Making Working Women's Costume E-Book

Elizabeth Friendship

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

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Making Working Women's Costume gives a unique account of the clothes of ordinary women from the mid-fifteenth century to the early twentieth century. As well as introducing the historical periods, it gives patterns for a range of typical garments that women of the poorer classes would have worn. Organized by century, it draws on historical sources and finds, paintings and photographs to recreate the clothes of these under-celebrated women. It includes useful information about equipment for present-day use, calculting curves, taking measurements and sewing techniques not in current use, and patterns for late medieval clothes, such as smocks and gowns, are developed from ancient T-shaped garments and can be marked out on the fabric with given measurements. Garments for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including bodices, waistcoats and skirts, are drawn on grids. Proportionate cutting is used for the clothes of the later nineteenth and twentieth centuries, such as nurse's uniforms and cotton frocks, with options to add a range of features. Written for costume students, teachers and re-enactors, this book will be an invaluable source for everyone seeking to recreate and wear the clothes of these under-celebrated women. Illustrated with 43 colour illustrations and 81 patterns.

Leseprobe

MAKING WORKING

WOMEN’S COSTUME

Patterns for clothes from the mid-15th to mid-20th centuries

ELIZABETH FRIENDSHIP

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2018 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2018

© Elizabeth Friendship 2018

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of thistext may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

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

ISBN 978 1 78500 342 2

This book is for Karen Thomas and Nigel Hook

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

St Fagans National Museum of History, Sain Ffagan Amgueddfa Werin Cymru; Usk Museum of Rural Life; Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery; Robert Hughes; Michelle Lewis; Elen Philips; James North; Jill Salen; Karen Thomas; friends and neighbours in Monmouthshire.

Frontispiece: Robert Hughes

Contents

Introduction

1Equipment, Measurements and Techniques

2Working Women’s Costume in the Late Middle Ages

3The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

4The Eighteenth Century

5The First Half of the Nineteenth Century

6The Second Half of the Nineteenth Century

7The Twentieth Century

Suppliers

Select Bibliography

Index

Introduction

This book is written for students, teachers of costume, and those involved in re-enactment societies. There are plenty of excellent books on fashionable costume and many beautiful gowns survive but it is not so easy to find reference for the clothes of ordinary people. Consequently, many of the patterns in this book have been conjectured from illustrations and later from photographs. There are dangers in this: the illustration at the beginning of Chapter 2 shows two women building the castle walls in very unlikely costume and the excellent photographs of working women in the late nineteenth century can also be suspect, as they are usually posed, dressed in ‘picturesque’ clothes. Another problem is that the pigments used in paintings, particularly early ones, are not necessarily those that would have been available in actual clothes. Most of the clothing of people of modest means would have been the natural colours of sheep’s fleece, that is, greys and browns, or possibly dyed blue with woad.

Four generations of a Welsh farming family, c. 1900. St Fagans National History Museum, Sain Ffagan Amgueddfa Werin Cymru. Photographer unknown.

The first chapter is concerned with some useful information about necessary equipment for present-day use, calculating curves, taking measurements and some sewing techniques that are not normally used at the present time. Some of the old measurements are also explained here.

The book is divided into centuries, although even fashionable costume does not conveniently change with the start of a new century and older women, particularly in rural areas, tend to be slower to adopt new fashions. This is more pronounced amongst women of the lower classes – often because they could not afford new clothes, but also because they needed to wear appropriate clothing for their station. In remote areas some styles persist long after they have disappeared elsewhere.

