1838 Shift with Shoulder Straps =============================== .. figure:: plate_6_fig_6.svg :align: center .. only:: html .. contents:: This is a shift or chemise based on the instructions for women's shifts on page 47 of :cite:`1838:workwoman`. It has short puffed sleeves and a trapezoidal neckline that is also suitable for evening dresses. There are buttonholes on the shoulder straps that can be used to fold them over the corset straps to keep the sleeves in place: using these is pretty much required, as the shift isn't tight enough at the upper bust to keep them in place on their own. Contrary to other shifts of the same period, it doesn't have the corset-protecting front flap, but is even more economical in fabric use, especially if cut together with matching :doc:`../1838_drawers/index`. Because of the period, the construction methods assume handsewing and would require some changes to be adapted to the sew-and-then-finish methods required to use a sewing machine. Materials --------- Fabric ^^^^^^ * Less than 1.5 m of lightweight cotton or linen, at least 140 cm wide or more for bigger sizes. Notions ^^^^^^^ * sewing thread to match the fabric; Pattern ------- :cite:`1838:workwoman` gave measurements for this shift in three sizes, with no indication of the size of the person the shift was to be made for; here they are, converted [#converted]_ to centimetres. == ========================= === ==== === ============================ # Name 1st 2nd 3rd Valentina increment == ========================= === ==== === ============================ 1 Length of shoulder-strap 23 20 17 #shoulder_strap_length 2 Widest width of ditto 10 8.5 7 #shoulder_strap_top_width 3 Sloped off to 4 3.5 3 #shoulder_strap_bottom_width 4 Length of plaited sleeve 46 40 34 #sleeve_width 5 Depth of ditto 14 11 8 #sleeve_length 6 Size of gusset 11 10 9 #gusset_side 7 Length of sleeve-band 26 21 16 #sleeve_band_length 8 Width of ditto 3 3 3 #sleeve_band_width 9 Length of bosom gore 6 5 4 #bosom_gore_length 10 Width of ditto at the top 5 5 5 #bosom_gore_width == ========================= === ==== === ============================ .. [#converted] rather than precise rounding I opted to maintain the regularity in grading. For modern bodies I would take the following measurements: * ``height_neck_back_to_knee`` (A18): from the back of the neck to the knee, where the hem of the shift will be; * ``bust_circ`` (G04): circumference of the bust; * ``neck_side_to_highbust_f`` (H15): from the top of the shoulder to the highbust, or where the neckline should be; * ``arm_above_elbow_circ`` (L12): circumference of the arm at the sleeve band; and adapt the numbers in the table as follows: choose the column where the Length of shoulder-strap most closely matches your ``neck_side_to_highbust_f`` and use most of the other values in that column, except for the sleeve ones: for those use the column where the Length of sleeve-band most closely matches your ``arm_above_elbow_circ`` plus at least 1 cm for ease. As for the body of the shift, its total width should depend on the width of the fabric: the book was using the full width of fabric from 68 to 80 cm wide, on modern fabric the front and back can be cut side to side, as long as the fabric is at least about 140 cm wide (or more for bigger sizes). The length should be enough to reach your desired length, somewhere below the knees, after adding the length of shoulder straps. The book suggests that the side gores should be somewhere between 10 and 15 cm wide at the top, but depending on the width of the fabric they can be adjusted even outside that range in such a way that the remaining fabric (including the bosom gores) is just enough to go around the bust. Alternatively, there is a valentina file :download:`shift.val` and corresponding :download:`measurements.vit`: by entering your measurements and the ``width_of_fabric`` and ``bosom_gore_width`` increment it will calculate the size for all pieces. Rather than printing the pattern (and especially the bigger pieces) I'd recommend reading the length of relevant segments in the Variable Table and measuring them directly on the fabric; you may want to print just the shoulder strap piece, and possibly the bosom gore. Note that all sewing allowances are included in the pieces, and should be as small as the fabric allows, e.g. 4-5 mm for typical underwear fabric. Instructions ------------ Cutting ^^^^^^^ Measure and cut the front and back from the full width of the fabric, side to side on wide fabric or one on top of the other on narrow. If the sleeves fit nicely in the width of the fabric cut them horizontally, if making more than one shift it may be more convenient to cut them vertically. Cut everything else: the gussets, sleeve bands, shoulder straps and