Ettie completed

I have finished my Ettie petticoat. I'm not sure why, but it seemed to take forever. None of this was the fault of the pattern, which was excellent. Leimomi had thought of everything, even including cutting layouts, which seem to be a rarity these days.

Not that I used them. There are pattern pieces for the two ruffles, with each four of piece being cut out. But the pattern also includes the dimensions of finished ruffles in case you want to just mark them out on the fabric. Plus, the pieces can be cut on or across the grain. So my ruffles were made from irregular length pieces cut to leave the minimum of waste, and joined make the total length. As a result, I only used 2.9m rather than the 3.4m requirement on the pattern - all my experience of squeezing dresses out of slightly-too-small remnants paid off!

The leftovers, with 6" ruler for scale

The petticoat is made from a front, back and sides, joined together with French seams. There is a placket opening between the front and the left side, but I swapped this to the right as that is easier to use for a left-hander like me. I couldn't imagine how a placket would work on a French seam, but the step-by-step instructions talk you through it. They even include the size number of snap fastens and hooks & loops to use, which gave me a good excuse to rifle through my box of vintage haberdashery.

Placket with Size 1 snaps, and Size 2 hooks & loops

The dust ruffle is attached first.

Laid out flat

The result seemed a bit long on me (I'm not particularly tall), but I didn't want to take the ruffle off and re-apply it, so instead added a pintuck.

Historically accurate shortening method

Then it was time to attach the outer ruffle. By this time I seemed to be wrangling So Much Fabric. I was very grateful to be sewing on my Singer 66K, with its long arm and large harp space.

A fight to the death with cotton lawn

On the subject of my machine . . . Some of the gathering stitches on the ruffles required a very small seam allowance, which in turn required me to attach the seam marker using the leftmost of the two screw holes. For some reason, this never fastens as tightly as the other one. I rescued some card from the recycling box, cut two small pieces, made holes with my pattern-cutting punch, glued them together and - success!

My high-tech fix

The top edge of the outer ruffle is covered with more lace. There is the option to make this an insertion like on the ruffle, but I just left the fabric behind intact.

The completed ruffle

And here is the end result. The cotton lawn is so fine that the corset flossing and binding are visible underneath but despite that, it's quite heavy. The result of all those ruffles, no doubt.

Side and front views

Even though I used less fabric than the pattern called for, it's still further into the green for the Stashometer.

Looking good (by slightly nefarious means)

I should explain that I have a fair amount of plain cotton of different weights in The Stash. Because so much woven fabric sold as '100% cotton' these days is mysteriously stretchy (well hello, unlisted elastane content), when I do come across plain true cotton fabric in white or cream, I tend to buy some while I can, and don't count it as a stash addition (#sorrynotsorry).

The remainder of this particular length is going to be made into a corset cover. But first, I'm going to make a new corset. My 1911 corset is greatly improved by my recent alterations, but there's no denying that the lacing gap is far too wide. I don't feel I’ve done very well with corset-making so far, so I'm not excited to get started, but needs must. At least I'm using another Scroop pattern to make it, so I'm giving myself every chance of success.

Next up (image © Scroop Patterns)

Finally, the petticoat is my entry for another Historical Sew Monthly 2026 challenge, and here are the details.

The small print:
The Challenge: December, Bottoms
What the item is: Mid-teens era petticoat
How it fits the challenge: It covers my bottom half
Material: Cotton lawn
Pattern: Ettie petticoat from Scroop Patterns, view C
Year: 1915-1917
Notions: Cotton insertion and hem lace, snap fastens, hooks & loops, elastic
How historically accurate is it? The pattern is based on a 1917 sewing pattern and the materials are authentic for the period
Hours to complete: Too many to admit to, I’m a very slow sewist
First worn: Just for photos
Total cost: £34

Comfort at Home

Another Historical Sew Monthly challenge completed! This time it's the March challenge, Comfort at Home, and I chose to make my 1911 corset (something which would only be seen in the home) more comfortable.

This was my very first attempt at historical sewing, way back in 2012. It was made as part of a sewalong to create the 1911 corset from Norah Waugh's Corsets and Crinolines. I remember that Jo, who ran the sewalong, provided lots of information and was very generous with her time and expertise to answer any queries as we went along. But I realise now that there were a lot of beginner's fit issues with my completed corset, mainly because I didn't know what questions I should be asking.

