Making Victorian Costumes for Men E-Book

Sil Devilly

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

During Queen Victoria's long reign there were constant, often subtle, changes to men's clothing in the large, diverse and growing population. This practical book guides you through the male fashions of the time and includes eighteen garments typical of the era. Each project is carefully grounded in historical research, while traditional tailoring techniques are simplified for the modern costume maker. It is an essential handbook that describes fabrics and tools for pattern drafting, tailoring and costume construction, and explains how to get the best results from each. It covers a wide variety of gentleman's attire adaptable for different occupations and social status, including assorted shirts, trousers, breeches, a tailcoat, a jacket, a frockcoat and several waistcoats. There is a full set of patterns for each outfit, along with clear, full colour construction photographs and finally, the author suggests how outfits can be adapted to fit different sizes and characters, and gives practical insights into the making process. It's ideal for anyone interested in Victorian costumes including theatre designers, theatre makers, re-enactors, historical enthusiasts and live action role-playing (LARP). Superbly illustrated with 232 colour photographs and patterns, it is written by Sil Devilly, a costume maker with over twenty years of experience in both design interpretation and construction.

Leseprobe

MAKING

VICTORIAN

COSTUMES

FOR MEN

MAKING

VICTORIAN

COSTUMES

FOR MEN

Sil Devily

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2019 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2019

© Sil Devilly 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 576 3

Contents

Introduction

1. Exploring Victorian Costume

2. Tools and Equipment

3. Preparing to Make Your Costume

4. Underclothes: Shirts and Drawers

5. Early Victorian Frock Coat, Waistcoat and Trousers

6. Morning Dress

7. Evening Wear

8. The Suit with Short Jacket

9. Working Man’s Waistcoat and Breeches

10. Sport and Leisure

11. Completing the Look

Suggested Reading and Information Sources

Glossary of Terms and Sewing Techniques

Acknowledgements

Image Credits

Index

Introduction

Fig. 0.1 Footmen sharing snuff, captioned ‘A Friendly Pinch’. From A Practical Guide for the Tailor’s Cutting Room, XIX Footman’s Dresses (National Museums Liverpool). The two footmen are wearing quite different styles of uniform: on the right the livery resembles military uniform; the man on the left is wearing an outfit more closely based on the fashionable dress of the 1840s - a cutaway tailcoat with epaulettes, horizontally striped waistcoat and narrow trousers.

Making Victorian Costumes for Men is designed to guide the reader through the process of creating period gentlemen’s clothing, using a mixture of traditional and modern tailoring techniques along with costume-making methods.

There are many reasons for making Victorian costume, from wanting to create tailored menswear based on Victorian fashions for theatrical productions or re-enactment to using elements of Victorian costume and adapting them to use as a basis for steampunk, live action role-playing (LARP) or cosplay costume. Each individual costume has its own rationale with endless options and possibilities.

Some of the techniques used are based on traditional methods, although it is impossible to recreate true Victorian tailoring without using both original methods and materials. The idea of this book is to produce garments that may appear to be very much like Victorian men’s clothing while using techniques that are appropriate for the materials available to the modern maker, the assumption being that you are going to make a version of costume rather than replica garments.

Although the skills and techniques outlined in this book have been streamlined wherever possible, they are not easy, coming as they do from established tailoring methods. With patience and persistence, allowing yourself to both practise and develop an understanding of the construction systems, you will enhance your coordination and start expanding your sympathy for fabrics and gain a greater ‘feel’ for the construction process.

Queen Victoria’s reign lasted sixty- three years, during which there were constant, often subtle, changes to men’s clothing within the large and growing population, all of whom had different occupations, incomes and interests. The outfits chosen as construction examples represent portions of this time period when they were popular. Each outfit starts with the coat or jacket and includes the other garments needed to build a complete costume, in order to tell the history of men’s clothing through this timespan. The garments and patterns in this book cover a broad spectrum of time and styles; each of the outfits, although based in a specific decade, represents items that were made during a longer period of time and would have been worn by men from many walks of life.

I am a costume maker with over twenty years of experience in costume design interpretation and costume construction. Initially self-taught, I started making costume as a hobby in my free time. I returned to education to learn how to make costume ‘properly’ and completed the Theatre Wardrobe course in Liverpool. I have worked on a huge variety of costumes, both in theatre workrooms and as a freelance maker ever since.

Every costume-making project is different and provides new opportunities to learn. I have been extremely fortunate to work with a wonderful group of people, colleagues whose generosity has been boundless in sharing with me their hints, tips and techniques picked up during their careers.

Some of my accumulated skills and experience I am able to pass on in my role as a costume construction teacher and lecturer. I hope to use this book as an opportunity to share more of this useful knowledge.

