1740-50 Mantua XIV from Cut of Women's Clothes

The 1740-50 Mantua from Cut of Women's clothes, diagram XIV is not a true mantua, but a mid-century English Gown. Sleeve flounces vs. cuffs date it more toward the 50's than the 40's, though both styles were worn throughout the century to varying degrees.
Cuffs dominated the early part of the century, while flounces were Queen from mid-century on.
The back is cut all in one & pleated to fit. The front has one single pleat each side.
Sleeves are generous, but if you have large upper arms, add a bit to width & height as some of the sleeve becomes the shoulder cap.
The gown should be worn over a small hoop or paniers; basket paniers should not be worn with this gown, though they would be better than nothing. Hip pads or a small rump would also be acceptable.

Bobbi, I've outlined the parts that you will have to finish.
For everyone else, this is a bare sketch of a tutorial & you must have some sewing experience because these are not step-by-step instructions. By no means is this the only way to sew this type of gown & variations in style will demand different steps.


1. Stay stitch all edges

2. Sew backs together, press, stitch seam over or welt
























4. Mark pleat lines for front & back with tailor's chalk

5. Sew CB seam together, press. Set aside



6. Sew front darts. Welt seams






7. Back Pleats:
A: lay out back on table & pin pleats in place









B: line up lining & CB seams, pin in place.








C: pin side seams of dress & lining together.







D: carefully fit lining to dress, pinning critical points together (shoulder, sleeve points) & pleat the excess lining so fabric lays flat.





This shows how to ease the lining fabric into pleats (try several different lay-outs to see which works best for your lining).







E: hand stitch lining fabric in place, catching only lining layer.




At this point, set dress on a dummy to check the fit & make sure pleats are laying well.






F: Machine / hand stitch CB seam, side-back pleats of outside through all layers, including lining. DO NOT stitch pleats nearest side seam yet. If you like, you can stay stitch all around the outside, stopping before you get to the side back pleat at the bottom.
G: Set aside.


8. Front lining:
A: sew lacing & boning tabs together with buttonholes or eyelets and a boning channel to help the front lay flat.








B: sew front facing to front lining, turn & topstitch.









C: sew lacing tabs to inside of front lining.










D: stitch lining to fronts from armhole to front-skirt.

E: Set aside.




9. Sew side skirt to side back using French seams or welted seams.

10. Sew side skirt to side front skirt - leaving 9" open for pocket slits. Or place a placket where you want pocket slits to be once you've located them (this will depend on how wide your panels are).








11. Sew side front to side back on bodice. press & welt.








This is what the dress looks like right now...







12. Pleat skirt to bodice & stitch. Pleats should all face toward the side. Mark Center of the slit & skirt, then pleat toward that.








13. Pin outer back pleat to skirt while on dummy over proper undergarments.
This is really important!
Stitch outer back pleat down.











14. Stitch shoulder seam from armhole to neck point (allow pleat to fall free & be set in place later).











This is the dress at this stage.






15. Sleeves
A: sew side seams of sleeves & linings, press.

B: sew bottom & top edges of sleeves & linings together, right sides out.



C: Sew hem on flounces. Stitch flounces together in place.

D: Gather & stitch flounces onto bands.






E: Sew band onto bottom edge of sleeve. Turn other edge over & stitch that.
Decide if you want a clean edge or topstitching on the outside. This will tell you what side to stitch the band on first & what side to finish last. If you want topstitching showing, stitch to the inside first as seen here. If you want hidden stitches, stitch to the outside first & slip stitch the band on the inside.

F: set sleeve in armhole & stitch in place.
Once you check the fit & position, make a 2nd stitching line on the inside of the first (toward the edge of the seam allowance) to reinforce the seam & tack down the pleats. This helps take pressure off the outer seam & reduces fraying if you toss it in the wash.




Here is the dress at this stage.








16. Front Pleat
A: Pin lacing tabs back. Pin pleats in place (on table or dummy)












B: Starting at bottom front up to sleeve cap, stitch through lining, STOP at sleeve cap (first white dot).
C: Topstitch single layer of fold to end of sleeve cap (red dots). Stop. (White is shown continuing on - DO NOT continue yet).

Note on image: this shows the white arrow going down, go up from CF.






Ironed back facing.









