Several weeks ago I went through the back of a closet I hadn't visited for quite a while. In the process I found a few treasures! One of them is an antique Victorian outfit, skirt and bodice, that I bought years ago at a Pennsylvania flea market. I bought it more to save it than anything else. It was out in the weather and this is when bands of hurricane Hugo were going over every 15 min with rain. I don't remember how much I paid but I know it wasn't more than $20 at the time.
I decided to use this blog post to keep pictures of it for preserving it at least here at the state is in at this point. I have used this outfit to learn sewing techniques for this period in time. I figure it dates from around 1900. The bodice sleeves are not full but rather tight, the 7-gore skirt is pleated a bit for fullness at the back, not from the bustle era, though possibly used with a light bustle pad. The waist is 27".
Starting with the skirt front:
It has a very pretty floral pattern on a black silk brocade.
This is the skirt front laying on the skirt back. The skirt hem is edged in black velvet.
The silk is shattering in places. This shows along the hem.
This shattering is up higher on the hip area.
This is the skirt back.
The skirt waist measures 27".
The skirt has a couple of pleats on each side of the opening which is in the center back.
This is the center back pleats.
The fabric is pieced near the top of the back where the markers are.
The back closing:
The hooks for the closing.
Turning the skirt inside out:
The skirt is lined with a black polished cotton. There are hanging loops on both sides.
The front waistband.
Notice the edge of the wastband has been turned and sewn to make it narrower.
Hanging loops on the sides. The picture makes it look like there is green but that is the shine from the lining.
Notice the extra wide seam allowance between the back and side back sections....possibly making enlargement possible later on?
The hem has an 8 inch hem with a layer of a lightly stiff material and a top layer of black silk. It has a velvet strip along the bottom edge .
I decided to use this blog post to keep pictures of it for preserving it at least here at the state is in at this point. I have used this outfit to learn sewing techniques for this period in time. I figure it dates from around 1900. The bodice sleeves are not full but rather tight, the 7-gore skirt is pleated a bit for fullness at the back, not from the bustle era, though possibly used with a light bustle pad. The waist is 27".
Starting with the skirt front:
It has a very pretty floral pattern on a black silk brocade.
This is the skirt front laying on the skirt back. The skirt hem is edged in black velvet.
The silk is shattering in places. This shows along the hem.
This is the skirt back.
The skirt waist measures 27".
The skirt has a couple of pleats on each side of the opening which is in the center back.
This is the center back pleats.
The fabric is pieced near the top of the back where the markers are.
The back closing:
The hooks for the closing.
The skirt is lined with a black polished cotton. There are hanging loops on both sides.
The front waistband.
Notice the edge of the wastband has been turned and sewn to make it narrower.
Hanging loops on the sides. The picture makes it look like there is green but that is the shine from the lining.
Notice the extra wide seam allowance between the back and side back sections....possibly making enlargement possible later on?
The hem has an 8 inch hem with a layer of a lightly stiff material and a top layer of black silk. It has a velvet strip along the bottom edge .
Tomorrow I will describe the bodice. It has a very bad stain on it which looks like coffee. I have a tendency to think up a scenario on how it got there.
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