One remarkable instance of this is the island of St Kilda in the Hebrides. Until the end of the seventeenth century the inhabitants were dressed entirely in sheepskins, but by the time Martin Martin, a gentleman from the Isle of Skye, arrived in 1697, both men and women were wearing woven clothing, only a woollen shirt in summer, which became underclothing in winter. Another traveller, Charles Maclean, in his book Island on the Edge of the World: The story of St Kilda, wrote:

Men and women’s clothing alike was tailored and sewn by men, who also weaved the thick cloth, known as blue kelt (though it was sometimes brown with a stripe) from which most of the garments were made. The costume of the women did not vary much down the centuries. Over a roughly-made dress of blue kelt they wore a plaid gathered at the breast with a buckle, fashioned out of a penny beaten thin, a bent nail or even a fish-hook. All the women wore headdresses of linen, often a brilliant scarlet colour, with a plait of hair falling down each cheek and tied in a knot where it reached the breast…. In later years plaids in Rob Roy tartan imported from the mainland were considered very fine and worn on Sundays and special occasions with white muslin caps. When the women were working in the fields they used to gird up their skirts quite short with a sash around the waist, so that they could move more freely.

The Rob Roy tartan would not have been introduced until the nineteenth century. Maclean continues:

Until boots and stockings were introduced by tourists in the nineteenth century, two types of more primitive shoe were in use in St Kilda. The oldest of these was made out of the neck of a gannet. Cut close to the eyes and to the breast of the bird, the skin of the neck was reversed so that the down was on the inside. It was then sewn up at the longer breast end, which received the foot while the heel rested on the crown of the head. The shoe only lasted four or five days but it was light, comfortable and easily replaced. The ‘brog tiondadh’ or turned shoe was a type of brogue made out of sheep skin or cow hide tanned and softened with the root of the plant tormentil. It was held in position by a leather thong and left open at the sides to let the water run out. But in the summer months both men and women would go barefoot. Children rarely, if ever, wore shoes.

As contact with the mainland developed during the nineteenth century, the old styles died out and were gradually replaced by factory-made clothes.

There are many other examples of styles persisting in remote areas long after they had become obsolete in urban areas. The fisherwomen of Cullercoats in Northumberland were still wearing bedgowns in the early years of the twentieth century. Sometimes out-dated styles were retained for business or advertising; a woman who sold crabs in Stockton market wore the Whitby fisherwoman’s sun bonnet shown in Chapter 6 in the 1960s. It was decorative and showed who she was. Despite all this, in each century new styles did develop, and these were gradually adopted by working women, first in towns and more gradually in villages and hamlets.

Of course almost all women, from queens to the inmates of the workhouse, have worked – the wife of the lord of the manor ran the estate when her husband was away and was always in charge of her household, but these women would have been expensively if not fashionably dressed. This book concentrates on the clothing of the poorer classes, those who worked to help keep their families with food on the table and a roof over their heads; the term ‘working women’ in the book refers generally to this class. Although in early years such women’s clothes were actually cut like those of the aristocracy if in inferior fabrics, as soon as the concept of fashion evolved in the late fourteenth century the difference became very marked. The humblest working women would never have had new clothes, strongly made gowns would last for years and when they were past wearing, the fabric would be used for cleaning cloths or for patching. For this reason there are very few surviving examples of working women’s garments until the nineteenth century. The important exceptions are the late-medieval garments from the Greenland Settlements (for these I am indebted to the remarkable work of Else Østergård in her book, Woven into the Earth: Textiles from Norse Greenland). They were probably worn by women of importance in the community but owing to their isolation were cut in an early style. There are a few pattern books from the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and plenty of surviving nineteenth-century undergarments of ancient cut, but the actual gowns have long gone.

References for medieval working women are hard to come by; there are some famous images of women working in the fields in the Duc de Berry’s Les Très Riche Heures but they are rare. Women servants were not expected to be seen and consequently did not wear livery until the nineteenth century. Ladies’ maids and other important servants usually came from the aristocracy and wore suitable clothes (often given to them by their mistresses) but it did not matter what the lower strata wore. The best reference for ordinary women of the seventeenth century comes from the Dutch genre painters such as Johannes Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch and Jan Steen, who painted ordinary people back, front and sideways in exquisite detail (you can actually see the stitches on the milkmaid’s bodice in Vermeer’s Die Melkmeid in Chapter 3). There are plenty of British painters in the eighteenth century: some of the most valuable for costume include William Hogarth, who painted the poor of London, George Stubbs, who painted women harvesting, and George Walker, who drew the costumes of Yorkshire. The women in Stubbs’ paintings may look suspiciously clean and tidy but the costumes are authentic.