D: Pin back facing in place & adjust front pleats (the unstitched part on the back shoulders) to meet squarely so no raw edges show.
E: Continue stitching through all layers of pleat beyond the sleeve cap.
F: Topstitch back facing through all layers along sides & bottom. Overcast through lining layer only on the inside (you can do this now or when you stitch the front facing).


17. Turn facing over & pin in place on front pleat. Pin carefully. Stitch through bottom layers, do not catch top pleats (IE, your stitching should not show except at the very bottom where there are no pleats). This is best done by hand. Check how it lays on a dummy.



18: set up dummy or have a friend help you pin the hem to length over hoops, paniers, etc. Stitch hem.


19: press all pleats in place.








How to lace the stomacher:
1. lace from bottom to top either cross or spiral.
2. pin stomacher to outside of lining facing.
3: pin front facing to stomacher on inside, weaving pin in & out.
Tabs on the stomacher may be helpful.

1928-1941 Coat Repair

I don't usually do repair work on vintage clothing because, quite frankly, it's more trouble than it's worth, (for someone like me who enjoys making things from scratch). I'm also far from a professional when it comes to these things.

But....

One of my camp friends asked me to see what I could do to save her "1890 Persian Buffalo coat" and for some insane reason I agreed.
Said coat sat in a pillow case on my shelf awaiting it's turn for a few months & didn't stink too badly... Then the docket was up & out of the sack it came.

Now... for a very good restoration, one should separate the fur from the lining, make all necessary repairs to the hide, fur & seams, matching & patching with fur as close as one can get; then repair the lining and stitch everything back together. Critical seams (armholes, etc.) should be reinforced with twill tape or similar fabric.
This was not to be.
First, there were past repairs that were quite sound & stitched right to the lining.
Second, time constraints & cost concerns prevented this approach.

So, the plan of action was this:
Find leather of a nice color & patch from behind the fur, saving as much of the fur as possible & make the coat wearable & look good. No major changes, no overhauls.

Leather found (split elk in a beautiful cinnamon brown) with too many flaws to use for anything else.
Damage assessed & diagramed (10 major holes or splits in the hide with about 10 more minor ones).
Patterns for patches made (cut paper & numbered with directional indicators; up down, front, back).
Leather bits traced & cut.
Let the patching begin!

My main concern was that the shoulders were completely blown out. Most of the leather along those seams was rotten or so damaged by past repairs that it was not salvageable... an entire patch about 12" long & 4" wide was missing from the left shoulder. The right was completely shredded. The shoulder seams were reduced to thread & powder.

Various holes & splits threatened to undo the garment at the least movement... but the leather was, for the most part, sound. It was being held together by a lovely orange embroidery thread, green cotton thread, tan button-hole thread and, of all things, fishing line!

I removed one "repair" and rotten bit at a time, so the coat stayed mostly intact throughout the process.

Starting with the left shoulder, I pinned in the patch, stitched it on with running stitches near the outer edge of the patch & then whip stitched the fur edges so they laid flat.
Next, I patched holes across the shoulder & neck seams; mostly by whip stitching with huge Frankenstein whip stitches to keep tension to a minimum & grab as much material as I could.
Repaired the splits under the arms.
Reinforced the armholes on the body side with leather & tacked the padding back onto the fur so the shoulders regained their beautiful shape!
Laid the sleeve cap over the shoulder & stitched it on (again with big ol' Frankenstein stitches). Made sure it was sound & pulled the hair up to cover the threads.

The right armhole was a bit trickier (the whole right side of the coat is dry rotted). At first I thought it was in better condition than the left, but once I removed the excellent fishing line repairs (they really did hold it together well), the utter devastation became apparent. Everything was crumbling. The whole right sleeve was in the process of blowing out, the leather was cracking & splitting.

New solution...

Because the leather couldn't handle twill tape stitching I thought "what about band-aids?" (fabric & glue). Looked it up & figured it was worth a try. So I cut linen patches to size & using fabric/fiber/plastic/metal/etc. "not sensitive to heat or cold!" glue made myself some long-lasting band-aids for this poor beleaguered sleeve. After the first 2 patched dried & I had carefully repaired the armhole on the coat body, I thought "this just might work!"
The sleeve cap was in danger of shredding with another hole & I just couldn't see it standing up to having thread pulled through it. So I glued pieces of linen bias tape along the edge to stabilize that too.
Moving on while that drys.

