I have made yet another waistcoat! The
Historical Sew Monthly challenge for this May was "
specific to a time of day or year", and a summer waistcoat was the best option I could think of.
I based it on this
extant waistcoat from The Conneticuit Historical Society, for which the source links never seem to work. It's a small boys waistcoat, so it only has 6 buttons, and the pockets are fake.
(I didn't realize it was a child's waistcoat when I was making my version because I hadn't found the source page yet, but I think mine is more appropriate for an adult since I did 8 buttons and added real pockets.)
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Waistcoat, c. 1770's
Plain weave linen with Dorset buttons. |
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| Inside view of c. 1770's waistcoat. |
Like the original, my waistcoat is one layer of off-white plain weave linen with facings only along the front edge. Since I wanted real pockets I extended my facing along the bottom edge of the front.
About half of the sewing is by machine. The seam finishing, hemming, inside edge of the facing, and the buttonholes were all done by
hand.
I haven't worn it in horrendously hot weather yet, but it's definitely cooler than all my other waistcoats.
I made 8 little Dorset buttons using plastic rings and linen thread. I'll use small brass rings on my next linen waistcoat, but I couldn't use them for this one because I ordered them too late in the month.
The challenge: 5: specific to a time (of day or year)
What the item is: A summer waistcoat.
Material: Plain weave off white linen. A fine one for the pocket bags, and a somewhat coarser one for everything else.
Notions: Linen thread, cotton thread, silk thread, 8 small plastic rings.
Pattern: My own
Year: c. 1770's- early 80's
How historically accurate is it? 70% maybe? It's about half machine stitched, and there are plastic rings in the buttons, but otherwise the look and construction is pretty similar to the original.
Hours to complete: 17
First worn: May 26th, 2018
Total cost: I'm pretty sure this particular linen was given to me, so very little. No more than 2 or 3 dollars.
It will be a while before I can get back to my fabric stash and start another linen waistcoat, as I am currently out of the province with my Uncle. (These last two photos are by him.)
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| A sequoia tree! I had never seen one before! |
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| I see the speck of dust inside my camera lens has migrated to the top. |