W.H. Pyne’s Picturesque Views of Rural Occupations in Early Nineteenth Century England includes illustrations of men, women and children in many different occupations. Later in the century, when photography was invented, the working classes could not have afforded to have their portraits taken – and at first no one else wanted them – but gradually they started to have curiosity value. Photography became a popular middle-class hobby and some highly talented photographers started to record the working people. William Clayton, Arthur Munby and Frank Meadow Sutcliffe are three photographers whose work is particularly useful. The paintings of the nineteenth century tend to be too romanticized and sentimental. Eyre Crowe’s painting The Dinner Hour, Wigan shows mill girls outside the factory; both the environment and the girls are unrealistically clean and tidy, although Crowe did buy shawls and skirts in the market to get the authentic colours of the girls’ clothes. One man who did draw the poor of London was the French artist Gustave Doré; although they give a vivid picture of slum life, the costumes are insufficiently explicit to be very useful.

There are plenty of photographs in the final section, which covers the first half of the twentieth century. In this chapter a system of pattern making called ‘proportionate cutting’ is introduced. This is a very simple method, which was in use in the nineteenth century and was certainly used by dressmakers in the twentieth century. There is a world of difference between a dress made in this way and an haute couture dress made by a court dressmaker, but it would look much more authentic than an elegantly cut dress made in cheap fabric. The First World War gave women the opportunity to do tasks that were usually the prerogative of men, but for the most part these opportunities were short-lived, and the major changes did not occur until after the Second World War, as is described at the end of the book.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

In the first part of this book there is a reasonably comprehensive list of the tools and materials needed by someone embarking on costume making (experienced costume makers will already have their preferred equipment). There follows a section on how to take measurements, and a chart of ‘average’ measurements that can be used to modify patterns. Measurements are given in metric followed by the Imperial equivalent. Please note that the two versions should not be combined, as they do not correspond exactly; in some cases numbers have been rounded up or down to avoid using tiny fractions. In the patterns for garments based on Instructions for Cutting out Apparel for the Poor (seeChapter 4), Imperial measurements precede metric measurements as the original measurements are in yards, nails and even ells.

A basic knowledge of modern sewing techniques is assumed, but some of the techniques needed for period costumes are included, together with an outline of the procedure from cutting the pattern to preparing the fabric pieces for sewing.

The remainder of the book deals with the patterns themselves. Introductory information is given about each period at the start of each chapter. The patterns have been arranged by century for convenience but there is considerable overlap of styles.

Pattern cutting methods

Three different methods are used to cut the patterns. The first, for late-medieval patterns, is developed from ancient T-shaped garments and can be marked out on the fabric from given measurements. Seam allowances are not included in these patterns. Their relatively un-fitted shapes will require only lengthening or shortening to fit a wide range of sizes.

In the second system, used for the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century patterns, and for many of the remaining patterns, the pattern pieces are drawn on grids. When using these patterns the pieces should be cut out in paper and have all the seam lines matched to check they are the same length. Also check that the armhole, neck, waistline and sleeve lines form elegant curves. This is unlikely to have happened when making most working women’s clothes but it makes for easier sewing. There are no seam allowances on these patterns.

The third system is proportionate cutting, which was probably first used in the nineteenth century. It is a very simple way of constructing a pattern. The results will require some fitting if a neat garment is required but will give the correct look for ordinary working clothes. These patterns can be adapted to give a range of different features.

There is a list of suppliers at the end of the book; this is by no means comprehensive and can easily be augmented by online research.

1

Equipment, Measurements and Techniques

The following list is sufficiently comprehensive for most costume makers. It is assumed that a suitable table, iron and ironing board, needles and thread are available. New gadgets are often invented and some people find them indispensable; it is a matter of personal choice.

