Combination underwear, 2018





The combination underwear suit (combining chemise and drawers for less bulk under the outer garments) I wore under my first dress, also seen on the corset photos, was an antique piece I had been lucky to come across. At that point when I was just beginning it was great to find one item for the ball outfit ready made, only needing a bit of alteration to fit me. I also had to do some darning and reinforce some more worn parts.



However, it was clear from the start that this beautiful, hand-embroidered garment would be too fragile for regular wear, so it would be better to save it for only the fanciest occasions. It works well with an off-shoulder ball dress, but I needed to make a more practical one for other wear. Besides, a change set of underwear is needed anyway for multiple day events.







Many period patterns that I found were for a close-necked, long sleeved combination suits, but I thought that a flimsier one would be a better choice. Not so much because it certainly looks more alluring to modern eye, but rather because many layers of garments can be quite warm in today's central-heated world, so it's better to keep underwear to the minimum and leave the flannels to the Victorians.





This pattern, while being close necked looked very interesting with the gathered bust gusset. I also found a rather similar example of bust shaping in a low-necked chemise with narrow shoulder straps (scroll to the bottom of the page), and was somehow inspired to try to make some kind of mix of the two and see if it would work. Okay, with my rather modest cup size a few darts would have been quite enough for a well-fitting shape, but I wanted to try it out just for fun. So, I made a mock up of the basic pattern and experimented with the gusset size and shaping until I was happy with the look.



The back is cut with a center back seam and shaped seams like in several patterns I have seen, it's pretty much straight from my basic bodice pattern.



Drafting the loose leg was made a lot easier by the antique combination suit, from which I could copy the measurements for comfortable fit. Again, like in many period patterns the leg is cut in one piece, and on the back the extra width is gathered to the bottom of the back pieces.





I made the combination suit in lightweight cotton batiste. Making it was pretty simple, I sewed the seams as narrow flat-felled seams and reinforced the open crotch seam edges with bias tape. Yes, the open crotch that modern people find so intriguing and at odds with the idea of prim and proper Victorians - they had to use the bathroom too, and it's hard enough in a tight trained gown without modern panties in the way!



Anyway, I made the buttonholes too by machine, which is really not period-correct but I did not want to put too much time in the underwear at this point.









The front darts end at the bust gusset, and the seam allowances are neatened on the inside with a bit of bias tape. The gathering at the back is finished similarly.



I had cut a quite facing for fornt edges and made the buttonholes vertical, like in a modern shirt. When I tried the finished garment on I noticed that the front edges gapped quite a bit between the buttons. When I took a closer look at original pieces I noticed that the smart Victorians made their buttonholes horizontal if they wanted a smooth fit, even if the result may look a bit heavy and asymmetrical to modern eye.



