping to figure out the sweet spot and then never have to untie it. 

There are tiny machine sewn eyelets inside the neckline edge that the cords come through and then I just tuck the ends into the inside of the chemise when I wear this. You can kind of see my hand stitching here as well. I used a backstitch across the neckline because it felt more secure. I'm not very well versed in hand stitching, but that's one I know lol.

The sleeves were set in flat with this pattern so you can attach the gussets, and I sewed them in with machine, but I flat felled them by hand lie the rest of the arm area. The hem is machine done because at that point I just wanted it to be done.

The gussets did turn out really nice, honestly. It just feels so fancy to do any projects with them since they are so infrequently used in modern clothes. Using them feels very historical. My hand stitching could be better, for sure, but I'm really pleased with them overall.

And that's my Regency Chemise :) Now I have officially shown myself in my underwear on the internet (gasp!). This is definitely the least clothes I will ever appear online, lol. I'll admit I was very frustrated with this after the whole backwards/forwards mix up, but now that it's done I'm glad I persevered. Now I can continue with my Regency project and know exactly how it will look because I have the appropriate underlayers on first.

Summary:

Fabric: 3 yards of 3.7 oz bleached linen from Fabrics-Store.com - $ 34.14

Pattern: Laughing Moon 115 

Notions: Thread - $0.50, Twill Tape - $1.00

Time: 4 hours

Total Cost: $ 35.64

WIP Wednesday: MKAL Progress, Alterations, and Sewing Stays

I've been plugging right along in the Playin' My Song MKAL by Sweet Georgia yarns and I've really been enjoying it. I'm almost finished with Clue 2, and now I know what the finished shawl looks like, lol. The 3rd clue was released last week and it's just the mirror of the 2nd clue but on the other side of the center. I have honestly been enjoying working on this project. The knit along is all over now, but I still want to finish this in a timely manner so I can rework my Susan Shaw cardigan and move onto my next sweater I have waiting in the wings.

Monday night, I got the odd desire to make a few simple alterations to some second hand clothes I've picked up this past month. All of these were done within just a couple of hours that night and I will be revealing their changes on the blog soon. Very happy with this night of work.

And in other news, I've decided to finally take the plunge and start sewing my regency era stays. I've been wanting to make some for about a year but the sewing and sizing have always intimidated me. Now I'm using Halloween as a deadline and I hope to have stays and a dress to wear by then. I'm making the Laughing Moon Traditional Regency Long Stays and I will make a chemise from this pattern as well.

Last night I traced my new size off from the pattern and started making a mock up. I'm sewing it in this toile fabric I have a ton of - it's some kind of decorator cotton canvas type stuff. I just couldn't get over the opportunity to make a toile toile! Hahahaha sewing humor is the best.

Since this is a mock up, I have not been super careful with the stitching, but I'm still pretty impressed with what I've been able to produce. I've sewn all the front gussets and have this back piece completely top stitched and ready for cording and bones. I used my machine to stitch the eyelets since this is just a trial run and I'm seriously impressed by how easy they were to sew. I'll seriously have to incorporate some into a future clothing project lol. But even as technically "difficult" as this project is, I've been having a lot of fun with the actual sewing. I have a suspicion that I will need to extend the waist, but I'm basically doing a quick and dirty make up with this version to try the fit as well as the construction. I'm very excited for this one :)

Do you have any crazy new projects going? Please share!