Elizabethan chemise

When I started to work on the chemise, my sewing machine started screwing up.  I ended up having to get a new bobbin case.  I was lucky enough to find a shop here in town that had one and the cost was much more easier on the pocket book than having to order it online.  While I was there picking it up I was also networking.  I plugged the fact that I'm giving sewing lessons and the lady there was thrilled to hear that since they have many customers who ask and they just don't have the time to give lessons and run the shop. YAY!  Go me!

Once I got the new bobbin case in the machine I still had to fiddle with the tension.  It finally works as it needs to, but I'll still have to take it in to have it looked at as it's not quite set as it needs to be.

As I mentioned, I used the Elizabethan Costuming Page again to get the chemise pattern that I needed. I used the custom smock generator and it gave me the pattern to fit me.  It's real simple, too.  You just plug in your measurements and it does the rest for you!  Like having a designer without the cost! They have wonderful information on that site and you can find the link at the bottom of the page.

The chemise is a rather easy project to do and should only take around a day to complete.  Simply follow the directions and you simply can't go wrong.  I had gotten the pattern cut out and the gussets sewn on the sleeves prior to my machine acting up. 

Once the gussets are on the sleeves, you add the lower gussets to the body.  Add the sleeves and then start with the neckline.  Dont' sew it up on the sides yet as it makes it more difficult to work with the neckline.

The neckline is a bit trickier.  You start with a 9" square, 7" on the front, 2" on the back.  The directions on the smock actually tell you to draw this directly onto the front of your fabric when you cut out the body.  You add another square of fabric that's 1 1/2" bigger than your square.  I usually make this square 2-3" bigger, simply because if I need to increase the neckline, I like to have extra fabric to play with.  Make sure you have your original square in the middle of this piece of fabric, so sometimes it's best to find the center of the facing square and re-measure your 9" square. You sew the square onto the FRONT of the chemise around the original square pattern.  You'll have your extra fabric on the sides of this square.  Once it's sewn on, you then cut out the center portion to 1/2" of the sewn square.  You then turn the chemise to the WRONG (back) side and fold the facing in.

At this point, I usually try it on, let the shoulders sit where they should and see if the neckline works for me.  If not, I have enough fabric to resew an additional square and then cut again, fold again and re-try.  When you're satisfied, then iron in the raw edges, making a nice even facing.

Ignore the gross looking ironing board cover.  It works great but simply won't get clean.  A sign of good use, right??

Now, when you sew this, what I've found works best is to sew around the folded part first.  This gives you a nice crisp finish.  I then repeat around the outside of the facing.  The other nice thing about doing this is if you want to do any blackwork on the front.  You have your own template as to where it will sit.

When you have this sewn, pin the chemise together and start at the sleeves to sew, going down to the bottom.  There is a reason for this.  You're pieces SHOULD all match because of how they are cut, but it always seems the bottom is off a bit with the gussets.  It's easier to correct the bottom than it is the sleeves. 

I did mention that this was a very thin cotton lawn, and was going to add a modesty panel.  I did.  And if I do it again, I'll do it a bit differently than I did this time.  Prior to finishing the sewing around the neckline, I took a piece of fabric to the size that would cover 'the girls' plus enough to give a nice seam.  I cut out the section for the neckline, gave it a nice hem all the way around and sewed to the shoulder area and under the final portion of the neckline.  I didn't realized the difficulty this would cause because it's not attached by the sleeves.  Note to self:  When adding a panel, add it PRIOR to adding on the sleeves.  It will be MUCH easier!

Oh, and I should mention, this was also added AFTER the sides were sewn up.  I had what you could call a brain fart until I looked at it and said "duh". 

Now the nice thing with the generator is you can make the chemise any length you like.  I like mine to be at least calf length if not longer.  I gave the bottom a nice 1" hem and then moved on to the sleeves.  If you follow the generator, you can finish the hem on the sleeves and be done.  Me being the person I am, I always have to tweek what I'm working on, so I decided I didn't want plain looking sleeves.  I wanted a cuff with a ruffle at the bottom. 