The recent completion of an MA in Creative Pattern Cutting gave me the confidence to take on the writing of this book , which provided my biggest challenge to date - condensing Victorian menswear and the techniques needed to make it into just one book!

It is my intention that this book will be useful to people who are able to sew and who already have an understanding of garment construction and patterns, but who would like to broaden their range of technical abilities. My sincerest wish is to help you enjoy the process of creating Victorian costume for men.

Chapter 1

Exploring Victorian Costume

Fig. 1.1 Illustration from a story in The Strand Magazine from 1894 showing two very different styles of men’s dress. Drawings accompanying stories outline the silhouette of clothing worn by the characters but do not show every detail of the garments.

Each period of history has its own distinctive clothing styles influenced by the main themes of the time, including the arts, science, technology and important events. Most fashions progress from existing ideas; there are developments and adaptations of previous styles which can go on to mass popularity if they are taken up by influential people or catch the public mood. Fashions rarely start without a traceable history, demonstrating the evolution of the various influences that subsequently bring about what appeared to be an original innovation.

The Victorian era is one of the longest periods of rule for a monarch. Victoria reigned for sixty-three years from 1837 to 1901. Such a lengthy reign covered many changes in fashion and taste.

The men’s clothing covered by this period seems practical and restrained as compared to the flamboyance of women’s clothing with its fluctuating skirt, bodice and sleeve shapes; there are resemblances and echoes of the changes in men’s dress but with different results. The social conventions of the time applied strict rules to masculine dress, with different occasions demanding stringent dress codes to be adhered to. The upper-class man was expected to change his clothing sometimes several times a day to the appropriate outfit for the occasion.

The growing population produced a new, larger and wealthier middle class, members of which had the disposable income to spend on clothing and used the upper class as a style guide. New cities and larger towns contained more people who were involved in the types of social scenes which required the following of changing clothing trends.

The Development of Men’s Costume through Queen Victoria’s Reign

The Coat

Victorian men’s coats changed according to the fashionable shape of the time: waistlines rose and fell; coat skirt lengths varied or became wider or narrower; the coat could be double- or single-breasted; the sleeve fit, shape and cuff changed; and of course the collar and lapels followed the varying fashionable lines. The major coat styles of the period were the frock coat, the tailcoat, the cutaway coat and the short jacket - each style had a variety of names help to distinguish between the different cuts, eras and fashions.

The Waistcoat

Waistcoats through the period fluctuated more modestly with fashion. A smooth, close fit was a constant requirement, with various waist alteration methods on the back to draw in the body of the waistcoat. The length, which had been rising towards the waist since the beginning of the nineteenth century, continued to stay around that level for the whole period, continuing to this day where waistcoats are still worn at a similar length. Between the 1830s and 1870s the shawl collar was the dominant collar style, with variations in width or length of opening, and this could appear in double- or single-breasted versions. Welt pockets were popular.

Padding was added to both coats and waistcoats at various times, adding to the natural shape and giving a more fashionable look.

Trousers

Trousers had begun to be worn at the beginning of the century in preference to breeches. Initially they were very tight with a fall front waist opening; the fly came into use in around the 1840s. Up to the end of the 1840s trousers often had a stirrup or strap under the foot to keep the trouser leg taut. The Victorian man was keen on having the trouser fit in exactly the right way over the foot, consequently many trouser drafts have shaping around the ankle to give the desired shape. Throughout the century trouser shaping changed from very tight to gathered at the waist with varying widths of leg; by the end of the century trousers had become fairly straight-legged.

Shirts, Collars and Neckwear

The new shirt shaping began to evolve at the start of Victoria’s reign, becoming the shirt we recognize today. Throughout the period very little of it would be seen, especially during the day when most of it would be covered by the coat and neckwear; for evening wear it was generally acceptable to have more shirt front on show, with the appropriate fashionable modifications. Collars, cuffs and bib fronts were stiffened and became detachable, a popular development, essential to maintain the respectable look of a gentleman. Neckwear, ties, cravats and bow ties in all their fashionable varieties completed the look.

Hats

When out of doors, all respectable Victorian men would have worn a hat. There were, of course, many different styles that could be expected to be worn with particular outfits. Top hats changed shape according to fashion, moving from daywear to becoming only formal wear by the end of the century, when bowler hats came into use as less formal daywear, and soft fabric or straw hats were adopted for leisure and sport.

Fabric and Colours

Wool remained a popular fibre for men’s clothes; there were many different pure wool fabrics, also cloth made from wool mixed with other fibres. The availability of cotton increased, taking over from linen for shirts and underwear. The fashionable man started the period with rather restrained colours, probably a plain dark coat and light-coloured legwear, white shirt and neckwear. Darkercoloured striped trousers commenced the sombre palette of the Victorian man, with colour being introduced into the outfit through waistcoats, either with the fabric itself or with decoration. Throughout the years a huge range of coloured and patterned fabrics were available; part or all of the huge outfit could be expected to be made from the same fabric at different times.

