The divided skirt is the name for knickers with wide “skirt legs”. Knickers, “skirt-knickers” or French Drawers could be made of mull muslin, washing silk, or of course, cotton, which is what I’m using. For those who like a bit or frillies and froth beneath their skirts, skirt-knickers often times had a flounce with rows of insertion lace, were threaded through with baby ribbons and were worn under lace or silk petticoats.
So, I went about researching drawers and found several options. I knew I wanted the design to be as simple as possible, because after all, they are only underwear. I began searching for patterns and I found several really good options. I fell in love with the drawers from Century Patterns, a pattern in which I don’t own. In the illustration, I love the way “skirt-legs” a so full and fluffy. But I decided I wanted to use a pattern I already had in my stash. So, I pulled out TV-E02 and started making the drawers.
Starting with the inseam facing, inseam is just a polite way of saying crotch, anyway I pinned the facing to the drawers' matching notches, repeat for both pant legs.
After deciding on a design for the insertion lace, I basted it onto the pant leg of the drawers with a contrasting thread. With white thread, I top-stitched the lace to the drawers, sewing closely to the edge of the lace.
Carefully I cut the fabric behind the lace, taking extreme care not to cut the lace. And after being this far into the project I'm so glad after all of the cutting open of the fabric, that I never managed to cut the lace. I can't even fathom what I'd do if that happened, crawling into the corner and cry most likely.
Then I trim down the seam allowance, roughly cutting it down to a 1/2 inch. With the point of my scissors, I snipped the fabric up to the pointed design on the lace. By now I'm guessing that you are wondering how in the heck I'm going to be able to flat fell these seams now, well I've got a plan!
By eye, I trimmed down the seam allowance, leaving it about a half inch wide. I fold the excess, lining up the raw edge with the stitching line, then fold it over once more tucking in the raw edge.
And now for lots and lots more flat felled seams. Even though I've folded over the seam allowance, because of the angled raw edges, I still have to tuck into the corners in an effort to encase all the raw edges to prevent fraying. Needless to say, this was an extremely tedious fiddly project to work on!
I ended up working on this project over the duration of 8 days working pretty close to 10 hours every day until I got it finished. Please heed my advice when I suggest you go with a more simplistic lace design. (internally screaming!) Also sorry for this awkward angle, I had a difficult time positioning the camera to get a clear shot.
After I hemmed the pant legs, I decided to add lace to the bottom edge. If I had been thinking clearly in the 100th hour of griping at myself for wasting so much time on all them confounded felled seams, I should have hemmed and top-stitched the lace trim on at the same time. (still internally screaming)
I filmed the making of the drawers and camisole out of order, I actually prepared this waistband after I'd already finished the camisole. And you may be wondering why I've put it off so long. The truth is, making clothes for a body that is plus sized can have it challenges. Up until now, I haven't tried on the drawers and I'm fearing that they won't fit. There is supposed to be some gathering in the back of the drawers at the waist band, and I'm not even sure I will have enough extra fabric to do so.
My mind is already reeling with plan B,C,D or E with all the ways I can add width to the drawers without disturbing all the work I've done to the insertion lace. So, it isn't like I don't have options on how to fix it, but, if possible, I'd like to avoid plan Z at all cost, which would be to completely start over from scratch. And if I do have to start over from scratch, I'll probably be huddled in the corner bawling my eyes out, well in the very least I'll have a seriously twitchy eye. And yet I always ask myself why I don't ever do a mock up. And when starting the next project, I probably won't do a mock up, and will be giving myself this same amount of grief once again. When will I ever learn?!
Okay, so I did a quick fitting and discovered that I needed to take a few extra inches out of the waist. And all this time I was worried that it wouldn't fit at all. I didn't want to sew gathering stitches across the lace insertion, because it would create too much bulk under the waistband. So, sewed two rows of gathering stitches across the cotton sections to adjust the waist edge of the drawers.
As for the waistband, I cut it out extra-long and folded over one long edge a 1/4 inch, sewing it down. I know this seems strange, but I do have a method to my madness.
After assembling the basic pattern pieces of the camisole, I mapped out where I wanted the lace, then pinned and top-stitched it into place.
After top-stitching on the lace, I flip the camisole over to the back and cut open the fabric behind the lace, being extremely careful not to cut and portion of the lace.
For the bottom of the camisole, I hemmed it with a double rolled hem. I may have to attach some beading lace to tighten it around the waist.
And...this is a video clip of me frantically searching for enough buttons for the closure of the camisole. I seriously didn't think I'd find enough in this mishmash box of vintage buttons, but I succeeded. But in hindsight, I think I'll buy some more that actually match, perhaps some pretty natural shell of pearl ones.
After testing my first button hole on a scrap of fabric, I mapped out where I wanted to the rest of the buttons to be. I decided on the button holes to be one button width apart, resulting in six buttonholes in total spanning the length of the placket.
Because the button placket is so narrow, I embroidered the buttonholes vertically.
I did a final fitting of the camisole, and I thought it needed a drawstring at the waist. After adjusting the front gathers, I attached the leftover beading lace from my Teal Edwardian Corset project, and stitched it on. Later, I will run a colored ribbon through the lace to make the waist even more adjustable.
For the side of the camisoles that has the buttons, I simply removed the
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| Pic courtesy of the Met. |
last button, stitched the remainder of the lace down and reattached the button back into place.
I folded inward the raw edge or the lace, wrapping it around to the back side of the button placket and stitched it down.
I used upholstery needle, one with a large eye, to weave the ribbon through the design of the lace. Then tied the loose ends into a bow. I also wove decorative ribbon into the insertion lace for a fun pop of color.
If you'd like to check out my video detailing the process of how I made my Edwardian camisole and drawers, please check out my YouTube channel VintageVignettes. Or you can go click on the link.
YouTube link to Edwardian undergarments:
https://youtu.be/LOtKTlDbh6E
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