If I were the same shape as this dressform, all would be well - but I'm not

I tackled the problems with the corset top in 2020, and this made it more comfortable to wear - so long as I was standing up. If I sat down though, it wedged itself uncomfortably under my ribs. Through reading this post by The Dreamstress and the associated comments, I discovered that the cause was actually the lacing bones extending too far down the back of the corset: they were pushed up when I sat on something, and took the waist stay with them. The bones either side were also too long, which didn't help. I bought some new flat steels and set about dismantling parts of the corset. Again.

I unpicked the bottom binding, very carefully because it was satin and snagged easily, took out the original bones, replaced them and redid the flossing. I also had to take out an eyelet at the point where I wanted to cut off the excess.

It really was much too long

The original plan was to remove 2½" all round the bottom. But I had seen some teens era corsets where the bottom edge goes up at the centre front, and wondered about trying that. However, I couldn't end up with a raw edge longer than the original binding, as I have no more of the pink satin.

Testing out the intended bottom edge

The coutil I had used for the corset is quite soft and feels oddly loosely-woven for a coutil, and I was concerned about eyelet hole being so close to the new edge of the corset. The coutil I had used for the boning channels is far more rigid, so I used one of the cut-off scraps of it to patch the hole from inside the lacing panel.

I machined over it, and cut off the excess

I had also noticed that because of the length of the corset, the fronts pull apart quite a lot at the bottom of the busk. There was already some damage to the soft coutil, and it seemed inevitable that eventually the busk would tear a hole in it. I had some larger offcuts of the stiffer coutil, so I unpicked the lower stitching both sides, slipped a folded piece around the bottom of the busk, and machined everything back in place.

Reinforcement around the bottom of the busk

Then I reattached the binding and the suspenders. I did worry that the front ones might not be long enough, given the new shape, but fortunately I had allowed plenty extra when I originally made them.

Thank goodness for foresight

Then came the acid test. It passed with flying colours!

#sewnshownseated with a difference!

The small print:
The Challenge: March, Comfort at Home
What the item is: Removed excess length from my 1911 corset
How it fits the challenge: A corset would only have been seen inside the home, and being able to sit down in it definitely makes it more comfortable!
Material: Coutil for the corset, synthetic satin for the bias trim
Pattern: 1911 corset from Norah Waugh’s Corsets and Crinolines, slightly modified
Year: c 1911
Notions: Cotton eyelet lace for trimming, flat steels, steel busk
How historically accurate is it? The pattern is from an actual corset albeit subsequently modified, and the materials are accurate apart from the synthetic satin, so I would say 70%
Hours to complete: About 10, a fair amount of which was unpicking stitching and removing two eyelets. This had to be done carefully to minimise damage to the garment and make sure that the materials could be re-used
First worn: Just for photos
Total cost: £7.20 for the new, shorter, steels, everything else was reused

The corset is now wearable, but it still has some fit issues. I'm not sure how many of these are down to my inexperience when I made it, and how many are due to the passage of time. My body has changed a lot in 14 years, not least through menopause. The lacing gap is now wider than is ideal for any corset. But the waist stay doesn't actually fit to my waist all the way round: there is a definite gap at the sides where the corset goes straight from ribcage to hip while my waist curves in. My original plan was to make this corset wearable so that it could form part of my 1915 ensemble, and it would still work for that. As The Dreamstress pointed out in the post referenced above, historically, plenty of women would have got by in corsets which were a less than perfect fit. But ideally, I think I need a new corset. I have the Rilla pattern from Scroop, and one of the other Historical Sew Monthly challenges is 'Bones' - watch this space!

More swatching

When will I ever learn? Needless to say, describing fixing the damaged cushions at my local community café as a "'little' job" turned out to be tempting fate. More damaged cushions have sprung up like mushrooms, and despite the kind help of one of the other regular attendees, there are still several to do. Getting on with the toile has been shelved until this is done, but I did find time for a bit of knitting.

I knitted up a second swatch for my 1915 shawl, this time using 4.5mm needles, which equate to U.S. size 7/old UK size 7. Unsurprisingly, when blocked it came out larger than the swatch knitted on 4mm needles.

4mm swatch on top of 4.5mm one

It also felt, and looked, like a far more open knit. As the pattern states that "Closeness of texture is the feature which makes this a generally useful shawl", I decided to stick with the 4mm/size 8 needles specified in the pattern, even though the swatch produced felt rather chunky.

Then I had the genius idea of trying to re-block the 4mm swatch to the gauge listed on the yarn label instead of just randomly stretching it! (I know, I know - I wasn't at all at my brightest when I first blocked it, so never thought about this). I marked out a 22 stitch and 28 row section, calculated the likely dimensions of a 33 stitch and 57 row swatch blocked to gauge as a belt-and-braces approach, and set to work.

Slightly different shape!

