When it came time to construct something to wear underneath my riding habit jacket, I admit I was a bit stumped. There just isn’t that much information out there to the casual researcher about what exactly was going on beneath those habit jackets. Finally, I settled on the idea of a separate shirt to wear over my corset and shift but under the waistcoat like a man’s shirt.
This seems to be a popular style to recreate and here are a few links that I found absolutely invaluable when it came to making my own habit shirt:
http://www.koshka-the-cat.com/riding_habit2.html
http://www.couturemayah.info/engchemise.html
http://mantuadiary.blogspot.com/search/label/Shirt
http://augustintytar.blogspot.com/2012/06/late-1770s-riding-habit-in-style-of.html
My shirt is made from cotton lawn (my personal favorite substitute for linen – the price is right and it doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin).
The shirt was constructed on the machine but all the seams were felled by hand and the rest of the shirt was also finished by hand. The neckline and cuff ruffles were gathered and attached using whipgathers. The shirt is open at the front and only closes with a button at the neckline. The back is gathered to a tape which ties in front, not only keeping the shirt closed but it helps keep the tails from riding up when you are wearing it.
For my own reference, and hopefully it may be useful to someone out there as well, here are the measurements I used for my shirt:
Body – 44 inches long x 26 inches wide
Front shoulder to hem – 24 inches
Back shoulder to hem – 20 inches
Sleeve – 17 x 26 inches
Shoulder of sleeve gathered to 11 inches
Sleeve Gusset – 6 x6 inches
Wrist cuff – 8 inches
Neck Gusset – 3.5 x 3.5 inches
Neckline Ruffle – 24 x 4 inches
Collar – 13.5 inches
Posted:
5/7/2013 12:41:58 PM by
Aubry | with
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