Shift Sew Along Part Three
Have you been thinking about sewing an 18th century wardrobe (or a history bounding one)? Are you getting into hand sewing? Join us for our Historical Sew Along Series!
Welcome to our fourth Sew Along, Shifts! In our first three sew alongs, we produced garments to dress your lower half in the 18th century. In this sew along we are tackling underwear! Undergarments have been worn throughout history to protect our outer clothing from body oils and scents. In the 18th century this garment, worn closest to the skin was known as a shift (sometimes know by the French term chemise). Made of bleached or sometimes unbleached linen it was constructed simply of rectangles and squares. It was sewn using the seamstress’s best stitches to withstand repeated washings. Your newly made shift will be worn under all your 18th century garments as you journey down the 18th century fashion trail!
Use our hashtag #showyourshift and tag us in social media!
In Part 3 we will:
Sew on shoulder reinforcement using:
back stitch • Historic Fashion Tutorial Series: Backstitch
Attach the sleeve to the body and seam the body using:
back stitch • Historic Fashion Tutorial Series: Backstitch
basting (running) stitch • Historic Fashion Tutorial Series: Running ...
back stitch • Historic Fashion Tutorial Series: Backstitch
fell stitch • Historic Fashion Tutorial Series: Felling ... or hem stitch • Historic Fashion Tutorial Series: Hem Stitch to finish the seam
Attach reinforcement strips around the armscye and sew the hem using:
hem stitch • Historic Fashion Tutorial Series: Hem Stitch
Decide on shape and size of neckline then cut and finish the neckline using:
hem stitch • Historic Fashion Tutorial Series: Hem Stitch
If you missed it, check out
Part 1 here • Shift Sew Along Part One
Part 2 here • Shift Sew Along Part Two
Want to make a gathered sleeve with a cuff • 18th Century Shift Sleeve Hack
Much research on Shifts and their construction has been done over the years. Each year, original shifts have been discovered in private and public collections giving us a broader understanding of the variations of their construction and style. There are a number of resources online you can check out. Here are a few:
http://www.larsdatter.com/18c/shifts....
https://marariley.net/shift/shift.htm
http://www.marquise.de/en/1700/howto/...
http://www.sharonburnston.com/shifts/...
Of course we encourage you to do your own research as we have and enjoy the process!
Follow all of our Sew Alongs to get Dressed From Toe to Top! • Sew Alongs