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Delilah 18th Century Undergarments Set

 I have quite a difficult time focusing on one time period. One minute, I’ll have grand ideas for a huge bustle gown. The next minute, I’m dreaming of medieval cloaks in warm, delicious, soft wool. It’s a problem, let me tell you. This year, I am trying my best to finish projects that have languished too long in Unfinished Objects purgatory. (The size of my UFO pile is embarrassing.) This set hasn’t been waiting as long as other projects, but I’m incredibly excited just the same. It is the underpinnings for an early-to-mid 18th century middle class ensemble. I’m calling this set “Delilah”. I have decided to name my sets, just for fun. I am getting close to my goal of sewing an undergarment set for every major fashion period in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.  I need to make a Regency set and an early Victorian set, and I need to finish a few other projects for other time periods. But I’m almost there.


 The idea for this project was born when I found a fun leopard print quilt at Goodwill. For whatever reason, I knew I had to make it into an 18th century quilted petticoat and jacket ensemble. But that petticoat will come later. Or, it might not. First, I needed to start on the underpinnings. Because I can’t get excited about a project for a fashion time period I’ve already started. That would be too reasonable.



I wish I could tell you where I found the instructions for the shift. But alas, I cannot. I have no clue where I got this guide. This big piece of brownish-tan polyester cotton was in my stash. (Or did I buy a sheet at the thrift store? It’s hard to remember sometimes.)  It’s just a bunch of rectangles of various sizes. For the neckline, I sewed a bias tape for a drawstring casing and inserted a ribbon to gather it in. It’s a little too wide throughout the body, but I don’t care. The shift gets gathered under the stays anyway. And the fabric is very lightweight, so it shouldn’t be too bulky under the stays.



The set of pockets was really just an excuse to use this scrap of cute cotton African animals print from the stash. And also, pockets are simply a necessity. For any time period. For the pattern, I just googled 18th century pockets and printed out a guide. It’s difficult to describe how I sewed it, as I just made it up as I went. I did add a lining of scraps of the shift fabric. The edges are bound with some bias tape that also functions as waist ties. 18th century pockets are the best thing ever.  They are so practical, with plenty of room for essentials. They are basically twin purses you tie on your waist, under your skirt. Skirts usually have slits that one reaches through to access the pockets underneath.  These are the style of pockets the rhyme refers to when “Lucy Locket” lost her pockets. Pockets weren’t sewn into women’s clothes until later. Next week, we’ll dive into the stays and the quilted petticoat.


Yours in hard work, creativity, and a dash of Pixie Dust


Sarah





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