One of the biggest challenges with historybounding any time period, is simplifying the layers.
My ultimate goal is to create a system of clothing that is so comfortable, simple, beautiful,
and seasonally functional, that I will actually *want* to wear it over my modern options. And
that is a challenge, because we are so used to having the option of easy clothing. And
even if easy clothing isn’t the best solution, human nature often gravitates towards the
easy route over the better route. So in looking at all the layers of underpinnings
that were common in the 18th century, the question I’m trying to answer is, how far
can I simplify it? What do I need, what can I eliminate, and what functions can I combine?
So, this is kind of a tutorial, but also not a tutorial. The four pieces I ended up making
are all very simple in construction, so today I want to focus more on the why’s than the how's.
For my modernized 18th century clothing, I
want the base layer to be a shift, just like it was historically. A shift was worn for
a lot of different reasons, but I’m primarily interested in using it as a sweat barrier.
The number one most damaging thing we do to our clothes is wash them. And if I can wear
a shift to prevent them from getting sweaty, then that will help them to last a whole lot
longer. Before I started making my own clothing, I remember shopping and thinking along the
lines of, “well, this isn’t very well made and it probably won’t last that long,
but if it wears out I just to get to go buy something else!” Now, my mentality has changed,
and I think, “If I’m going to bother to make this, it better last, because I don’t
want to have to make it again.” So making a shift to be the base layer will help to
extend the life of all of my future clothing. Sleeves are an important part of a sweat barrier,
because… armpits. However, I’ve already made two historical shifts with two different
types of sleeves, and I want to make some modernized bodices without sleeves, so making
this shift sleeveless will better help fill that gap in my wardrobe.
For the design of the shift, I’m going to start out with the pattern I have leftover
from my Regency shift. Mostly because it has a slim fit and I like the shape of the neckline.
However I am going to be shortening this shift by quite a lot, and the reason for that is…
it doesn’t really need to be that long. It will save a ton of fabric, especially if
I end up making multiple shifts. It will also save stitching time. And If I make it shorter,
I can also make it narrower. It will only need to be wide enough to accommodate my hips,
not my full range of leg movement. Which will eliminate the need for side gussets, further
cutting down on fabric and sewing time.
This piece turned out perfectly fine and functional, however here are a few notes for things that I would alter next time.
The length is still unnecessarily long. I think in the future I will shorten them to hip length, just long
enough to prevent skin contact with the stays. It is also still wider and fuller than I think
it needs to be. And I would cut the armhole a bit higher, maybe by an inch.
In this screenshot from Hulu’s The Great, you can see a stellar recreation of 18th century underwear.
(The historical costumers screech and throw themselves off cliffs)
For real though, I really did like the costuming in this show, even though it was definitely taking some “creative liberties”.
As you probably know, underpants were not worn in the 18th century, and neither were their predecessors:
pantalets and drawers. Women of the time wore multiple layers of skirts, which were long
and hung closely to the body. Unlike mid-Victorian women, who did actually did find it necessary
to normalize some kind of underpant. So, if this is a non-issue, why are we talking about it? I have said before in another video,
can’t remember which, that whenever you modernize something, it is important to consider
why things were done the way they were done. Historybounding is a form of worldbuilding.
You take something that existed in history, and add your own little twist to it, but then
you have to imagine and predict the fallout of the changes you made, and how they will
spiral and impact other things. As I plan and modernize 18th century
clothing, I know I will be greatly reducing the skirts. They will be shorter, less full,
less layered, and overall less secure against sudden gusts of wind. So what’s wrong with
just regular underwear? Nothing exactly. I just, I just, I just want to try it OK?
I can feel you judging me through the screen. Especially if your name is Michaela.
For the pattern I was looking for a pants pattern I’d used before that I could alter,
but then I found this one. I made it pretty much as-is. I just shortened it, and then
joined the legs at the outer seam, reducing fabric waste and stitching time. I also slightly
sloped the waistline, raising it in the back and lowering it in the front, as I’ve found
that to help pant and short patterns fit me better.
They look and feel fine. I don’t really have much critique on their fit, but they are also super basic. But trying the shorts
on with the shift did get me thinking: what if I take these two things I just made, and mash them together?