Blocked to the right size, the swatch has a thickness far more suitable for a shawl. It also retained its size and shape after handling, so I am confident that this is the right degree of blocking.

Once I knew this, I could consider the dimensions of the completed shawl. No size information is provided in the pattern, except that it should be knitted until it is 50" long, and then a further 45 rows knitted. This would equate to 56½"/ 144cm, which feels like a reasonable length for a shawl. However, the pattern is 219 stitches wide. In the gauge for my wool, this is 40"/100cm. Given that I am 64" tall, a shawl which would cover almost ⅔ of my height seems a bit excessive.

I folded a remnant to 100 X 144 cm to get an idea of the size. Obviously, fabric drapes differently from knitting, but it confirmed that this would be a big shawl. When I checked, I discovered that it's actually the size of my bath towels rather than anywhere close to my existing shawls.

So much fabric

It almost reaches down to my knees

Something that size was also going to use a lot of wool, and be quite heavy as a result. I wondered if the Capstan yarn suggested for the pattern was thinner than my DK wool, and so would produce a narrower shawl from 219 stitches. Combing through the booklet which contains the pattern for any clues, I found a section on the different Beehive products. Capstan was listed in the section of Soft Knitting wools. These were described as "4-ply yarns which are more tightly twisted than Fingerings", and of the four types available, Capstan was "slightly thicker". Double Knitting was a separate section, and described as "a thick 4-ply Fingering".

Unless I come across a skein of teens era Capstan yarn for sale somewhere, I guess I will never know for certain. But given that old yarns are generally regarded as being thicker than the modern equivalents (Lister Lee DK is described as more of current Aran weight, for example) and also the needle size of 4mm, modern DK still seems like the best choice for the project. So I will simply work out what width I want the shawl to be, and cast on accordingly.

Even so, it's still going to use a fair amount of yarn - more than will fit in one of the repurposed totes I use for my shawl projects. The clear-out which brought the Dress of Frump back to my attention also unearthed a cute but long-forgotten length of craft cotton and today, as a break from the endless cushion repairs, I made a new (lined, of course) project bag for the occasion.

Complete with wool

Another metre used

Hopefully I will be able to finally start on the shawl soon.

Swatching the shawl

I have tried a few bits of sewing this week, but of course whenever I automatically reach for my phone to take a snap to show Mum, it brings me up short. So it has felt safer to concentrate on knitting for a while. Even then, I don't fully trust my powers of concentration (drying a plate and putting it away - in the fridge - is just one example of why!) so for now I'm sticking to the low stakes effort of swatching a new knitting project. As this is going to require a few samples, it is keeping me occupied for a while.

I have picked up my historical knitting project, a shawl from this 1915 booklet.

Shawl and booklet

It is described as having a border of plain knitting and a centre "worked in a simple vest pattern". I have no idea what a vest pattern might be, but it is definitely simple - only four rows long, and worked in alternating blocks of three knit or purl stitches. What there is not, however, is any indication of tension. It's knitted on size 8 needles, which equate to 4mm/U. S. size 6, and was to be knitted in 'Capstan' wool.

4mm needles suggest DK yarn, and I found this 100% Blue Faced Leicester in my local wool shop, in a shade which seemed suitable for a teens era shawl.

Emu Gold in shade Slate Fell

Supplies were very limited, so I bought a skein in a different shade for swatching experiments. First, I knitted a stocking stitch swatch, just to check the gauge. It came out a little bit large once blocked, but that's not a problem for a shawl.

First swatch - almost no concentration required

Next, I knitted a sample using the stitches for the actual shawl - a plain border and a patterned centre. It soon became obvious that when I changed from knit to purl stitches, there was a gap.

Laddering to the left of the knit blocks

I found this article on how to fix the problem by knitting the first purl stitch with the yarn passed opposite way round the needle than normal.

Examples

It fixed the laddering, but seemed to transfer the problem from the first purl stitch to the last knit stitch instead, so I'm not sure if it's worth pursuing.

Wonky knit stitches instead of laddering

The stitches did even out a bit when blocked. I wasn't aiming for a specific size, I just stretched it what seemed a reasonable amount but not excessive.

This is the only shot which shows the wool colour accurately

The vest pattern is the same on both sides, just the columns are reversed.

Both sides of the swatch

The finished piece feels quite thick, especially when folded double like the illustration of the shawl. The yarn also feels thicker than any DK I have used previously, but that might be because it is wool rather than synthetic or mixed fibres. I couldn't find any information about Capstan yarn as far back as 1915, but it does seem to have been an Aran weight yarn from at least the 1960s. Certainly the name suggests sturdy knitwear for seafarers! Aran yarn on 4mm needles would surely have produced a very dense knit.

