Category Archives: Edwardian

A bathing cap around 1900

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It’s been quite a while since my last post, but this time, I have something special for you—a free pattern for a bathing cap from around 1900. This cap is actually part of a larger sewing project—a full bathing dress from the same era—which I’ll be releasing soon.

I wanted to share this part early so you can get started right away, or simply enjoy making a unique accessory from the past. Stay tuned for the complete bathing dress pattern, which is coming soon!

English pattern

German pattern

I’m sorry that I only have a few pictures this time, but I hope the instructions are detailed enough to help you along and that you’ll end up with a lovely cap.

Take the top and double-turn in the straight edge narrow, stitch in place. Sew two rows of gathering threads along the curved edge. Take the strips for the bow and fold them in half lengthwise, right sides together. Sew along the angled and the long edge, reducing the stitch length at the edges. Trim back the seam allowances and turn the right way out, press.

Take the headband and fold in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, press and reopen. Turn in the seam allowance along the inner edge, press and reopen.  Sew the headband to the top, matching all marks. To do so, pull the gathering threads and spread the width of the top evenly. Press the seam allowances towards the headband.

Fold the bow strips to match the width of the headband (2” (5cm)) along the open edge. Line up with the headband’s short edge, and fold the headband’s wrong sides together along the previously pressed-in edge, sandwiching the bow strip. Stitch along the short edge, then pivot and stitch down the long edge of the headband, without catching the bow strip, until reaching the top seam.

Trim back the seam allowance and turn the right way out. Press and line up the inner edge of the headband with the stitching line of the top.

Place the cap on your head, then wrap the headband around your head and tie a large bow at the front.

A bathing suit around 1900 – sewing pattern #0225 – Part 3 (Skirt, Drawers and Dress)

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Now that we’ve completed the jumpsuit, let’s move on to the next pieces of our bathing suit.

Let’s start with the skirt, which is designed to be worn over the jumpsuit.

(8) Cut all pieces from the fabric, leaving the selvages at the center back. Transfer all notches and marks carefully and sew the darts. Sew the backs to the front, right sides together, and finish with a flat felled seam.

(9) Take the placket and fold along the dotted line, right sides together. Sew along the bottom and side edges and trim back the seam allowances. Turn the right way out and press. Line up with the left back edge, right sides together. Sew with a 5/8” (1,5cm) seam allowance, starting at the top and stopping at mark (1). The width of the finished placket is 1 5/8” (4cm). Sew the center back seam, right sides together, stopping exactly at mark (1). Fold the excess fabric at the center back into a box pleat, regarding the marks.

(10) Take the waistband lining and flatline with a layer of midweight cotton fabric. Turn in the seam allowance along the bottom edge and stitch in place. Trim back the excess fabric. Line up with the waistband, right sides together, along the top edge, setting back the edge of the waistband about 1/8” (2mm) behind the edge of the waistband lining to allow for the turn of cloth. Sew along the top edge, trim back and press the seam allowance towards the lining. Understitch from the right side. For a neat and even finish, decorate the waistband with two parallel rows of white (contrasting) cotton tape now.

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The Victorian Waistcoat – Sewing Pattern #0516 – Part 1 (Pockets) – Steps (1) and (2)

After the Norfolk jacket and the breeches, we’re now focusing on another essential garment in the men’s wardrobe: the waistcoat.

Similar to the patterns mentioned before, this one also originates from my early days as a pattern maker, marking my initial exploration into men’s tailoring in the 19th century. The waistcoat pattern represented my first endeavor in digital illustration, departing from my usual hand-sketching method. Despite the learning curve, it marked a significant milestone in my journey of pattern-making.

However, despite its age, a detailed blog post and sewing guide for the waistcoat was missing. That’s where this upcoming blog post comes in, especially focusing on the pockets. Join me as I delve into the nuances of constructing the waistcoat, offering practical insights and step-by-step instructions to help you bring this timeless garment to life.

