Several months ago, at the end of my post on my Edwardian underthings, I mentioned that the next piece in my Edwardian project was a white lace blouse. It took me a while to get to it, but the blouse and the corresponding skirt are now complete!
A lot of work still needs to be done on this costume to get all the accessories together, but I love how it's starting to come together.
I bought the white lace fabric for the blouse back in August of 2020 after (poorly) altering the blouse pattern, but I knew I needed to finish building the undergarments first. The fabric was a nice motivator though, as it is so pretty.
It is from Mood Fabrics and they actually still have a bunch in stock!
For lining I used a really luxurious cotton/silk voile from Emma One Sock (I bought some cotton/silk voile from Mood when I bought the lace, but it got used in another project - the risk of buying fabric ahead!) I am a big fan of cotton/silk mix fabrics. I feel like they have the crisp feel I expect from a cotton, but the beautiful sheen and soft texture of a silk.
I bought the Wearing History 1900-1910 blouse pattern for this project. There are quite a few options in this time period, but it was closest to the style I was looking for. The pattern instructions themselves are fine, but organized poorly. In addition, there are several techniques I've seen on extant blouses that I wish had been included. They would have solved some of the issues that cropped up in my own version like the collapsing collar.
The only alteration I made for this pattern was a small dartless FBA - unfortunately, I failed to account for the fact that the Edwardian silhouette has a lower bust point than modern clothing so it is still a little tight around the bust.
I did make a mock-up, but it's hard to fit a back closing item on yourself.
Before this project, I had never sewn with an open lace fabric. It's a little like trying to sew cobwebs together. I ended up using a technique from Cashmerette to both make it easier and reinforce the seams. You can see the technique here - where the collar joins the blouse - at all lace to lace seams, I sewed a strip of the voile into the seam and then whip-stitched the loose edges together.
For the view of the pattern I made, with a sheer blouse and a smaller lining, you construct the blouse and lining separately and then join them when you put in the waistline drawstring. It was a little nerve-wracking to try and match up all the correct points on the two pieces. You can see my marking stitches in dark thread along the waistline in these photos.
The drawstring channel is made from the same voile as the lining and blends in quite nicely from the outside. (It's the slightly lighter section in the right hand photo.)
The back of the blouse closes with a pair of hooks and eyes on the collar and then a series of larger hooks and thread bars down to the drawstring.
Everything below the drawstring is tucked in, to help create that pigeon breasted Edwardian silhouette, but I still made sure my hems were neat.
Once the blouse was complete, I started on the skirt which was a much simpler make. The toughest part of the skirt was finding the right fabric! I looked through many, many samples of red fabric.
Left to right: Polyester moire begaline, silk duchess satin, silk taffeta, silk faille, linen/rayon blend, polyester/silk mikado pique, cotton sateen, and cotton twill.
I wanted a very particular crimson shade and was torn on what material would be appropriate. I initially thought I might use a silk taffeta like I did for the pink petticoat, but that seemed too dressy for a daytime ensemble. Also, since I wasn't going to add decoration to the skirt, I wanted the fabric to have some texture or other interest of its own.
Eventually I decided on this beautiful linen/rayon fabric from Mood Fabrics.
I used the Scroop Fantail skirt pattern for the skirt. I altered this pattern in order to create my petticoat, so I was already familiar with it. It is a basic 5 panel skirt with some pleats in the back around the placket, which closes with a hook and bar and a series of snaps.
I initially thought I would need to add a crinoline or velveteen hem facing, but Authentic Victorian Dressmaking Techniques says:
In finishing the lower edge of the material skirt a soft finish is usually desired, that is, the hem is simply turned over without interlining. (p54)
My fabric has plenty of body on its own, so I just used a hem tape to do my standard hem. The hem tape, while not historically accurate, really helps with easing the curved hem into place. And this hem tape - which is a perfect match! - is actually from my grandmother's stash.
Layered over my undergarments, this has exactly the Edwardian silhouette I was looking for.
Now all it needs are the accessories - wig, hat, belt, and jewelry!
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