Having drawn a blank on 1915 yarn, I turned to Ravelry to see how other people are using my own yarn choice. There are currently three shawls knitted in Emu Gold on there, one knitted on 4mm needles and two knitted on 4.5mm. So my next step is to knit another patterned sample, but this time on 4.5mm needles. I can also try to improve my vest pattern knitting while I’m knitting it. Thank goodness I bought that extra skein!

First challenge completed

Success! I've completed my first Historical Sew Monthly 2026 challenge and the first item of my 1915 ensemble. The challenges can be completed in any order, so originally this was going to be for the March challenge, Comfort at Home. This is to "Make something to wear around the (historical) home or that would be generally only seen within the household", and underwear definitely fits that bill. But once it was done I had a change of plan and instead went for the January challenge, Joy for January. Part of the description of this challenge is "Create an item that epitomises the joy you find in historical costuming", and it really has been a joy to pick up historical costuming again; I hadn't realised how much I missed it.

Challenge completed (Note: the proportions are deceptive!)

Admittedly, it was hardly a difficult challenge. It's a simple make, only two pieces, and between Lauren's extra notes for the pattern and The Dreamstress' blog post I had a lot of hand holding.

The back has a central pleat, to add extra width for sitting down.

Back pleat from the right side

If this had been a skirt vent, I would have just overcast the raw edge at the top of the pleat. But as it's going to be worn next to the body, I covered the edge with some scrap cotton tape to make it neater and more hard-wearing. I also flat felled the shoulder and side seams.

Back pleat from the wrong side, with tape edging

I used beading lace round the neckline, attached by the Dreamstress' method of turning the raw edge of the garment to the outside, and enclosing it in two rows of stitching.

The trimmed neckine

I also followed her approach of reinforcing the flap with a second layer of fabric, to provide more stability for the buttonholes.

Up to this point, I had done all the sewing on my 1930s treadle machine. But then circumstances dictated that I had to be away from home for a while, with no access to a sewing machine but plenty of time on my hands. So the rest of the sewing was done by hand. Thanks for the suggestion, Juliana!

The armholes were trimmed with lace. Again this was sewn over the raw edge of the fabric, but this time folded to the inside.

The lace is sewn to the inside of the armhole

The pattern has markings for where the buttons/buttonholes should go on the flap - either option is historically accurate. But to me, this seemed a long way down the flap. So instead I sewed them closer to the edge.

This looked like annoyance waiting to happen

I have some kind of blind spot about buttonhole stitch. No matter how often I do it, I can never remember how it differs from blanket stitch. Normally I refer to my trusty copy of Vogue Sewing, but this time I didn’t have it to hand. I did, however, have a dim memory of having photographed the relevant section on my phone ages ago 'just in case'. And sure enough, there it was!

When a plan comes together

Finally, my wash buttons were a little grimy from years spent in a button tin, but I scrubbed them with soap and an old toothbrush, and this greatly improved matters. So here is the finished article.

It looks absurd, but it's really comfortable

The ribbon is synthetic and too stiff to really tie properly - a replacement has been ordered. But that's the only issue I have.

I thought that the low flap might feel weird, but I didn't really notice it once I was wearing the combinations. If fact if, like me, you have the misfortune to remember 1980s bodysuits (iykyk), something with fastens you can both see and reach easily is an absolute boon!

It's also very loose-fitting

I tried putting my 1911 corset on over the top, and the combination (no pun intended) worked really well.

But fits under my corset very well

There is still an issue with the corset, but thanks to The Dreamstress' Fortnight in 1916 posts I've finally worked out what it is. And the fix will fulfil another Historical Sew Monthly Challenge.

In the meantime, here are the details for this challenge.

The small print:
The Challenge: 1, January, Joy for January
What the item is: Combination underwear
How it fits the challenge: After a long break, it's a joy to be picking up historical costuming again
Material: White cotton
Pattern: Wearing History Circa 1917 Combination Underwear & Chemise
Year: Around 1917
Notions: Cotton lace for armhole trim, beading lace and ribbon for neckline trim, vintage wash buttons for fasten
How historically accurate is it?: The pattern, fabric and most of the notions are correct for the period. The ribbon is synthetic, but will be replaced as it is too stiff
Hours to complete: Around 12. It's not a complicated pattern, but I hand sewed a lot of it as I was away from home, and my hand sewing is very slow
First worn: Just for photographs
Total cost: All the materials were in my stash, so this is an estimate based on current prices - fabric £14, trims £3.25, so £17.25 total

Button joy

So far, so good. Despite, or possibly because of, a stressful week, I've forced myself to make time to do some sewing rather than just sit there and stress. And guess what? I've felt better for it.