The bottom fronts both had L tares. The first was a simple patch & whip. The other was in similar condition to the sleeve: "band-aid" and let dry. Amazingly enough after the glue had dried I was able to just whip the tares together & no patch was necessary... though I think this might qualify as a "patch & pray."

Right armhole was stitched back together (the glue made the leather a little stiff, but not bad at all), small whip stitched repairs in the cuff, chest & belly were made & Ta-Da! Finished coat...

It's now in the "freezer" (the van at 20F) for 3 days to kill any mites, after which time it will become well acquainted with fresh coffee grounds to make it smell much better.

All done!


Except...
It's not 1890. It's not baby buffalo.

What it is is 1928-1941 Angora kid goat fur/hair. Most likely made by Clearfield Furs of Clearfield, PA or Buffalo Bill Fur Farms of Cody, WY, or any number of other fur coat producers of the 20's & 30's.
The coat has the characteristic straight sided cut of the 20's & 30's, which was not seen in American fashion prior to 1917. (vs. the gored, fitted, darts & curves of the 1890's, 1900's & 1910's).

(if these are your -- very cute-- angora goats, I want some to eat my weeds... and if you'd like me to remove the images I will. Got them from Flicker & didn't have any notices that they were copyrighted. But seriously, I could use some goats to combat the weed issue... and they are cute).

It has elastic inner sleeves to keep the cold air out, which was done starting in the late 20's and continued into the 1970's... why, oh why, have they stopped doing this??? Even though the fabric doesn't match, it's original to the garment.
The collar is very much in the style of the late 20's & 30's, (vs. the stand-up, huge, fun shapes of the previous decades).
The shoulders have the delightfully squared off look of the late 20's & 30's, but not quite the blocky solidness of the mid-1940's.




The American Bison was nearly extinct by 1884, with an estimated 500 individuals roaming free. By 1890 there were a few select ranchers breeding captive herds to preserve the species, but their hides were not routinely used for garments at this time... however, there were literally 100,000's of tanned hides stockpiled in warehouses throughout the US & Canada. Now, it's possible that a few of these (30 or 40 yr. old) hides were used to make this coat, but that is unlikely.
(isn't he cute? If this is your --really cute-- image & you'd like me to remove it, I will. I got it from Flicker & it didn't yell at me).

However, goat, sheep, & exotic animals (cats, monkeys, etc) were common coat material in the 20's & 30's.

Many thanks to Darlene, Barbara, Carol & Betty for helping me brainstorm about what kind of fur this was & when the coat was made.

An Interesting Month

October & November have been a rather interesting months in my life & business. Here are some images of the garments that we made...

These are both 1840's outfits, we made the coats & waistcoats.
Thank you to the Frazier International History Museum for sending the pictures along! (Dashing young men, aren't they?)

I spent most of October bouncing between being terribly sick & hyperactive. A positively unbelievable amount of clothing was produced & shipped out. Despite the head-cold, it may have been one of my best months ever.

November was a little rougher. The cold lingered (the cough has yet to depart) and a new & rather uncomfortable illness set in. My Dr. freaked out & sent me to some specialists & for blood tests and all of them said "there's nothing wrong with you!" Which was wonderful news to me, despite feeling like death warmed over on some days & just peachy on others. A good dose of garlic seemed to fix what ailed me & I'm continuing on with this plan until I find something better. Vampires beware.

Work in November has been rather disorganized, but constant. I've based my schedule more on how I'm feeling that day than who is next in line, though I have managed to keep to the general outline. I've made many patterns, cut about a dozen orders & have been bouncing around sewing various things according to my energy level on any given day. On high energy days I wrestle with the larger garments, on bad days I curl up with my hand-sewing projects. I'm looking forward to the week when everything is miraculously finished all at once!

The quilted petticoat is progressing quickly, I've been devoting a couple hours to it in the evenings while "watching" t-v. The top border is more than 1/2 finished and I'll soon have to decide how to proceed with the middle section... or I'll just work on all those straight lines on the lattice-work top...

I've been messing with various cuts & angles for Canadian Caps. Playing around with "how to make a fur pom-pom" and if it's better to put cording inside the fur strips or leave them on a natural fold. What weaves work best & which fabrics to avoid, (don't use very stiff material, it doesn't turn). One must also account for the space fur takes up when figuring out how large the bottom has to be. The next one I'm going to try will be seams on the outside covered with fur... this might work better than the cording & bag-lined version. We aren't quite there with the design, but I'm getting closer. By the time I figure it out, I'll have enough test hats to give away as Christmas presents. My failed attempts are still very cute.

