late victorian fashion – Chantal Bennett Illustration

1894 Yachting Outfit

Categories: Historical Sewing •
Tags: 1890s fashion, brockville tall ships, costume sewing, fashion history, historical sewing, impropriety society, late victorian fashion, nautical fashion, nautical victorian, sailing costume, sailing dress, yachting costume •
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by cbadmin

I picked up an all-consuming, expensive habit in the past year: historical costuming. I joined The (Im)Propriety Society, a group of historical sewing enthusiasts with an Ottawa-area chapter and we get together in our historical get-up and nerd out on sewing. This past long weekend we had an outing at the Brockville Tall Ships festival where we went for a sailing cruise on the Empire Sandy and posed for a million photos (that’s because everyone looked fabulous). I debuted my 1894 yachting outfit, which I slaved away on for approximately 2 months in the evenings and weekends. I am very pleased with how it turned out. I’m especially proud of achieving the right historical shape and how the skirt drapes so well (thank you flatlining and hair canvas facings). And the gold accents don’t hurt either.

For the dressmakers out there, here are the specs:

Shirtwaist – cotton voile with a swiss dot, finished with bone buttons (and a mother of pearl at the collar), pattern is Truly Victorian Shirtwaist (TV494)

Vest – quilting cotton, flatlined with white cotton and a white cotton lining, bound in white twill tape. Buttons are vintage brass and the anchor embroidery is my own design (based on historical examples) and done in gold thread on my embroidery machine. Pattern is Truly Victorian Ripple Jacket (minus the sleeves) (TV496)

Skirt – quilting cotton flatlined with cotton sheeting and faced with hair canvas, bound with twill tape (which frayed like mad during the day). I designed the pockets based on the same source Bernadette Banner did in her video. Pattern is Butterick 6537.

And of course everything is worn over the proper underpinings (chemise, drawers, corset, corset cover, petticoat). My boots were Oakhill Farm granny boots and the hat is an original Edwardian straw boater from circa 1910.

: Close look at an authentic Edwardian straw boater.

: Brass buttons from my stash.

: Embroidered with my machine, based on my own version of a vintage design.

: Mother of pearl button found in my stash.

: Victorian pockets= massive and able to hold everything your purse holds, because of the waist tape.

: Inner facing of the skirt, blindstitched with my blindstitch foot so you can barely see it on the outside. The facing is faced with hair canvas.