This was a super last minute add-on to the
project. Basically I just wanted to see how it worked. I thought, what if I take this
shorts pattern, and that shift pattern, and I just join them at the waist seam? Practically
speaking, there was one big problem to solve with that idea. When drawers and combinations
were worn, they were usually fairly voluminous. This served to hide the open seam that was
needed for… practical purposes. Like going to the bathroom without taking off a mountain
of clothes. For my shift combinations, I was going with a much simpler design, which would
not do well for personal security. So I needed to figure out how to close the gap in a way
that would be practical, but not add an uncomfortable amount of bulk. What I ended up doing was
sewing in a 3/4” wide strip of cotton twill tape, and adding snaps to the tape, spaced
2” apart. While I may tweak this design in the future, it did work well enough for
those practical purposes. There is a major fit problem with these combinations,
however. I think I was afraid of making the torso too short, and I must have wildly overcompensated…
because wow. However, this can be fixed. I’ll just have to seam rip out the waist seam,
and then cut like 3-4 whole inches from the top of the shorts, then just stitch it back
together. I quite like these combinations, and the image
of wearing them with the stays is just, this, this is what I meant by 18th century historybounding.
However, next time I want to radically rework my pattern. I want to eliminate the waist
seam altogether, which will necessitate a center front and center back seam. But that’s
ok, because then I can leave a split in the front neckline, which will be very handy for
putting the thing on without jacking up my gathers, since it can’t go over the head
like shifts usually do. I’m still struggling slightly to justify the existence of these
combinations. True, they do save a little bit of fabric, but not really much sewing
time and I guess I just wanted them because combinations are cool.
I’ve thought long and hard about how I wanted to modernize 18th century pockets. I definitely don’t want
them to be a separate, tie-on piece, but I want to keep the shape, and the gigantic size,
and my original thought had been to sew a set of 18th c. style pockets into every skirt, like I did
with this one. However that will add extra work to every skirt, and will cost about another
half yard of fabric each time. So here’s the happy medium I decided on:
I decided to make a linen petticoat with a cotton eyelet trim, and sew pockets into that.
The 18th century style skirts I make will be categorized by fiber and expense. If the
skirts are made from silk or wool or any fabric that I will not want to wash, then they really should
be worn over a petticoat anyways. So for those skirts I will skip pockets, saving on that
expensive wool and silk, and I’ll instead sew the skirts with side slits.
For skirts made out of more washable fabrics, ie. cotton and linen, I’ll sew pockets into
the skirts. This also works because cotton and linen tend to be fabrics preferred during
the summer, when I’ll be more likely to want to avoid an extra layer. And because
wool and silk are more wintery fabrics, then, I’ll appreciate the petticoat for extra
warmth. As for pocket style, if the cotton or linen is cheap, or if I have plenty to
spare, I can do a full sized 18th century pocket. If the fabric is expensive, or I don’t
have enough, I can just do smaller modern pockets. It all works out.
I made the body of the skirt from a strip of linen, 18 inches long and the width of
the yardage. It’s not a very full petticoat, but I’ll be gathering lace for the final
length, so I don’t need it to be fuller for leg movement. For the pockets I upsized
the 18th century pockets I drafted from Patterns of Fashion 1, and I cut them out of a cheap
linen blend I’d like to use up. I also cut a couple extra strips to reinforce the bottom
of the pockets. To bind the pockets, and to make the waistband,
I would have liked to use more of that cotton twill tape. But I didn’t have enough on
hand and I was too impatient to reorder it, so I used this other stuff from my stash.
I don’t know what it is or where it came from. It was a bit thicker and bulkier than
the cotton tape would have been, and I don't love that, but it worked fine. I made the waistband of the petticoat
an inch larger than my waist, so that it would sit a bit lower and not add another layer
of bulk centered right on the waist. It closes with one large hook and eye.
This piece is another one that is simple, perfectly functional, and I might decided
to make adjustments or remake it later, but for what I need right now, which is basically
just something to experiment with, it works. A brief note on padding: I will not be padding.
Ok, the whole theme of this is DO WHAT YOU WANT, so if you want to pad your hips, pad
your hips. But mine are big enough as it is, thank you very much. But more seriously, when
we think about proportions, if you are historybounding, or modernizing, and if you decide to shorten
the skirts, I would really advise against padding, or only using minimal padding. I don’t
know, maybe you have narrow hips or are an apple shape and want the padding. But the
proportions are not going to work the same way when you pair larger hips with a shorter skirt.