Second-hand Clothing

The trade in second-hand clothes provided employment, redistributing clothing and textiles and helping to keep the poor clothed when they could not afford new garments.

Paving the Way for the Victorians

Making interesting and essential contributions to both the development of clothing and the general social history of the time were the inventions of new manufacturing processes and their evolution. Significant industrial developments (like many of history’s momentous events) do not fit neatly into any historical period; I have therefore included events and inventions which, although set in motion before Victoria came to the throne, became essential parts of both Victorian historical narrative and the evolution of clothing at the time and, in some prominent examples, into the future.

The agricultural revolution of the seventeenth century allowed farmers to produce more food than was needed for the mere survival of their families. The subsequent food surpluses freed some people to take up work away from the land, giving rise to the growth of urban populations and factory systems which had a profound effect on the Victorian era.

The British industrial revolution is generally considered as lasting from the 1760s to the 1840s. Its advances made the Victorians memorable and significantly changed the landscape of daily life, manufacturing, business and textile and garment production.

The population of England doubled between 1800 and 1850 to 18 million, partly as an effect of increased food production, which led to better general health, and there was a similar increase in the populations of western Europe and North America. Although there was dreadful poverty and suffering for much of the working population, there was also more wealth generated, allowing the middle class to grow.

The cotton industry began growing quickly in the 1770s. In 1733 John Kay invented the flying shuttle, speeding up weaving to four times faster than previously. Spinning needed to become faster to keep up and was mechanized in 1764, when James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny. This was quickly followed by Richard Arkwright’s spinning frame, and Samuel Crompton’s combination of elements of the two systems created the spinning mule in the late 1770s. Cotton production moved to mills close to sources of power, initially water.

As cotton production grew it became cheaper, its quality improved and it was more widely available, encouraging innovations in printing and dyeing and necessitating the use of the patents system to control copying and the theft of ideas.

Steam power and metal production led to faster, more reliable transport, increasing the trade in textiles, with the export of wool and the import of unprocessed cotton and textiles from around the world. New manufacturing methods led to the availability of goods to a wider portion of the population (Osborne, 2013).

Wool Production and Tailoring Business Advancements

Britain’s wool trade was renowned around the world both for the quality of the fleece and the finished fabric. Until the late eighteenth century the wool trade had been a cottage industry broken down into many separate processes which were often divided throughout the community. In contrast, the industrial revolution promoted increased mechanization and the move to factory systems, often urban.

Precise fit in tailored garments only became a requirement in the early 1800s. Carefully constructed layers of padding were an essential part of tailored clothing. Victorian tailors had an impressive reputation as craftsmen with wool, manipulating the fabric with pressing, shrinking and stretching, adding structure with canvas and padding to mould and sculpt the garment to the body in order to make the customer the appropriate fashionable shape. It was important that the outer fabric lay smoothly over the canvas and padded structure in an effortless manner, the garment appearing as if there were little or no under layers.

During the nineteenth century the systems of production in the tailoring trade, as in other manufacturing businesses, were transformed. The small shop was also supplanted by factory methods for garment making.

The Position of Women in the Sewing Workforce

Victorian tailors or cutters were always male, although women did have roles in tailoring as seamstresses. Before the advent of the sewing machine the latter would have worked as outworkers, taking the simpler tasks home with them. Once factories were established they formed part of the machinist workforce. Women had always sewn, as sewing for the family was an essential part of the domestic routine. Outworking meant that women could earn money, augmenting the family income, by dressmaking, making clothing for children or making up shirts and men’s linens.

Victorian Inventions

With the turn of the eighteenth to the nineteenth century, there were more significant discoveries and developments that had an enduring impact on costume.

The Sewing Machine

The sewing machine had a tremendous effect on tailoring and dressmaking, despite its convoluted history. The first sewing machine was patented in 1790 for sewing leather. Barthélemy Thimonnier invented a chain-stitch machine in 1830. In 1834 Walter Hunt invented, but did not patent, a lockstitch machine. Elias Howe introduced his lockstitch machine, patented in 1846. Developments to the sewing machine continued, including changes to the bobbin and needles. In 1851 Merritt Singer patented a lockstitch machine; his effective marketing and distribution of the machines has ensured they are often still known by his name today (Leoni, 1988).

Fig. 1.2 Sewing machines from the Museums Sheffield collection. L to R: Jones hand sewing machine, c. 1900; Jones ‘D’ sewing machine, possibly early 1880s; Weir sewing machine, c. 1860s; S. Davis & Co. ‘Beaumont’ sewing machine, c. 1900.

As can be seen in the picture here, early sewing machine manufacturers created diverse decoration and style details, with the basic practical design for lockstitch machines enduring.

