1887 Day Ensemble

The 4-gore underskirt's fashion fabric (copper velvet) is flatlined with cotton batiste. The side seams and hem are catch-stitched by hand through just the batiste layer, allowing the stitching to be invisible from the outside. A hand-pleated strip of velvet is hand stitched onto the bottom edge of the completed skirt.

The rouched silk detail on either edge of the pleating is made up of a strip of silk that's 20 feet long.

The muslin mockup is created to check fit, and allow opportunity for pattern modification before moving onto the fashion fabric. The mockup required cutting, marking, and flatlining 48 total pieces!

The bodice mockup is built, taking care to align notches and the natural waist. Accuracy is critical, as this is meant to be demonstrative of how the final bodice might fit.

I tried on the bodice muslin over all of the proper underlayers (chemise, corset, cage bustle, bustle pad, petticoat, and velvet underskirt).The fit was quite good, only requiring a few alterations. I decided to add a little width to the front vest pieces, to accommodate the added bulk of spiral steel boning in the final version of this bodice.

The left image shows the sleeve as originally patterned; it was too short, and too wide through the length of the arm. It also had a deep drag line at the armpit, and the gathering at the sleeve cap was a bit heavier than I liked. I re-patterned the sleeve to fix these issues, cut a second muslin, and attached it to the bodice mockup. The right image shows this revised sleeve.

After the fit revisions from the mockup, I was ready to repeat the process of cutting, marking, and piecing the final bodice. Before attaching the faux lapels, I decided to cut thin bias strips of the copper velvet and apply them by hand for added ornamentation. The Victorians were not minimalists, after all!

I tried the bodice on to check fit before attaching the sleeves, and found that it was mostly without issue. I noticed some bubbling at the shoulders, probably caused by the dark brown velvet lapels adding a lot of fabric layer bulk in that area. I decided to leave it as is and see if it would lay more smoothly with the addition of the collar.

Upon attaching the sleeves, I found that the shoulder and sleeve definitely needed further adjustment. The slope of the bodice shoulder was more linear than I wanted, seen on the left. My hope was to follow the natural curve of my shoulder slope a bit more, seen on the right. The sleeve cap was also fitting a bit too snug, which restricted my movement. I re-patterned the sleeve (adding width back into the sleeve cap), cut new sleeves using the updated pattern, and attached them. I also slightly adjusted the curve of the shoulder seam to better fit the natural slope.

Most extant bodices from this time period did not contain linings; instead, raw seam edges were finished with pinking or by hand stitching. I finished my bodice seams in this manner, and clipped the seam allowances at the most curved areas so they would lie as smoothly as possible on the body (left). I also graded the shoulder seam allowances (right). These steps were particularly important as the textiles I used (curtain weight velvet, and upholstery twill) were quite bulky.

Once fit was confirmed one final time, I finished the sleeve openings with bias tape (above). I added spiral steel boning along each seam (encased in silk channels that I whipstitched to the seam allowance) to add structure to the garment. Cuffs were also added to the sleeves.

The last step was the button front closure. I marked the buttonholes, stitched and slashed them, and sewed the 17 buttons on by hand.

A fashionable lady's ensemble would be incomplete without a perfectly coordinating hat to top it all off. I used a 1940's brown wool riding hat as a base, added ostrich feathers to the top to give it the proper 1880's height, and added a few other embellishements.

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