Equipment. (Photo: Robert Hughes)

SCISSORS

It is a mistake to economize on scissors: at least two pairs are necessary, one for cutting fabric and one for paper. If the blades of either are damaged they should be replaced; the pair for fabric should never be used for any other purpose, although an old pair no longer good enough for cutting fine fabrics like silk is useful for cutting coarse fabrics.

CUTTING PAPER

Brown parcel paper makes substantial patterns that can be kept and reused, and is available from firms dealing with packing materials. Small quantities can be bought from stationery shops either in rolls or folded sheets; the latter should be ironed before use.

Pattern paper marked in squares, horizontal lines or ‘dot and cross’ can be bought in sheets or rolls. It is more flimsy than brown paper but perfectly satisfactory for most purposes. Paper marked in squares is ideal for enlarging patterns drawn on grids; it is easier to draw on the reverse side, where the lines are perfectly clear but not as dominant.

If patterns are to be used many times it is best to copy them onto thin card.

CARBON PAPER AND TRACING WHEEL

Carbon paper is also called dressmaker’s tracing paper; it comes in several colours and is used with a tracing wheel. Carbon paper lasts much longer if glued to a sheet of card. The best tracing wheels have sharp steel points and a thumb rest.

RULERS AND STRAIGHT EDGES

Clear plastic rulers are fine when working on light-coloured fabric but steel is more satisfactory on dark or patterned fabric. Wooden metre sticks are not suitable for pattern cutting as the edge is too thick for accuracy and they tend to warp. For drawing long, straight lines, a length of sign-writer’s aluminium frame is excellent and can be marked with a felt pen.

FASHION RULERS, FRENCH CURVES AND SET SQUARES

These are useful for drawing armholes and other curves, although most cutters soon become skilled in drawing them freehand. Set squares are not essential but they can be useful – if they are used, the larger the better.

CALCULATOR

Calculators are useful and invaluable for calculating circles.

PENCILS, MARKER PENS AND FRENCH CHALK

It goes without saying that pencils should be sharp. A 2B is probably the most practical but it is a matter of personal preference. Coloured crayons and felt pens can be useful when using some fabrics such as industrial felt. French chalk is good for marking coarse woollens and it can be brushed off if necessary, although the darker colours will stain light fabrics.

TAPE MEASURE

Tape measures should be of good quality so that they do not stretch and can be used on edge, for measuring curves.

ADHESIVE TAPE AND TAPE DISPENSER

Masking tape is more useful than clear tape as it can be drawn on with pencil, ballpoint pen or marking pen. A tape dispenser is not expensive and saves sore fingers.

PINS AND PATTERN WEIGHTS

Long, fine pins, 2.8cm, are preferable to the more usual 2.5cm but the two sizes should never be mixed. A pin cushion is better than keeping pins in a box, which can easily be spilt. Pattern weights are often used instead of pins; they have the advantage of not distorting the paper pattern and are particularly useful when using very thick fabric. They can be bought as heavy-duty washers but if these are not available the weights from old-fashioned kitchen scales are just as good. Even small food tins or smooth pebbles can be used.

THIMBLES

Metal thimbles are better than plastic; silver or even gold ones used to be given to girls on special birthdays and would last a lifetime. The sides of the thimble should have indentations, as the needle should always be pushed from the side, never the top. If the thimble does not stay on the finger, blow into it immediately before putting it on.

DRESS STAND

A good dress stand is expensive but worthwhile for people doing a lot of dressmaking. They are very useful for judging the best position for seams, proportion of collars, frills, etc.

FABRICS FOR TOILES

Industrial felt is useful for trying out and making the foundations for stiff bodices. For other garments, medium-weight calico, curtain lining or other plain cotton should be used.

MEASUREMENTS

The earliest known complete pattern-cutting book is by the Spaniard Juan de Alcega, dated 1589. The patterns for women’s clothes include gowns, skirts, jerkins, coats, bodices and kirtles; most are of one size although there are a few for ‘fat’ women. The book is particularly useful for showing how different garments can be cut from the available cloth sizes. Measurements are given in ells, hand spans and finger widths. The ell was a very variable length depending on the country: in England it was 45” (114cm), in Scotland 37” (94cm), in Flanders 27” (69cm), in France 54” (137cm), and in Germany 23” (58cm). In early times in England the ell was equal to six hand breadths or a cubit, that is the length from a man’s fingertips to his elbow, or about 18” (46cm). Later the length was doubled so it became 36” or one yard (91cm). The ell could be divided into a twelfth, an eighth, a sixth, a quarter, a third and a half – but was never divided into uneven numbers, such as a fifth.