bosom gores from the rest of the fabric. .. tip:: if you are making also matching :doc:`../1838_drawers/index` note that many of those pieces may be cut from the leftovers from the drawers. .. note:: the book isn't clean on whether the shoulder straps should be cut in one piece each or in two pieces with a seam at the top: the latter requires more work when making, but the former will leave more fabric waste, unless cut from leftovers from the drawers or other projects. These instructions assume the shoulder straps are cut in one piece, if you want to split them add a bit of sewing allowance on the middle, and sew them together before continuing. Put the main body flat on the table, taking extreme care that they are perfectly aligned, fold the fabric in half horizontally to mark the middle of the side seam, open it again. Fold the fabric in half on the vertical and carefully align all four edges, measure on the top edge, from the side, the width of the gore and cut a triangle from there to a point 3-4 cm below the middle of the body. .. note:: the book instructs you to cut the gore exactly to the middle of the body: because of the interactions between the sewing allowances this results in a side seam that isn't a smooth line at an angle, but has a little vertical step. The precise amount required to give a perfectly straight line would require a complicated formula, but 3-4 cm plus the leeway given by trimming a bit of the allowance, will usually make it good enough. .. figure:: shift_layout.svg :align: center Gores ^^^^^ Rotate the gores around their point to see which gore should go to which side of the body and sew them with a german hemming seam: .. figure:: 0201-german_hemming_gores_step_one.jpg :align: center fold down one allowance from the body towards the *right* side and press; fold down one allowance from the gore towards the wrong side and press; right sides together put the gore on top of the body, aligning it so that it is just below the folded raw edge, and hemstitch the body to the gore from the wrong side of the body. .. figure:: 0202-german_hemming_gores_step_two.jpg :align: center Press the seam open, so that the fold of the body covers the raw edge of the gore, and applique stitch the fold of the gore to the body to fell the seam. .. note:: I suggest using an hemming stitch on the wrong side and an applique stitch on the right side as to minimize the visible thread on the outside; the original book didn't mention a difference using an hemming stitch on both sides, and with white thread on white fabric it's often not a big deal. Bosom Gores ^^^^^^^^^^^ .. figure:: 0301-bosom_gore_slit.jpg :align: center Mark the quarter points of the top edge of the front, cut two Y shaped slits that are in total 2 allowances shorter than the length of the bosom gores (including about one allowance taken by the diagonal cuts). .. figure:: 0302-pressed_bosom_gore.jpg :align: center Press all edges of the gores except for the top towards the wrong side by one allowance, press the point up so that if forms a flat edge about one allowance wide. .. figure:: 0303-pressed_bosom_gore_slit.jpg :align: center Press the edges of the Y slits towards the front by one allowance. .. figure:: 0304-sewing_bosom_gore_front.jpg :align: center Put the bosom gore over the slits, covering all raw edges, pin in place and applique-stitch from the right side .. figure:: 0305-sewing_bosom_gore_back.jpg :align: center and hemstitch from the wrong side. Fold down the top edge of both the front and back twice towards the wrong side and press, but wait until later to actually hem them. Gussets ^^^^^^^ .. figure:: 0401-hemming_gussets.jpg :align: center Press the four edges of the gussets twice towards the wrong side, mitering the corners, hemstitch. Sleeves ^^^^^^^ .. figure:: 0501-making_box_pleats.jpg :align: center Starting from the center, distribute the width of the sleeves into the sleeve bands by forming box pleats, press them on the full length of the sleeve; .. figure:: 0502-sewing_down_pleats.jpg :align: center sew a running stitch at less than one allowance from both edges to keep the pleats in place. Fold one long edge of the sleeve band by one allowance towards the back, press. .. figure:: 0503-sewing_band_to_sleeve.jpg :align: center Put the sleeve band over the sleeve, wrong side to right side, and applique stitch the folded edge. .. figure:: 0504-pressing_sleeve_hems.jpg :align: center Fold and press the other long edge of the sleeve band by one allowance towards the wrong side, and then fold the band in half, enclosing the raw edges, press. Fold and press a small hem on the other raw edge of the sleeve. Wait until later to sew these. .. figure:: 0505-measuring_gusset.jpg :align: center Put one of the gussets