Shortening the skirt is already going to make your hips look bigger, and if you use a real,
18th century sized hip pad. It’s going to, it’s not gonna look, it’s just not right.
A brief note on stockings: I do not wear socks in the summer. I don’t care if they did
in history. But last winter I tried out wearing stockings,
and it actually became my new normal. I have a couple pairs of thick stockings from B&T,
and I tied them up with a tape, which was kind of great. I hate panty-hose and tights.
Vehemently. The previous year I had tried sewing stockings out of a plush velour-lined
knit, and they kind of worked. But the real stockings were more comfortable. I was only
able to wear them because I’ve started to make my skirts longer, which mostly hid the
top of the stockings and the garter. And when the garter did occasionally show, eh I kind of stopped
caring. As for warmth, they were much better than I expected, and the skirts did a good
job of blocking cold wind, even though they weren’t floor-length. But the one thing
that annoyed me was how the top part of the stockings would consistently slide down my
knee. Because I don’t know how people do it when they tie it around their thigh. That
just does not work for me. It’s below the knee or it’s falling down. So, for this
year’s experiment: we shall take this, and figure out how to combine it with this. Oh
yes. And I just realized that I’m not exactly modernizing any of these things, I’m just
like, Victorianizing them. And the set of underpinnings is completed
by my new zippered stays, which I gave a more through breakdown/tutorial of in the previous
video. So I will see you next time, subscribe if you want to see the ongoing evolution,
and follow my instagram for more real-time project updates.
i really did like the costuming in the show even though it was definitely taking some
creative liberties as you probably know underwear was not worn in the 18th century and neither
were their predecessors pantelets and drawers women of the time wore multiple layers of
skirt which were long and hung closely to the body unlike mid-victorian women who actually
did find it necessary to normalize some kind of underpant so if this is a non-issue why
are we talking about it i have said before in another video can't remember which that
whenever you modernize something it's important to consider why things were done the way they
were done history bounding is a form of world building you take something that existed in
history and add your own little twist to it but then you have to imagine and predict the
fallout of the changes you've made and how they will spiral and impact other things as
i plan and modernize 18th century clothing i know i will be greatly reducing the skirts
they will be shorter less full less layered and overall less secure against sudden gusts
of wind so what's wrong with just regular underwear nothing exactly i know i just i
just i just want to try it okay i can feel you judging me through the screen especially
if your name is michaela
for the pattern i was looking for a pants pattern i'd used before that i could alter
but then i found this one and i made it pretty much as is i just shortened it and then joined
the legs at the outer seam reducing fabric waist and stitching time i also slightly sloped
to the waistline raising it in the back and lowering it in the front as i found that to
help pant and short patterns fit me better they look and feel fine i don't really have
much critique on their fit but they are also super basic but trying the shorts on with
the shift did get me thinking what if i take the two things i just made and mash them together
this was a super last minute add-on to the project basically i just wanted to see how
it worked i thought what if i take the shorts pattern and the shift pattern and i just joined
them at the waist seam practically speaking there was one big problem to solve with this
idea when drawers and combinations were worn they were usually fairly voluminous this served
to hide the open seam that was needed for practical purposes like going to the bathroom
without taking off a mountain of clothes for my shift combinations i was going with a much
simpler design which would not do well for personal security so i needed to figure out
how to close the gap in a way that would be practical but not add an uncomfortable amount
of bulk what i ended up doing was sewing in a three-quarter of an inch wide strip of cotton
twill tape and adding snaps to the tape spaced two inches apart while i may tweak this design
in the future it did work well enough for those practical purposes there is a major
fit problem with these combinations however i think i was afraid of making the torso too
short and i must have wildly overcompensated because wow however this can be fixed i'll
just have to seam rip out the waist seam and then cut like three or four whole inches from
the top of the shorts and then just stitch it back together i quite like these combinations
and the image of wearing them with the stays is just this this is what i meant by 18th
century history bounding however next time i want to radically rework my pattern i want
to eliminate the way seam all together which will necessitate a center front and center
back seam but that's okay because then i can leave a split in the front neckline which