The ‘nail’ was another ancient measurement dating from the Middle Ages and still in use in England in the early years of the nineteenth century. It measured 2¼” (5.7cm) and equalled one sixteenth of a yard. The length is said to be the distance from the end of the middle finger to the second joint or from the base of the thumbnail to the base of the thumb. It follows that as the measurements were based on the tailor’s hands the patterns were unique to him and they were never given away, as they were his stock-in-trade.

The tape measure was not invented until the early nineteenth century. Until that time measurements if necessary were taken by cutting notches in a strip of paper. Once they had come into general use the ancient measurements fell into disuse.

The measurements on the charts given here are based on one Caucasian woman who conformed to what was considered an ‘average’ size 12, i.e. 66cm (5’5”) tall, bust 90cm (36”), waist 65cm (24”), hips 95cm (38”) and arm 56cm (22”). Since these measurements were taken, the average size for a woman in Britain has gone up to size 16 so you should not be afraid to make considerable changes to the chart measurements. It is a good idea to check on bra cup sizes to establish whether the wearer has a full bust or an extra-wide back.

It is wise to be sceptical about measurements taken by other people – especially the person concerned – as they are often more hopeful than accurate; any suggestion of ‘I am going to lose weight’ should be taken with a pinch of salt.

1. TAKING MEASUREMENTS

The person being measured should wear light clothes, no shoes and if possible the underwear they will be wearing with the costume. A belt or strong piece of elastic should be tied around the waist and a small necklace or chain around the neck is helpful. If the costume is to be worn with high heels they should be worn when the measurements are taken.

The following measurements should be taken:

MEASUREMENTS CHART

1. Height, with the person being measured standing against a wall with head held up (a set square placed on the head will enable an accurate reading)

2. Across chest

3. Bust taken round the fullest part (bra size is not necessarily the same)

4. Bust point to bust point round back of neck

5. Bust point to bust point straight across

6. Waist

7. Hips

8. Neck point to end of shoulder

9. Neck point to shoulder to elbow

10. Neck point to shoulder to elbow to wrist

11. Round the top of the arm

12. Wrist

13. Nape of neck to waist (from the chain around the neck to the elastic around the waist at the back)

14. Waist to floor

EXPLANATION OF MEASUREMENTS ON THE CHART

1 neck width

2 back neck rise

3 armhole depth

4 front neck depth

Note: The shoulder and arm measurements are taken continuously to avoid over-measuring. The arm measurement will be the total minus the shoulder length.

CALCULATING SLEEVE HEADS AND CIRCLES

The following instructions allow you to cut sleeves so that the head fits smoothly into the armhole. The measurements on the charts are a good general guide but not all patterns will conform. If the sleeve head is cut to exactly the same measurement as the armhole it will fit neatly; when sewing, a convex curve will always stretch very slightly when being fitted into a concave curve. If the sleeve has a deep head it may be narrower but will restrict movement, as the underarm length will be shorter. A shallow head will require a wider sleeve but give more movement. Period sleeves if attached all round the armhole usually have very shallow heads.

Sleeve heads

Join the side seams of the bodice and measure round the armhole using a tape measure on edge, as drawn in red.

If the width of the sleeve is known, flip the tape measure into the shape of a sleeve head matching the armhole measurement to the required width on the ruler (1b and 1c). Measure the height with a second ruler. If the height of the sleeve head is known, place the second ruler at right angles to the first.

Calculating circles

If the diameter of a circle is known the circumference can be calculated; if the circumference is known, the diameter can be calculated, as follows:

• To calculate the diameter, divide the circumference by 3.14. (Imperial: multiply the circumference by 7 and divide the result by 22.)

