1780's mens waistcoat suit_journal
Because I see the ladies making dress diaries I thought it would be fun to put out some information of what costumes I am up to.
About the project
This is a mens fitted waistcoat for the 1780's. It is Italian cut with a high collar and an laced vent in the back. I saw the vent in a museum piece in Bath and I liked the overall look of it, so this is my first attempt at recreating it.
The fashion at this time in the 18th century was for the waistcoat to start t taper away from at natural waist height and have the pockets line up with the pockets of the coat. These in turn line up with the cuff of the coat at the curved, shoulder rolled back position that was proper posture of the era. In part the cut of the waistcoat was to show of the recent advances in the cut and design of mens breachers. earlier in the century they were only tight at the knee and then loose on the back side in what costumers call "diaper but", however some new tricks were learned and the tightness and shaping of breachers became much more form fitting by the start of the 19th century.
The fashion fabric is a silk poly blend with a very nice textured brocade. The lining is poly and the structure is a heavy canvas horsehair. To save time and effort I will bag line it. This is not at all period but I really don't care.
Pattern front: I started out just freehand drafting the pattern in muslin based on past projects.
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_pattern.jpg
The procedure is normal for me:
- Draft pattern on cloth based on known measurements
- Cut out fabric and sew together a mock up garment
- check for fit and not any changes, seam rip and iron flat again
- cut lining fabric
- Sew lining together using baste stitch
Pattern matching
I opted not to make a full front and back for this garment, in part because the fashion fabric does not breath well and also because the effect is nicer with the black.
Normally if I were to d so I would align the back panels by the center back seam or seams. This is tricker then it sounds because I have substantial shoulder muscles so the seam must curve in to follow the contours of my back to waist transition (should put a drawing in here).
The front should also be lined up by accounting for the overlap and projected line of the right over left closure. The best way to fudge this is to start at the top of the front closure near the collar and then work your way down. any mistakes below will be missed more then a small mistake at eye level.
*straight men, keep this in mind; if you are six feet tall the vast majority of women who will admire you outfit will be doing so about mid chest height, so focus on making things line up there.*
To stabilize the garment I surged an interfacing of horsehair canvas to the fronts. The back was interfaced using a light muslin to keep the lining fabric under control and to give it more weight
At this point I stopped and cutout the welted pocket flaps and matched the patterns. it is much easier to assemble the packets while the garment is flat so finish up this detail before you sew the sides and back together.
Pattern matching pocket: notice the flowers all line up.
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_Pocket.jpg
Another shot
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_Pocket2.jpg
The collar took about 4 tries to get right, it was a freehand drape using a crown base (if you need an explanation of these terms just ask). The effect I was looking for was to layer on two collars of the coat and waistcoat to have it peaking over the top. Again this is all pattern matched on the curve of the collar. Shaping was done using tack sewing and lots of steaming.
This shows the matching on the curve.
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_Collar0.jpg
So you think you are anal retentive?
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_collar3.jpg
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_collar2.jpg
Yes I really did make them all line up on both sides
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_collar1.jpg
The next part was putting to bone channels in the back and then sewing the lace-ing holes. They did not use grommets at this time. I glued some fabric tack over the holes before punching them with a sharp all.
Next came the button holes and then I will be decorating them with some hand embroidery on the same theme as the floral print of the vest. Finally I will be using gold buttons on the front rather then fabric covered buttons.
Out of time but tomorrow I will post the completed result.
About the project
This is a mens fitted waistcoat for the 1780's. It is Italian cut with a high collar and an laced vent in the back. I saw the vent in a museum piece in Bath and I liked the overall look of it, so this is my first attempt at recreating it.
The fashion at this time in the 18th century was for the waistcoat to start t taper away from at natural waist height and have the pockets line up with the pockets of the coat. These in turn line up with the cuff of the coat at the curved, shoulder rolled back position that was proper posture of the era. In part the cut of the waistcoat was to show of the recent advances in the cut and design of mens breachers. earlier in the century they were only tight at the knee and then loose on the back side in what costumers call "diaper but", however some new tricks were learned and the tightness and shaping of breachers became much more form fitting by the start of the 19th century.
The fashion fabric is a silk poly blend with a very nice textured brocade. The lining is poly and the structure is a heavy canvas horsehair. To save time and effort I will bag line it. This is not at all period but I really don't care.
Pattern front: I started out just freehand drafting the pattern in muslin based on past projects.
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_pattern.jpg
The procedure is normal for me:
- Draft pattern on cloth based on known measurements
- Cut out fabric and sew together a mock up garment
- check for fit and not any changes, seam rip and iron flat again
- cut lining fabric
- Sew lining together using baste stitch
Pattern matching
I opted not to make a full front and back for this garment, in part because the fashion fabric does not breath well and also because the effect is nicer with the black.
Normally if I were to d so I would align the back panels by the center back seam or seams. This is tricker then it sounds because I have substantial shoulder muscles so the seam must curve in to follow the contours of my back to waist transition (should put a drawing in here).
The front should also be lined up by accounting for the overlap and projected line of the right over left closure. The best way to fudge this is to start at the top of the front closure near the collar and then work your way down. any mistakes below will be missed more then a small mistake at eye level.
*straight men, keep this in mind; if you are six feet tall the vast majority of women who will admire you outfit will be doing so about mid chest height, so focus on making things line up there.*
To stabilize the garment I surged an interfacing of horsehair canvas to the fronts. The back was interfaced using a light muslin to keep the lining fabric under control and to give it more weight
At this point I stopped and cutout the welted pocket flaps and matched the patterns. it is much easier to assemble the packets while the garment is flat so finish up this detail before you sew the sides and back together.
Pattern matching pocket: notice the flowers all line up.
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_Pocket.jpg
Another shot
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_Pocket2.jpg
The collar took about 4 tries to get right, it was a freehand drape using a crown base (if you need an explanation of these terms just ask). The effect I was looking for was to layer on two collars of the coat and waistcoat to have it peaking over the top. Again this is all pattern matched on the curve of the collar. Shaping was done using tack sewing and lots of steaming.
This shows the matching on the curve.
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_Collar0.jpg
So you think you are anal retentive?
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_collar3.jpg
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_collar2.jpg
Yes I really did make them all line up on both sides
http://www.wyldfires.com/galleryphp/albums/userpics/10003/Waistcoat_collar1.jpg
The next part was putting to bone channels in the back and then sewing the lace-ing holes. They did not use grommets at this time. I glued some fabric tack over the holes before punching them with a sharp all.
Next came the button holes and then I will be decorating them with some hand embroidery on the same theme as the floral print of the vest. Finally I will be using gold buttons on the front rather then fabric covered buttons.
Out of time but tomorrow I will post the completed result.