Quilted Petticoat... 4

I finished the last repeat on the bottom border of the quilted petticoat tonight.

Now I have to decide what to do with the rest of it. Considering that the bottom border took me a year to complete, I'm not sure if time or design should win out.


I'm willing to put it to a vote!

















The options are:
A: Lattice work (diamonds) for the whole top.... you know... "XXXXX": fast.
B: A central motif of flowers, etc with lattice work on either side: moderately fast.
C: cockle shells: "(((((((": moderately fast.
D: Central motif of flowers, etc with cockle shells on either side: time investment.
E: continue the floral motif for a really long way & finish the top with "(((" or "XXX": serious time investment.
(this almost resembles the NY governor's election!)

I have every intention of wearing this thing on the first muddy day at camp. OK, not really, but it'll turn out that way...

The 3 options here are basically the same: "E"
Yeah, I'm crazy.
This motif would continue almost to the top, maybe hip level before the XXX or CCC would take over. I think I'm going for the XXX because it was a little more common judging from the examples I've seen... and I can be lazy & just draw it in with a T-square.

The vines are following a basic circular pattern so they can match up fairly easily. The final petticoat has 8 central flowers and 8 garland repeats. In this design it would have a front & back medallion higher than the 2 sides. I like the symmetry enclosing the flowing vines.

I'm still up for input & suggestions.
(BTW, the darker bottom design isn't quite what's on the petticoat now... the real quilting is a little more open, spaced just slightly wider & is rather even from one end to the other).



Here are the petticoats I used as inspiration:

Mid-18th century silk-satin lined with linen, this was the original inspiration petticoat.

I don't recall where the petticoat is, but judging by the lovely gray background, it might be the MET.

I liked the 3 crown design that serves as the border & background between the lattice work & the actual design, but preferred the puffiness of the petticoat below.










18th century quilted petticoat that was for auction or sale a while ago on some site... I did not save the information. This is also silk, the waistband was linen if I recall correctly. I don't remember what it was lined with. The quilter used trapunto and stippling to create that wonderful raised design.

I especially like the outlining stitches used to give the vines & border some puffiness, rather than just defining them with the stippling like in the petticoat above.

You can also see that the quilting ends just before the waistband and the petticoat has been folded over rather than cut off. This would ensure that a 2nd owner could lengthen or shorten it without damaging the work the quilter had done.




The third petticoat is from the Williamsburg collection. It is also silk with a linen backing. The top has been extended with brown linen to reduce bulk at the waist & perhaps to lengthen it for a taller owner.

I'm not as crazy about this design as the others, but I do like the spacing of the lattice work on top. It's just a little larger & provides a bit more texture than the smaller diamonds.

Featured Gown

As a favor to a friend I'm posting a gown that I made for her here. You can find it on the "for sale" page of our web site with all the pricing info, etc.
















This was worn once by my best friend & maid of honor to showcase her lovely ink art.
She partied hard, but there are no stains, runs or tares in the gown.

Due to a pressing need, she must sell it and I've agreed to list it for her. So if you want to look as fantastic in this as she does & can pay the asking price + shipping, please contact me either through the e-mail address here or the contact info listed on the Oakhill site under "contact us."






The Curiasse bodice top is a cotton / synthetic blend in a gold tan & pink brocade with a lovely historic pattern that dates back to the mid 18th century, lined with olive linen. It is boned and closes with many buttons.












The hoop skirt has a pale gold faux-silk (polyester) base and a neutral green sheer striped overskirt that is edged with pink ribbon that has a beautiful gold floral pattern.
















The 120" hoop has a drop-waist, is made from tan cotton & has white ruffles up to the hips, the ruffles are mystery fabric.

As a side note, a full-grown man can fit under the whole thing without wrecking the line of the dress. What can I say? it was a great party. And I'm the boring one in the family!


The outfit can be worn with or without a corset, which is not included.

It is dry-clean only.

This is an excellent buy for anyone getting into mid-19th century dance as long as you aren't particular about fabrics.

It's also available just in time for Halloween.

The top could double as a work-place vest if paired with a button-down shirt and flowing skirt.