will be very handy for putting the thing on without jacking up my gathers since it can't
go over the head like shifts usually do i'm still struggling slightly to justify the existence
of these combinations true they do save a little bit of fabric but not really much sewing
time and i guess i just wanted them because combinations are cool
i've thought long and hard about how i wanted to modernize 18th century pockets i definitely
don't want them to be a separate tie on piece but i want to keep the shape and the gigantic
size and my original thought had been to sew a set of 18th century style pockets into every
skirt like i did with this one however that will add extra work to every skirt and it'll
cost about another half yard of fabric each time so here's the happy medium i decided
on i decided to make a linen petticoat with a cotton eyelet trim and sew pockets into
that the 18th century style skirts i make will be categorized by fiber and expense if
the skirts are made from silk or wool or any fabric that i will not want to wash then they
really should be worn over a petticoat anyways so for those skirts i will skip pockets saving
on the expensive wool and silk and instead i'll just sew the skirts with side slits for
skirts made out of more washable fabrics i.e cotton and linen also pockets into the skirts
this also works because cotton and linen tend to be fabrics preferred during the summer
when i'll be more likely to want to avoid an extra layer and because we'll instill for
more wintry fabrics then i'll appreciate the petticoat for extra warmth as for pocket style
if the cotton or linen is cheap or if i have plenty to spare i can do a full size 18th
century pocket if the fabric is expensive or if i don't have enough i can just do smaller
modern pockets it all works out i made the body of the skirt from a strip of linen 18
inches long and the width of the yardage it's not a very full petticoat but i'll be gathering
lace for the final length so i don't need it to be fuller for leg movement for the pockets
i upsized the 18th century pockets i drafted from patterns of fashion one and i cut them
out of a cheap linen blend i'd like to use up i also cut a couple extra strips to reinforce
the bottom of the pockets to bind the pockets and to make the waistband i would have liked
to use more of that cotton twill tape but i didn't have enough on hand and i was too
impatient to reorder it so i used this other stuff for my stash i don't know what it is
or where it came from it was a bit thicker and bulkier than the cotton tape would have
been and i don't love that but it works just fine i made the waistband of the petticoat
an inch larger than my waist so that it would sit a bit lower and not add another layer
of bulk centered right on the waist it closes with one large hook and eye this piece is
another one that is simple perfectly functional and i might decide to make adjustments or
remake it later but for what i need right now which is basically just something to experiment
with it works a brief note on padding i will not be patting okay the whole theme of this
is do what you want so if you want to pad your hips pad your hips but mine are big enough
as it is thank you very much but more seriously when we think about proportions if you're
history bounding or modernizing and you decide to shorten the skirts i would really advise
against padding or only using minimal padding i don't know maybe you have narrow hips or
are in apple shape and want the padding but the proportions are not going to work the
same way when you pair larger hips with a shorter skirt shortening the skirt is already
going to make your hips look bigger and if you use a real 18th century sized hip pad
it's going to just look it's going it's just not gonna look right now a brief note on stockings
i do not wear socks in the summer i don't care if they did in history but last winter
i tried out wearing stockings and it actually became my new normal i have a couple pairs
of thick stockings from b t and i tied them up with a tape which was kind of great i hate
pantyhose and tights vehemently and the previous year i had tried sewing stockings out of a
like plush velour lined knit they kind of worked but the real stockings were a lot more
comfortable i was only able to wear them because i started to make my skirts longer which mostly
hid the top of the stockings and the garter and when the garter did occasionally show
er i kinda stopped caring as for warmth they were much better than i expected the skirts
did a good job of blocking cold wind even though they weren't floor length but the one
thing that annoyed me was how the top part of the stockings would consistently slide
down my knee because i don't know how i don't know how other people do it when they like
tie it around their thigh like that just does not work for me it's below the knee or it's
falling down so for this year's experiment we shall take this and figure out how to combine
it with this oh yes and i just realized that i'm not exactly modernizing any of these things
i'm just like victorianizing them and the set of underpinnings is completed by my new
zippered stays which i gave a more thorough breakdown tutorial of in the previous video
so i will see you next time subscribe if you want to see the ongoing evolution and follow
my instagram for more real-time project updates you