To do this, the simplest way is to find your wrist size and the size of the bottom of the sleeve. You'll need both measurements.  The next thing you want to think about is how big you want this ruff to be.  I made mine around 3" or so.  And don't worry too much if they aren't exact on both sides.  Only the costume police would measure them ;)!
What you're going to do is take your wrist measurement and multiply it by at least three.  Cut a strip of fabric that you have left from your chemise to that length by a minimum of 7 inches wide.  Fold it in half and sew up the sides and then turn it and iron it to give a nice crisp edge.  Now, adjust your machine to give you a loose tension because you're going to run three rows of gather stitches along the raw edge area.  Leave at least 1/4" from the raw edge before you start.  I like to use my presser foot as a gauge on my stitching. 

It should look like this.  If you've gathered stuff before, you know you need to leave a long tail of thread on both ends.  Decide what end you want to start at and then take the other ends threads and tie them in a knot.  This will eliminate them from pulling out when you start your gathering.  Then gather the fabric to your wrist size.  My wrist is 7 1/2", but I like an 8" wrist on my chemises.  Use your own discretion on this.  If you really like them tight, make it tight, or use an extra 1/2" like I do.  It will look something like this.

I didn't get pics of the next steps, but you'll figure it out!  Measure the opening on your sleeve and cut a strip of fabric to this length plus 1/2-3/4".  Fold the ends in, press and then press in half.  Open and press the edges to the center.  You now have your own binding.  Measure the binding to find the length of your ruffle.  In other words, if you have a 12" binding and an 8" ruffle, you'll need 2 inches on each end.  Make a mark on your binding on both sides and re-measure from mark to mark to be sure that it matches your ruffle.  Pin your ruffle to the binding, matching up the last row of your gather stitches with one of the folded edges.  Pin the bejesus out of it, as you don't want it to shift.  Stitch it as close to the edge by the gather stitch as you can, catching the ruffle to the binding. 

Fold up the edges of your sleeves catching the raw edge on the inside.  Press it down.  Take your ruffle and working from the wrong side of the sleeve, pin the ruffle in matching the ends of the binding with the seam of the sleeve.  You need to pin it so the wrong sides match.  Match up the binding portion that you sewed on to the ruffle with the edge of your sleeve.  The ruffle will be sticking out and that's ok.  Don't sew it the other way, or you're going to end up in a mess!  Now for the fun part.  Very carefully, pull the sleeve so it's right side out and sew it down on the INSIDE.  Even if you have a drop arm machine, chances are that you're not going to be able to fit the sleeve end over it.  When you sew it down, you're going to sew it on the edge that you originally sewed the binding on.  If at all possible, follow those stitches. 

Pin the top portion of the binding down.  This is going to cover the raw edge of the ruffle.  When it's pinned down, sew it carefully.  You're going to have to remove pins, readjust the binding and keep sewing.  It takes some time, but it's well worth it in the end.

When you're done with the sewing portion, turn the sleeve back right side out and make sure that you caught the lower sleeve edge.  If not, hand stitch those areas.

Decide which side you want to put a button on.  You're going to want a shanked button.  Choose one that will be more historically correct.  In other words, don't use neon green plastic, even if that is the only shank button you have.  (You'd NEVER do that, would you??)  This is going to close up the end of the sleeve, making a nice poof when worn.  Stitch the button to the outside of that part of the sleeve, matching it with the start of the ruffle.  On the other side, on the INSIDE, you're going to stitch in a bit of ribbon to use as a closure.  Make sure to make the ribbon long enough to fit around the button, but small enough that it won't slip off.  You don't want to be messing with your sleeves all day long, do you?

And the chemise is done!  At this point, I'm finished with it.  If I wanted to add a bit of embroidery to the neckline I could, but at this point, I think I'll leave it the way it is.