1770s Printed Jacket and Petticoat

Now that I've shown the undergarments that are my foundation for upcoming 18th century clothes, I can move onto showing the layers I've made so far to go on top! Like many costumers new to the 18th century, I decided to try a jacket and petticoat first instead of a gown. Also, with summer in hot and humid Virginia coming up, I didn't want to make anything too heavy and then not be able to wear it for several months.

I purchased about a yard of printed cotton fabric from Fashionable Frolick on Etsy. It's a medium weight, with an ivory base, green vines, and flowers in several colors- yellow, blue, purple, red, and pink. I chose this fabric because of the colors in the flowers and vines: I'll be able to wear petticoats in various colors with the jacket and change up the look. The first petticoat is yellow, but the next one will be emerald green, with a matching green jacket. That way I'll have three outfits to mix and match!

The pattern I used is by JP Ryan, and it has a variety of jackets for the 18th century. I did "View D", which is rather close to the extant jacket held by Colonial Williamsburg described in "Costume Close Up". I did not make a copy of the "Costume Close Up" jacket, but simply used the JP Ryan pattern and added the little slits at the front. I also made the center back seam smaller at the waist, side skirt flare narrower, and the bottom of the tails shorter. Overall the pattern fit rather well, and I plan to use it again to make my next jacket.

The jacket is lined with linen, except the sleeves which are unlined. It laces up with hand-bound eyelets. I have ordered some silk ribbon in yellow and green to use in future. The only machine sewing is on the main seams, meaning all visible stitches were done by hand. I wanted to feel relatively historically accurate while wearing it to Colonial Williamsburg, considering the level of accuracy they have on the employee costumes.

The petticoat is made from a lovely silk/linen blend that almost looks like a silk faille. It's simply two rectangles sewn up the sides, and knife pleated with a twill tape waistband. The ruffle at the hem was made by cutting 6 inch strips off the fabric panel, and it's twice the width of the petticoat. It's gathered and then sewn down on top of the gathers. I used a pinked rotary cutter on both edges of the ruffle. In these pictures I'm wearing my quilted petticoat, but the yellow petticoat alone gives pretty considerable pouf, so on very warm days, I'll probably wear it without another petticoat underneath.

 I'm quite happy with how this project turned out. I will do a separate post to talk about the accessories that go with the outfit. I made the cap, neckerchief, apron, and pocket (that you can't see in the pictures), and I purchased the shoes and hat.

I do want to mention a few blogs that gave me a lot of inspiration, ideas, and great photos of similar outfits and how they're constructed: A Fashionable Frolick, Mode de Lis, and A Lass of Yesteryear. One big reason that I blog is because of how helpful other blogs have been to me on my costuming journey. I hope that my blog can give some insight for other costumers from time to time. Sharing pictures is marvelous inspiration, but sharing the construction process is what is the most valuable for me, and I know that is an area I tend to slack on. So thank you to all the costumers out there who put your work online for all to see and enjoy!

I will leave the post with this tidbit: if you are in or visiting the Williamsburg area, shoot me a message here or on my FB page so we can play dress up and attend events. I am eager to make new costuming friends on the East Coast!