The Pin

From 1840 the domestic pin began to be made with head and shank all in one, as compared with its former construction method where the head was attached around the end of the shank in a separate process (Willett and Cunnington, 1992).

Tape Measures and Pattern Drafts

Tailors had been using their own versions of the tape measure since the seventeenth century, utilizing a strip of fabric, ribbon or paper marked up with the client’s dimensions straight from the body. The marks made on the strip would be used with draft instructions to create the pattern.

The standard inch tape measure as we know it today was invented in the early nineteenth century and became popular from around the 1830s. The tape measure was revolutionary in allowing tailors to develop and ultimately print their own pattern drafting systems from accurate measurements of the body. Early systems were extremely difficult to follow but did provide inspiration, encouraging tailors to formulate, refine and produce their own methods (Waugh, 1964).

Aniline Dyes

William Henry Perkin discovered the first purple dye accidentally while attempting to synthesize quinine for the treatment of malaria in 1856; he called his first aniline dye ‘mauveine’. He started the patenting procedure later in the year in order to commercialize the process. Other people started developing aniline dyes and were responsible for further Victorian favourites; for example, fuchsine – a strong red with a leaning towards fuchsia – and safranine – a deep red with a hint of orange.

Elastic

India rubber began to be incorporated with thread and into textiles, thus forming elastic products from 1820. Initially they were difficult and fiddly to produce and adversely affected by heat, cold and sweat. The vulcanization process patented in1844 by Thomas Hancock made rubber more practical, transforming its use and causing an upsurge in clothing designs that included elastic (Levitt, 1986).

Patents

The patent system had been around for hundreds of years, but it had been used increasingly throughout the industrial revolution to register designs protecting inventors’ ideas from being copied. Patents also allowed inventors and businessmen sell their rights to inventions. A huge number of patents were taken out for clothing throughout the Victorian period (Levitt, 1986).

Photography

The first publicly available photographic process, invented by Louis Jacques Daguerre, was introduced in 1839, and the daguerreotype was popular for twenty years. The image was delicate and kept behind glass for protection but by 1860 it was superseded by cheaper processes with easy-to-see images.

Introduced in the 1850s, an ambrotype is a negative photograph on glass which, when placed over a black background, appears to be a positive image. Like the daguerreotype, it was delicate and had to be protected from any kind of rubbing by a glass sheet.

Tintypes were most popular during the 1860s and 1870s, using a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel to which the photographic emulsion was applied to make a direct positive. The photograph shown here was taken in Huddersfield or the surrounding area. Two of the four men are wearing jackets, the other men are in shirts and waistcoats as if they had just stopped working. All the men are wearing hats.

These advancements inspired an explosion in interest and inventions for the photography process, including work with colour. Portable cameras became available to the public and film motion picture cameras were developed.

Fig. 1.3 Tintype photograph probably taken at the height of tintype photography, c.late 1860s; the piece of metal measures 9 x 5cm (3 x 2in).

Fashion Magazines

The Victorians had access to an increasing range of printed materials to guide sartorial choice. Fashion magazines, or articles about fashion for women, started to become regular features from around the beginning of the 1800s, with articles on men’s fashion starting in the middle of the century. These articles, fashion plates, journals, photography and printed material became increasingly popular and had an impact on readers, especially those of the middle classes, all over the country who could see and be prompted to adopt something of the styles they were seeing and reading about (Willett and Cunnington, 1992). These same materials provide ideal reference for costume historians and costume makers alike.

Overview

The Victorian period was inundated by wide-ranging changes to many aspects of society and by inventions that worked for or against local textile industry and craftwork and its manufacture. At the same time new methods of transport developed, trains and (later) bicycles had a direct impact on clothing and leisure activities. Artistic movements, literature and the Great Exhibition of 1951 also influenced dress.

Voting reform in 1867 increased the number of voters from the working classes, reducing the separation between them and the middle classes and the wealthy, raising the collective consciousness to conditions for the working and non-working poor. The considerably enlarged number of voters gave working-class men a voice,leading to factory acts and state provision for the poor, beginning the alleviation of extreme poverty, the further development of the trades union movement and pointing towards the eventual emancipation of women.

There were also major changes in education and sanitation and even shopping, all of which helped to transform society over six decades.

Chapter 2

Tools and Equipment

Fig. 2.1 My essential tool kit. From top L clockwise round the page: thread, chalk, calculator, small scissors,PatternMaster®, tracing wheel, shears, paper scissors, sewing machine bobbins and needles, pencil, coloured pencil eraser and pencil sharpener, thimble, tailor’s awl, pins, needles and a soft tape measure.

The equipment outlined in this chapter is a subjective list of my preferences, a combination of tools I use all the time and also some items that were useful during the construction of the garments in this book. The modern costume maker has access to a vast range of equipment, from specific tailoring tools to tools used for various textile trades or crafts.