• To calculate the circumference, multiply the diameter by 3.14. (Imperial: multiply the diameter by 22 and divide the result by 7.)

For pattern cutting purposes round the figures up or down to the nearest whole number if metric and nearest ½” if Imperial.

Metric:

Imperial:

A quick method, which gives a rough but usually perfectly adequate answer, is to use two rulers and a tape measure (Diagram 2).

To find the circumference when the diameter is known: place the two rulers at right angles as in the diagram: A–B and C–D are both the diameter measurement. Starting at D make a circle passing through A–C–B and back to D with the tape measure standing on edge. Where the tape measure meets at D will be roughly the circumference.

To find the diameter when the circumference is known: place the rulers at right angles. With the tape measure on edge make a circle of the known circumference and place it on the rulers so that A–B equals C–D. The diameter is A–B or C–D.

USEFUL TECHNIQUES

USEFUL SEWING TECHNIQUES

Diagram 4

Cartridge pleating

Cartridge pleating is a decorative and practical method of fitting a large piece of fabric to a small one. It was used in the seventeenth century to fit the huge sleeves into the armholes and cuffs. In the nineteenth century the huge crinoline skirts could be gathered into fashionably tiny waists by this method. This is one technique that is impossible to do by machine.

The top of the fabric is folded down about 4cm (1½”) and three or more rows of large, even stitches are sewn through both layers (1a). If the fabric is very fine, a strip of interfacing should be inserted. The thread must be firmly knotted at the beginning of each row of stitches.

The threads are pulled up and the ends secured (1b). When attached to a waistband or sleeve, each pleat should be sewn with two or three stitches as indicated by the red arrows (1c). If the loose folds are on the inside they help to hold out the sleeve or skirt.

Mantua-maker’s stitch

This method of sewing long seams was used in the eighteenth century. It was quick and easy to do and could be easily unpicked without damaging the fabric if it was to be reused (as often happened). This is another stitch that has to be done by hand.

The fabric is placed right sides facing (2a). The top of one (C–D) is placed 1.5–3cm (½ – ¾”) below the edge of the piece marked A–B, depending on the thickness of the fabric. A–B is folded down 0.25–0.5cm (⅛– ¼”) then folded a small amount above C–D. With some fabrics it will be easier to tack the two layers together below C–D.

The fabric is sewn along the fold through all the layers (2b). The wrong side will have a ridge. With some fabrics it will be easier to tack the layers together. When the seam is properly sewn, remove any tacking threads.

Back stitch

When sewing long seams by hand it is a good idea to make an occasional back stitch so that only a small section will come apart if the thread is caught and broken.

2

Working Women’s Costume in the Late Middle Ages

The earliest woven clothing was a simple rectangle of fabric as it came from the loom. This could be draped round the body in various ways; a small piece would make a breechcloth or a large piece the elegant garments worn by aristocratic Greeks. There are still parts of the world where simple rectangles of fabric are worn, such as the lungis and dhotis worn by men in India and the serapes of Indonesia. These primitive garments are often enriched with highly sophisticated weaving and dyeing techniques but are still simple rectangular shapes. The basic rectangle became modified in various ways: a slit could be woven in the centre so that it could be put over the head; two pieces could be joined, leaving a gap for the head; or the rectangle could be cut and the pieces joined to make a tunic. In its simplest form the tunic was restricting, as it was the same width from shoulder to hem, so it became necessary to find ways to give greater freedom of movement. In the Middle East and North Africa flared panels were inserted, making the garment voluminous and therefore suitable for wearing in hot climates. If medieval garments are made in this way, with side panels, they do not look like illustrations of the period as all the fullness is at the sides; although the seams are not drawn, the fullness of the skirts in illustrations hangs in even folds all the way round. In Northern Europe a different style evolved: the tunic was slit up the centre front and centre back from hem to waist and godets inserted. This style is evident in the Lewis Chessmen (discovered on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and now in the British Museum), and also in the women’s costumes found in Greenland.