near a short edge of the sleeve, align it with the folded hem at the top and mark with a pin where it ends. .. figure:: 0506-sewing_sleeve_end.jpg :align: center Sew the side of the sleeve with a mantua-makers' hemming: reopen the band, then fold the sleeve in half, right sides together, putting one side one allowance below the other. Fold down the allowance twice and hemstitch, taking care to go through all layers of fabric, starting from the band and stopping at the pin. .. figure:: 0507-hemming_sleeve_sides.jpg :align: center Clip the sewing allowance at that point, fold and hemstitch a narrow hem all around the remaining edges, mitering the corners. .. figure:: 0508-hemming_sleeve_band.jpg :align: center Fold also the band down where you had pressed it, hemstitch it enclosing all raw edges. .. figure:: 0509-inserting_gusset.jpg :align: center Put a side of the gusset on top of a side of the sleeve, right sides together, whipstitch together, continuing with the next side of the gusset and the other side of the sleeve. .. tip:: Instead of using a mantua-makers' hemming to sew the sleeve seam, when pressing the band you can also press a narrow hem on three raw edges, whipstitch the sleeve and the gusset and finally hem the band.. .. figure:: 0510-hemming_the_sleeve.jpg :align: center Hemstitch the hem, mitering the corners. .. figure:: 0511-sewing_gusset_to_sleeve_side.jpg :align: center Put the sleeve on one side of the gusset, right sides together, and whipstitch until the end of the gusset; .. figure:: 0512-whipstitching_sleeve.jpg :align: center then put the gusset and sleeve on the other side of the sleeve, right sides together, and whipstitch starting from the gusset and continuing into the sleeve. .. figure:: 0513-hemming_second_sleeve_band.jpg :align: center And then finish the band as above. This will result in an even neater finish, but requires sewing the sleeve seam three times instead of one; the same method could also be used for the side seams of the shift, below, but there the additional work starts to be significant, since the seam is much longer. Shoulder Straps ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ .. figure:: 0601-hemming_shoulder_straps.jpg :align: center Press all edges of the shoulder straps twice towards the wrong side, mitering or otherwise neating the corners, hemstitch. .. figure:: 0602-buttonhole_on_shoulder_strap.jpg :align: center Make a buttonhole near the corner at the top of each shoulder strap. Side seams ^^^^^^^^^^ .. figure:: 0701-measuring_side_seam.jpg :align: center Put one shoulder strap, folded in half, near the folded top edge of the back piece, align a finished sleeve to the top of the shoulder strap and mark the point where the gusset ends on the back piece. Make sure that you've trimmed the excess from the side gores. .. figure:: 0702-sewing_side_seam.jpg :align: center Sew the side seam with a a mantua-makers' hemming: put the back piece over the front piece, right sides together, so that the back piece is one allowance lower than the front; fold down the front twice over the back and hemstitch, taking care to go through all layers of fabric, and stopping at the point marked for the gusset. .. figure:: 0703-hemming_top_edge.jpg :align: center Fold the remaining parts of the side seams twice towards the wrong side, and hem those and the top edge, mitering the corners. Attaching the sleeves ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ .. figure:: 0801-sewing_shoulder_strap_to_body.jpg :align: center Put a short edge of a shoulder strap on the back, right sides together, pin it; put the other short edge on the front, again right sides together and taking care not to twist it, pin and whipstitch both short edges. .. figure:: 0802-sewing_sleeve_to_body.jpg :align: center Put a sleeve with gusset inside the armhole just created with the shoulder strap and side seam, right sides together; pin it and whipstitch all around the sleeve and gusset. .. figure:: 0803-sewn_sleeve.jpg :align: center Turn inside out. Hem ^^^ .. figure:: 0901-bottom_hem.jpg :align: center Fold the bottom of the shift twice to make a narrow hem, hemstitch. Variants -------- Front Ruffle ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Optionally cut a strip of lightweight fabric at least twice as long as the distance between the two shoulder straps at the front and about 5 cm high; finish all edges with a narrow hem. Sew a gathering thread on one edge, pull it to the size of the front edge, right sides together whipstitch to the front edge. Gallery ------- See also -------- * A couple of chemises with similar sleeves: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O354897/chemise/ and https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O354898/chemise/