Traditional tailors of this historical period had a fairly small selection of tools, with which they had to be as efficient as the techniques they employed. The kit I use is somewhat different to that of a traditional tailor although fundamentally it is quite simple and can be inexpensive and portable.

There is some explanation with most of the items in this chapter. Certain tools have been repeated where they feature in more than one section.

Essential Tools

These items comprise the basic equipment that I consider to be most important and would not like to be without.

Shears: ideally you should select scissors that can tackle a variety of fabrics with ease. Choose a pair that are most suited to the work you will be doing and are comfortable to use. Traditionally a pair of shears lasted for a tailor’s whole career; now they can be relatively inexpensive and are easy to replace.

Paper scissors: have these to hand for paper, card and anything that you do not want to cut with fabric shears.

Small scissors: use these for smaller jobs, for everything that the shears are too big for, such as snipping thread or trimming, or cutting pockets open.They must be sharp all the way to the tip, with strong blades that do not flex when cutting through fabric.

Tape measures: tailor’s soft tape measure with a metal end, in inches and centimetres, and another tape measure without the metal end.

PatternMaster®: this is a clear plastic template with both curved and straight calibrated edges. It is invaluable for many small tasks, such as marking lines, finding and marking 45-degree angles, locating the middle of almost anything, marking button and buttonhole positions, and scaling patterns up and down.

Calculator: handy for pattern drafting and small calculations such as working out the distance between buttons.

Pencils: ‘H ’ or a mechanical pencil for paper and softer ‘B’ for fabrics (always note that pencil marks cannot always be erased from the right side of a fabric). Keep a selection of coloured pencils, plus a pencil sharpener and eraser.

Pins: 34mm hardened steel dressmaker’s pins.

Needles: tailors had a range of short needles each of which would be used for a particular hand sewing job. A short needle spends less time passing through the fabric, ultimately saving fractions of a second with every stitch.If you are making a traditionally tailored garment with thousands of hand-sewn stitches all those little bits of time saved will add up. For general sewing use the needle you find most comfortable for the task.

Thimble: tailor’s thimbles do not have a top for two reasons; firstly, the end of the needle is pushed with the side of the thimble; secondly, the absence of a top allows air to circulate, necessary as they could be worn for hours. Thimbles take a bit of getting used to, but it’s worth doing to stop damage to the skin of the fingers when doing a lot of hand sewing.

Fig. 2.2 Tailor’s thimble; the needle is pushed with the side of the middle finger wearing the thimble.

There are now so many types of thimble you can try out a few to see which one suits you best. To begin with they may feel a bit alien and keep falling off, but perseverance and perhaps some adhesive tape to hold it on will help you to get used to it.

Tailor’s awl, bradawl, bodkin or stiletto: a variety of names for a tool that makes a hole in fabric by forcing the threads apart.

Tracing wheel and carbon paper: the needle point tracing wheel transfers a neat precise line from the pattern through the carbon paper onto the fabric. Prym have a tracing wheel with an ergonomic handle which works very well and is not quite as damaging to table tops.

Dressmaker’s carbon paper or tailors’ or dressmakers’ tracing paper comes in a variety of colours; it is used to mark the construction lines on the backing fabrics or the wrong side of the garment panels.

Tailor’s chalk: square or triangular in shape, this comes in white and a selection of colours (usually yellow, red, blue and black). White chalk comes off fabric fairly easily and is useful for making marks on the right side of the fabric when necessary. Some coloured chalks contain oil which creates a good clear line but should be used cautiously where marks could be seen – these might be difficult to remove. The chalk line should be fine and clear so the chalk must be sharp; use paper scissors to scrape away the chalk to make a sharp edge.

Pattern paper: choose between white or brown plain or papers marked with dot and cross or a grid. Papers come in assorted weight according to gsm (grams per square metre), right up to manila card.

Sewing machine: a simple domestic machine can be extremely versatile and portable. If space allows, an industrial lockstitch machine is well worth considering, and then perhaps an overlocker if needed. Sewing machines were only invented towards the beginning of ‘our’ period and would not have been commonly used for some years: consider if visible machine sewing is appropriate for the costume.

Machine needles: keep a selection in a range of sizes. You may find that you need ball point or stretch needles, possibly leather needles.

Pressing

Pressing is a fundamental part of fabric preparation and the construction process. The completed garment is given a professional finish with careful and appropriate use of ironing equipment.

Pressing is the process for which traditional tailors had the most equipment. Alongside a very heavy flat iron, they would have several different ironing boards of varying sizes and specific uses, also steaming and pressing cloths in cotton and linen, a clapper, sponge and brushes.

As with the general equipment for costume making the stock of essential pressing equipment is actually quite small, easy to acquire and can be inexpensive.