Choosing the materials: A waistcoat, typically worn with trousers and a coat or jacket, evolved in material and style throughout the 19th century. At the start of the century, waistcoats were often crafted from contrasting materials. By the century’s end, they matched the trousers and jacket for informal occasions, forming a three-piece suit as we recognize today.

Similarly to modern practices, the back of the waistcoat was typically made from lighter materials. Polished cotton or fine twill/satin was commonly used for the back, straps, and lining.

Let´s dive into sewing, step by step as usual!

(1) As usual, start with cutting all the pieces from fashion fabric, interfacing, and lining, and carefully transfer all marks and notches, especially the little corner marks on the collar. The waistcoat is called collarless, but that´s not quite true, it´s kind of a shawl collar, just with a collar stand.


Now, let’s proceed straight to the intricacies of pocket sewing. I encountered some challenges with the 19th-century method, especially when working with thick wool fabric. The more angled breast pocket posed significant issues with bulk, therefore, I decided to change this pocket in the pattern to a less angled one. Also the pictures are not the waistcoat, to show you improved instructions, without all the mess I made with my first attempt on this wool fabric.

First, baste a piece of linen or cotton to the wrong side of the front, covering the pocket opening. Mark the pocket opening with a basting thread, clearly visible on the right side of the fabric.

Fold the welt in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press. Reopen and mark the inside, as well as the half line. Sew the outer pocket bag to the inner half of the welt using a 1/4” (7mm) seam allowance, right sides together. Re-check before sewing, and stitch exactly between marks (x). Trim back the seam allowances as shown and press towards the pocket.

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The Victorian Waistcoat – Sewing Pattern #0516 – Part 2 – Steps (3) to (9)

Part 1 – Steps (1) and (2)

After all that hand-sewing of the first part, let´s do some machine sewing on all the long seams. Remember, the sewing machine had already been invented by then, so there’s no need to feel guilty about using it!

(3) Sew the bottom facing to the front-facing, right sides together, matching all marks. Trim back the seam allowance and press towards the bottom facing. Understitch if desired.

Line up the facing with the front, right sides together, and stitch right beside the bridle tape. Trim back the seam allowances and turn the right sides out. Press the edges, rolling the seam slightly out of sight towards the garment’s wrong side. Baste along the edges to hold the pressed seam in place. At the armscye trim back the seam allowance to 3/8” (1cm) and fold around the bridle tape. First, baste, then fell stitch the seam allowance to the interfacing/bridle tape. Fell stitch the loose edges of the facing to the interfacing, stop 2” (5cm) before the collar notch.

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0916 Day Skirt and Petticoat 1890-1910

It´s time to revise another pattern, the Turtleneck Dress. The design contained the skirt and the blouse; I think it gave the impression to be too complicated to be sewn easily. The fact was that few people were interested in that pattern, although it offered a lot. For some years I was thinking of just dividing the pattern into skirt and top, but I wanted to add something extra and new, especially since the skirt seemed too simple. So time flies and at some point, the ideas come by themselves.

The new pattern #0916 now offers the skirt in two variations, including an underskirt, cut the same way as the skirt (perfectly fitting underneath pattern #0414). The top will come as an extra pattern in a few months.

Let´s start sewing! I´m just showing how to sew View B and C, because most steps are the same, it’s just that View B and C need some extra considerations. Again, the blog post is intended as a supplement to the pattern, trying to show some different techniques and options on how to sew the skirt.

(1) We always start with cutting all pieces from fabric and lining. Take care of the grainline and don´t forget to add 6” (15cm) to the bottom edge of the ruffle pieces.

View B will not make difficulties, View C, with the ruffle, cut on the bias is a bit tricky, especially when using an asymmetrical checked fabric as I did. I first cut two 18” (45cm) wide bias strips and sewed them together along the center back, trying to pattern match as well as possible. Then I fold the strip along the later center back and placed my pattern pieces on top to cut to the shape needed. Don´t forget to transfer all the marks.

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