The Wearing History underwear pattern is a good way to ease myself back into historical sewing. It's entirely straightforward for someone who is used to using vintage patterns, and Lauren's notes clear up any areas which might need a little more information. In a quieter week I would have it finished already. But it wasn't, I haven't, and it's not complex enough to merit two posts. So instead, here's a short post about one aspect of it which has cheered me up far more than it had any reason to - the buttons.

The pattern

I'm making the leftmost option, the combinations without a fitted waistband. The back piece extends into a flap, which fastens to the front with two buttons. The search for appropriate buttons is a regular source of angst on this blog, but this time not only do I have suitable buttons, but there is almost nothing else that they could be used for.

The tools for the job

These are 'wash buttons', a metal base covered in linen, specifically designed for items which would be laundered frequently and washed at very high temperatures. Unlike shell or bone buttons, they could also be put through a mangle with no danger of breaking. Cotton underwear is precisely the sort of thing these buttons were designed for. These ones were in button boxes in sewing collections which I have bought at auction, and I had kept them while expecting to never have a reason to use them. But their time has come!

Whereas most button cards are plain, washing buttons often seem to be on cards marked into squares or columns. I have no idea why.

Found on Etsy

I would have thought that boil-proof buttons which can go through a mangle would be a thing of the past, but no. They are still made by Prym, among others.

Still going strong

Not that I need to buy new, as I have some already. As I said, I’m unreasonably pleased by this small victory.

Having a go

This may be a bad idea (although goodness knows, it won't be the first of those to grace this blog) but, despite having next to no sewing time at present, I've decided to take part in this.

It's been a while

Although I did a little historical sewing in 2024, I haven't participated in the HSM since 2020, and I miss it. So on the basis of 'what is the worst that could happen?' I'm just going to jump back in with a project I've had in mind for a while - making a 1915 outfit. As I have no clothing at all from that era, I need to make the full ensemble, ideally working from the inside out.

1915 fashions from Fashion: A Timeline in Photographs: 1850 to Today

Luckily for me, I've got some help. Back in July 2016 The Dreamstress spent a fortnight living as much as possible like a middle class Wellington housewife would have done a century earlier, and documented the experience on her website. There was information about food and keeping house, but also a fair bit about what she wore. Since then, she has issued several of her own patterns for garments from the era. And I am shamelessly using all this information to build my own wardrobe.

First up will be the base layer, for which I am using this pattern from Wearing History.

Chemise or combinations, circa 1917

It comes with a warning that the original instructions are very limited, but having made period undies before it looks quite straightforward. Plus, The Dreamstress made this pattern up for an HSM challenge and wrote about it, so I have lots of hand holding for my first foray back into historical sewing.

I'm horribly aware that my plans could very easily be derailed by Life at any moment. But if that happens, it happens. I'm not making this for anyone else, or for a deadline, so it's a very low risk project in terms of getting it completed. And whatever may be waiting in the wings, I will get more done than if I had never even tried. So here we go.

Something new

I have an entirely new project in mind. It's a long time since I've done any historical sewing, and I would definitely like to get back to it. Completing my 1986 dress has reminded me just how much I can get done, if I put my mind to it, and how satisfying it is to really work on something. So I'm hoping to get back into the Historical Sew Monthly this year.

I've discovered that despite the name, knitted projects are also allowed. This may have always been the case, but when I last made something for the HSM I wasn't a knitter, so possibly I just didn't notice.

Historical knitting is a whole new rabbit hole for me to fall down! And happily, there's lots to investigate. In particular, I've discovered the Antique Pattern Library - a mind-boggling collection of patterns for all sorts of crafts, and free to access.

It also gives publication dates, which is how I know that this booklet dates from 1915. I was thinking of making a teens era ensemble anyway, so this definitely caught my eye.

At 68 pages, it's a substantial 'booklet'

There is an initial chapter on the basics of knitting and crochet, along with information on different types of wool. This includes "vest wool" and "petticoat wool", as well as a variety of different types of 4-ply. The subsequent chapters cover different types of knitted and crocheted items, with an illustration for each chapter. There are lots of items for babies and children, but chapter six is "Waistcoat, shawls, jackets and spencer".

The items in chapter six

Most of the shawls are crocheted, which is a new skill too far for me. But one is knitted.

Close-up of the knitted shawl

A quick skim through the instructions suggests that it's within my capabilities. There's still lots to work out in terms of yarn choice etc, but historical knitting, here I come!