Fig. 2.3 A pressing area. On the left, above the steam iron and ironing board you can see a sleeve board, clapper and point presser, pressing roll and ham, clothes brush (just seen behind the pressing roll), linen and cotton pressing cloths, velvet pressing mat and a small ironing board.

Iron: also known traditionally as a flat iron or smoothing iron, this has always been an absolutely essential piece of kit. You can use either a very basic iron with a cotton or linen pressing cloth or the heaviest steam iron you can find, again with a pressing cloth. Industrial steam irons are ideal but can be expensive and require maintenance; they usually benefit from constant use. Whatever your choice, you will also need an ironing board, a sleeve board, pressing cloths made from cotton and/or linen, plus a clothes brush.

Pressing ham and pressing roll: also known as a tailor’s or dressmaker’s ham and seam pressing roll respectively. These are tightly packed cushions used to press particular shaped areas of a garment.

Clapper: a piece of hard wood used to draw heat and/or steam from ironed fabric. After ironing place the clapper on the area and press down to draw out the heat and steam. This flattens and smoothes seams and edges.

Velvet board: a metal velvet needle board or mat, although expensive, has long fine needles giving really good results. Nylon velvet needle mats are very much cheaper and are comprised of fine nylon needles on a woven backing, the slight disadvantage being that the needles are not as long or fine as a metal velvet mat. Alternatively, you can press the reverse of the fabric using a spare piece of velvet turned nap or pile upwards on the ironing board.

Additional Tools

These are oddments that you may only need occasionally.

Fig. 2.4 Extra equipment used for constructing the Victorian men’s costume in this book. Clockwise from top L: masking tape, tailor’s awl, bias tape makers, cigarette lighter, buttonhole cutter and buttonhole attachment,pinking shears, stitch unpicker (seam ripper), eyelets and attaching tools.

Masking tape: a temporary sticky tape for paper and toile fabric.

Bias tape maker: this is a small device that helps you to make bias binding with consistent folds. Various widths are available. Cut fabric strips on the bias. Test the width of bias-cut fabric in the maker; thin fabrics often need to be cut slightly wider.

Cigarette lighter or matches: use naked flames with great care. Burning can be used to test fabrics to give an indication of fibre content. You can also stop fraying on synthetic ribbon by melting the edge of the cut ends.

Stitch unpicker or seam ripper: the point is particularly useful for taking out individual stitches but use it carefully when ripping seams to avoid damaging the fabric or pile.

Hole punch, eyelets and eyelet attaching tool: depending on the context, holes may be made and eyelets inserted with a tool that relies just on hand compression; alternatively you may wish to consider using a hammer closing tool.

Buttonhole cutter: this tool enables quick, neat and consistent cutting.

Buttonhole attachment: this may be available for your sewing machine. Some machines have keyhole buttonhole program setting.

Pinking shears: pink seam allowances to reduce fraying. Heavier fabrics that do not fray can sometimes benefit from being trimmed with pinking shears, as pinking softens the edge, thus slightly reducing the chance of the seam showing through to the right side.

Glue: there are several different brands of fray-stopping glue.

Beeswax: apply wax to cotton or silk thread for hand sewing; the wax will be absorbed by natural fibres with the addition of heat stiffening the thread and reducing the likelihood of knotting. Pull the thread over the wax block two or three times then draw the thread over the tip of the iron to melt the wax into the thread.

Pattern Cutting

Pattern making needs only a very few pieces of equipment. The extra items make the process slightly easier and make the finished pattern a pleasing object. Mentioned below is a selection of items not covered elsewhere in this chapter.

Fig. 2.5 Pattern-cutting equipment. Clockwise from top L:tailor’s square, calculator, pattern notcher, paper drill,soft tape measure, glue stick, tailor’s curved stick, flexible ruler, pencils, coloured pencils, pencil sharpener, eraser,paper scissors and coloured mechanical pencils.

Tailor’s square: L-shaped ruler printed with scales for using with draft instruction or making half-scale patterns.

Rulers: short 12 inch or 30cm lengths and a longer length of around a yard or metre, a flexible ruler can be handy for measuring shapes.

Glue stick: useful for altering and adding sections to paper patterns.

Tailor’s curved ruler or curved stick: usually made from aluminium, this is ideal for drawing shapes onto patterns, such as sleeve seams, the inside leg curvature between the knee and crotch, the outside leg from waist round the hip and then the opposite curve below the hip to the knee.

Paper drill, pattern notcher: these make holes and notches respectively in paper patterns to indicate darts and balance marks.

Marking tools for fabric and paper: tailors only use a minimum amount of marking tools, mainly chalk, thread marks (tailor tacks); garments are cut with consistent seam allowance and inlays in specific places. By comparison, fabric marking for costume making includes a large range of options to be used as appropriate. It is essential to test the marking method chosen to ensure it can be removed or will disappear from the fabric, and to thread mark any marks that could disappear or be removed accidentally.

