Tag: linen

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Sewing an 18th c shirt

This post is part three of my “making of” series of posts for my 18th c outfit for a friend’s Halloween wedding. If you missed the others, you can read part one, about sewing the 18th c frock coat, and part two, about sewing the 18th c breeches before reading this.

Unlike the other two garments, I actually didn’t use a pattern for this shirt, instead using the (slightly) modernised drafting and sewing instructions here which took the original historical documents as the base. (Though it’s only now as I’m writing up this post that I see Black Snail Patterns have a very similar shirt pattern on their full site which I did NOT see on their Etsy shop?! Honestly, using their pattern would’ve saved me so much stress!! If you’re reading this planning your own outfit, definitely go for the pattern rather than what I did here!)

These instructions give dimensions for all the various rectangles that make up the shirt, only a few of which actually depend on your own body measurements. I used the various rectangles to work out in Adobe Illustrator exactly how much fabric I’d need for a few common widths. So when I went to Fabrics Galore and bought a viscose/linen/elastase mix that was 135cm wide, I knew confidently I could buy 2m and have very little leftover.

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A pale blue buttondown shirt

Furthering my quest to find the perfect buttondown shirt to be the base pattern for Lestat’s pink silk shirt (and his rust velvet shirt too), I’ve moved on to another Burda magazine pattern in my stash – 09/2024 no101. This pattern is a pretty basic buttondown shirt with bust darts, back yoke & pleats, collar, and long cuffs. It’s also got added ties at the neck that are just topstitched in place, but I omitted these.

I used a pale blue linen/cotton(? Again, it’s all natural fibres in a burn test but hard to narrow down definitely) from the IWTV props auction. This piece was a full 2m and miraculously without any holes, and the pattern took nearly all of it. I’d bought some pale blue shell buttons at my last trip to MacCulloch & Wallis, which are a perfect match.

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Striped Lestat linen trousers

Yes, it’s another garment inspired by the vampire show! Get used to it though, because I have a lot more of these planned over the next few months – I can’t help it that Lestat’s modern wardrobe was incredible this season as well as being SO wearable!

There’s a particular pair of striped trousers that Lestat wears in episode 3 while he’s being interviewed for Daniel’s documentary that I absolutely loved. It’s paired with a burnt orange velvet shirt (and the necklace I made last year!) which I’ve also got plans to sew later this year. A post by the lead costumemaker showed that the trousers were actually part of a full striped suit, but the jacket wasn’t actually seen in the show so I’m glad I don’t feel compelled to make that too.

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Linen cargo trousers

This is the first proper garment from my haul of fabrics from the Interview with the Vampire props auction in March! I made two small projects out of some scraps, but they weren’t really big enough for a post, so they’ll likely get rolled into a Miscellaneous post at some point.

Once I got those two quick scrap projects out of the way, I got it in my head to tackle the most challenging of the fabrics first!

It’s a pale blue linen/cotton (a burn test seems to think it’s mostly linen?) heavy weight chambray, that has a little slub effect and is surprisingly robust. When I was turning the waist ties the fabric was shredding SO badly, but was also tough enough to withstand me literally pulling it through with pliers!

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Parisian turquoise linen shirtdress

We had a lovely little getaway week in Paris in February, and I took the opoprtunity to do some fabric shopping while we were there – both in Montmartre and at the Atelier Brunette shop. From the former, I ended up with 3m of teal linen bought at the Coupons de Saint Pierre for €40. This was the most expensive of the three coupons (pre-cut lengths, usually 3m) I bought but it was a good weight and great price for 100% linen and in a very Me Colour, too. When I bought it I thought the 3m might stretch to a shirt for both J and I but when I changed plans to a dress, it turned out I needed pretty much the whole yardage! (Sorry, J!)

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Black linen Bob trousers & a slate blue Versatili-Tee

I’m still not sure whether I actually like this design of trousers or not, but my previous StyleArc Bobs are one of like three non-legging bottoms that still fit and aren’t uncomfortable, so making another pair was a necessity sew.

My waist is 20cm larger due to being mostly stuck in bed for the past 8 months, but I hope to not be like this indefinitely. As a result, I don’t want to sew much for this body. I’m kinda thinking of this as a “loaner body” while my real body is in the shop getting fixed, so I’m basically sewing the bare minimum that I need, unless it’s something that will also fit my real body later (like teeshirts and the cropped Hamilton jacket I’m working on).

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Brown linen Bob trousers

I’ve seen a lot of great versions of StyleArc’s “Bob” trouser pattern over the past few years, so I finally caved and bought it on a whim during a sale last year. They’re a pretty basic elastic-waist woven trouser apart from a rather bulbous outer leg shape.

The question is – would this shape of trouser actually work for me?
And to be honest, I’m still not sure I have the answer…

I had 1.5m of Raystitch’s European Washed Linen in the “Muscovado” colourway which I’d bought with a gift certificate last year, and I figured this was a great way to test out the pattern. I know I could sew a muslin first, but I know by now that sewing muslins really dims my enthusiasm for any project, so I tend to just compare a new pattern to an existing one I like and adjust from there.

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Black ramie Pietra trousers

You know a pattern is a good’un when you not only find yourself making it multiple times, but feel a deep need in your wardrobe to make even more. This is my 5th time making the Closet Core Patterns “Pietra Pants” pattern – twice before as trousers and twice also as shorts.

My very first time sewing this pattern was a pair of trousers in black linen, almost exactly two years ago, which since then I’ve worn so much that the inner thighs literally disintegrated (even after patching). Thankfully my second pair, in grey wool, are still going strong (probably by virtue of only being worn in winter rather than all year round like the linen ones).

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Ramie shorts and a mint ribbed top

I’m sorry guys, it’s my fault! I turned the weather to freezing, non-stop rain by sewing a pair of shorts. 😭 (insert jokes about English “summers” here)

But I was inspired by some recent fabric shopping at both Textile Express and Lamazi Fabrics and I really wanted to make this set as soon as possible – and hoped the weather would rise to the challenge, but it did not. In any case, the garments have thankfully turned out better than I’d hoped, and I know I’ll get a lot of wear out of both as soon as it warms up and dried out.

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Paprika Palisade trousers

I realise that “Paprika Palisade Pants” would’ve had more pleasing alliteration but since I’ve nearly reached the point where I’ve lived more years in the UK than in the US (19 vs 23), I dislike using ambiguous terms that could be misconstrued. And “trousers” if more definitive than “pants”, which has wildly different meanings based on your geography (the reason I tended to use “bottoms” or “leggings” in my book, too).

In any case, these were an attempt to kickstart my missing sewing mojo and make something comfortable and useful for my yes-I’m-still-shielding-at-home life. I’ve sewn the Closet Core Patterns “Pietra” trousers three times now and have literally worn holes into my first pair, but I wanted to sew something a little different and thought I’d branch out and try the Papercut Patterns “Palisade Pants” which I’d bought in a recent sale. I mean, come on, that pocket detail!!