Fig. 2.6 Marking fabric and paper. From top L working roughly clockwise: tracing paper, chalk wheel stick, tailor’s wax for marking wool fabric, double tracing wheel with adjustable wheels (needle point and ergonomic), tailor’s chalk, frixion pens (marks disappear with heat from the iron), fabric marking pens and erasing pen, chalk pencils, thread, needles, pins and safety pins, pencil, eraser and pencil sharpener.

Trimmings

‘Trimmings’ is a tailoring term for all the accessories and supplies needed to complete a garment. The photograph shows some of the trimmings used in the construction of the garments in this book.

Fig. 2.7 Trimmings. Top, L to R: sew-in hair canvas, black synthetic knit fusible interfacing, fusible hair canvas, threads,linen buttons, heavier hair canvas. Centre, L to R: fusible domette, sew-in non-woven interfacing, sew-in chest felt, braces buttons, black and white cotton woven fusible interfacing.Bottom, L to R: fusible hemming tape, sew-in hair canvas, shirt and linen buttons, trouser waist hooks and bars, sew-on and nosew,collar canvas and edge tape. Calico for toiles, backings and samples has been used for the background.

Research

At the beginning of the making process it is essential to do some research.Make it as wide-ranging as possible look at the clothing, art and architecture of the time. Even if you are not intending to create exact replicas of men’s Victorian costumes it is important to become familiar with them and to develop an understanding of similar garments; this is also necessary when working with designs or references that do not show the whole garment and all its details.

There is an excellent supply of Victorian menswear primary source material, including original Victorian garments, photographs, paintings, art and architecture. Some museums have costume archives that can be visited with an appointment; many museums have online costume archives with photos and additional information, allowing easy access to museum collections all over the world.

Books are the cornerstone of my own research. At the back of this book is a list of the books most directly useful to research and produce the garments in this volume. The list covers both the books that I refer to in the text and some suggestions for further reading.

Chapter 3

Preparing to Make Your Costume

Fig. 3.1 Pad stitching lapel, sewing parallel to break line with work rolled over fingers of other hand.

Planning and Beginning, Measuring and Pattern Cutting

Prepare to start making the costume with an overview of areas of consideration. Make an outline of the measurements needed to make the garments and how they can be used. Study the sizes the patterns are and how the patterns can be transcribed, tested and made into a toile. Consider what to look for when fitting the toile of your costume. Think ahead to your choice of fabrics and interfacings and how you will need to work with them.

Making costume is all about precision and practice; practise everything from measuring to making. There are no definitive methods for costume making because the requirements change with each project, so there are many ‘right’ ways, undo and re-sew until the result is satisfactory. Keep practising and learning.

Why are you making the costume? On the surface this is a simple question easily answered: it may be for your own pleasure, to learn the techniques or a commission.

Who (and what) are you making the costume for? There are many different reasons for wearing a costume, from established performance areas of theatre, film, re-enactment (living history) or as fancy dress for a party or event.

What character or person is the costume representing? Who are they, where do they live, what is their profession? Build up a picture of character in the costume.

A costume design or reference images are essential; refer to them at every stage.

Costume Requirements

•How long is the costume going to be worn? A few hours or for an hour every day for weeks?

•What is the performer going to be doing in the costume? How much movement is involved? Standing, sitting, dancing, fighting?

•Environmental factors. Is it to be worn indoors? Will there be heating or air-conditioning? Or is it going to be worn outside with all the possible weather and terrain implications that could have?

•Quick change. Will the performer have to get into or out of the costume quickly, thus needing different ‘quicker’ fastenings?

•Laundry or cleaning. How will it be cleaned and what implications does that have for the maker?

Meeting the Requirements

Answer the questions above as far as possible and then list the possible consequences for the costume, adding the time frame, fittings and when it has to be delivered. Budget can have a major impact on the costume, especially on choices of fabric, lining, canvas and backing. It can be useful to consider possible breaking-down processes before starting.

Along with costume requirements this is the point at which to choose the construction processes that seem most appropriate.

Measuring

Measurements alone are not enough to make a well-fitting garment. However carefully they are taken, even with a precisely drawn pattern, it is pretty much essential to have a fitting.

Only a very basic set of measurements are required for the garments in this book. The patterns will need drawing up to full scale and altering to the wearer’s basic measurements, then a toile of the pattern needs to be made and fitted.

Horizontal measurements (around the widest or narrowest part): chest, waist, seat, neck.

Vertical measurements: height, nape to back waist, waist to floor (outside leg), inside leg.

When a tailor drafts a pattern, a more complete set of measurements are required, defined by the draft instructions, many of which include a table of comparative measurements, relative to average sizes; these are useful when not all measurements are available.

Pattern Sizes

Two male stands or mannequins have been used to make the example garments in this book: the 1840s frock coat outfit was made to fit a shop dummy; all the other garments were made to fit a half-scale tailor’s dummy. (The advantage of using a half-scale dummy is that it uses about quarter the amount of fabric of a fullscale garment and the processes are exactly the same.)

The 1840s frock coat with waistcoat, the trousers from Chapter 5, and the early Victorian shirt and the 1870s drawers in Chapter 4 made to fit: chest 96cm (38in), waist 79cm (31in), seat 96cm (38in), neck 39cm (15in). Approximate height 183cm (6ft), nape to back waist 46cm (18in), waist to floor 117cm (46in), inside leg 86cm (34in).

VICTORIAN TAILORING VERSUS COSTUME MAKING

These are distinctly separate disciplines with contrasting preparation, materials and tools. It is not possible to achieve a truly authentic-looking costume without using traditional tailoring methods; for example, steaming, shrinking and stretching are all processes that work extremely well with skilled hands on traditional wool fabrics but are inappropriate for modern fabrics which do not have the same mobility as wool or could be damaged by heat or steam.

The tailoring profession has developed over hundreds of years, constructing an understandable and desirable mystique. Old reference books show intricate patterns that look complicated but which in skilled hands were the basis for individually tailored garments. As in the past, a modern tailor still spends years learning, practising and refining his or her art; skills are methodically repetitive to develop speed and dexterity and truly make the most of the fabrics, all with the aim of achieving beautifully fitted and finished made-to-measure garments.

The costume tailor can have much more flexibility in his/her approach to construction. A wide variety of sources can be drawn upon: period or modern tailoring, techniques derived from hundreds of years of clothing construction, modern fashion, and techniques developed for theatrical costume making, plus a huge body of knowledge about how best to use new or unusual materials and make them work within the constraints of design, fabric, budget and time to produce appropriately fitting and finished couture garments.

Fig. 3.2 Pattern draft from a tailors’ guide of the mid-1850s (National Museums Liverpool).

The morning dress outfit from Chapter 6, the evening wear from Chapter 7, the 1890s suit from Chapter 8, the working man’s waistcoat and breeches from Chapter 9, the squarecut shirt, the late Victorian shirt and the 1890s drawers in Chapter 4 made to fit the half-scale stand of a man who measures: chest 108cm (42in), waist 92cm (36in), seat 111cm (43in), neck 41cm (16in).

Approximate height 178cm (5ft 10in), nape to back waist 44.5cm (171/2in), outside leg 109cm (43in), inside leg 80cm (31in).

Pattern Pages: Scale and Abbreviations

Check the picture here to make sure that you understand the symbols used.

Fig. 3.3 L to R: Symbol for buttonhole;bracket indicating pattern is to be placed against fold to create double layer of fabric; circle indicating position of pockets, end of darts, button positions,etc.; dashes in different sizes indicating folds, hemlines, pocket positions, jiggers,centre fronts or backs, etc.

Seam Allowances

The patterns have no seam allowances included. The notable exceptions are the square-cut shirt, with a 1.3cm (½in) seam allowance included, and the welt pockets and welt pocket bags, which have a 6mm (¼in) seam allowance included.

How to Use the Patterns

Drawing Up the Pattern

Measure and cut precisely: care and precision are essential at all stages of pattern making.

Isolate each pattern piece on the diagram by drawing a box around it. On a separate piece of paper (either plain or with a 2.5cm/1in marked grid), draw a box to the full-scale measurements of the isolated box on the diagram.

Counting Squares

The pattern information can be transferred by counting the squares and marking onto your paper where the pattern lines cross the grid. When all the crossing points are marked the lines can be joined. Compare the shape with the original diagram.

It helps to make a mini tape measure; mark the diagram grid divisions as numbered increments along the side of a piece of paper. A numbered mini tape measure reduces the need to count the squares repeatedly.

Calculation Method

This method works well on plain paper and is fairly straightforward when the measurements are taken in millimetres (and centimetres). Use a calculator and PatternMaster®.

The pattern information can be transferred, increasing the measurement to full scale and marking on your paper where the pattern lines cross the grid. When the crossing points are marked the lines can be joined. Compare the shape with the original diagram.

Pattern Checklist

Look for the following in your pattern. Are the measurements of the construction lines that join pattern pieces together the same? Where panels join, is there a smooth line? (Waistlines are usually straight; armholes and necklines should be smoothly curved without lumps or dips.)

Check that collars fit neatly into necklines with matching collar fold and break lines.

Measure around the armhole and sleeve head; a coat sleeve is about 5cm (2in) bigger than the armhole, whereas the measurements for the same areas on a shirt are nearly the same.