Knickers!

A few weeks before Christmas I attended my first heritage event as a trader.
It was quite strange to be the other side of the counter, but I learnt a lot. One thing in particular that surprised me that evening was the number of enquiries I had concerning 1940's clothing for boys. I had thought starting out with four patterns for girls dresses was a smart move, but I certainly answered more questions about boys' clothes than girls' clothes that night.

Putting aside tiny floral prints and puffed sleeves, I came home and began to think about patterns for boys clothes. It's an odd thing, that you think you know about something until you actually sit down and think about it, and realise you don't! Of course I know about boys' shorts, the cut and construction, torn knees and a bit of string and a newt or dead mouse in the pocket - that sort of thing. But if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing properly.

Several hundred photos of small boys in short trousers later, I'd answered a few of my own questions.

Just how short were short trousers?
According to drafts in tailors' and cutters' guides, and as shown in posed photographs in books and magazines, they correspond roughly to the length of girls' skirts at the same age. Tiny boys wear short trousers that are just a few inches in the inside leg, big boys of 10 or 12 have shorts that just touch the kneecap, and boys in the middle wear their trousers 2-4 inches above the knee.

In reality however, especially amongst lower-income families and when war-time shortages hit, there appears to be no hard and fast rule. Hand-me-downs fit you where they did or didn't, and you made do.

How are they fastened?
Button flies appear to be universal, and I am yet to find instructions in 1930's or 40's books for zip flies.

How are they kept up?
Sometimes it is not possible to see from the photos how an individual's trousers are being kept up, but when it is, it seems to be braces to belts at a rate of 2:1. I have not seen evidence - yet - of clip braces, they all appear to be button braces. Buttons on the outside or inside seem to be split 50/50.
Striped snake belts look to be the most popular belt with boys, but some wear leather belts with buckles.
Belt loops are usually placed at the centre back, and at the side seams, and sometimes appear on trousers that also have buttons for braces.

How about pockets?
Pockets are usually in the side seams. I've only seen two or three examples of hip pockets. Shorts for tiny boys seem to often not be cut with side seams, and so don't have pockets. A patch pocket is sometimes included on the bottom of shorts or dungarees for very little boys or girls.

What were they actually called?
The terms 'trousers' and 'knickers' seem to be used interchangeably, sometime in the same set of instructions or advertisement. 'Shorts' seems to apply to sporting garments, as in the case of 'girls' tennis shorts'.

How were they made?
The making of short trousers seems to be a subject somewhat shied away from in home dressmaker's manuals and magazines of the period. Where there is direction, it usually applies to trousers made for toddlers without a fly, pockets or any tricky details. These little garments would be no more difficult to make than pyjama bottoms.
The most comprehensive set of instructions in my collection are to found in a 1935 edition of 'Weldon's Easier Dressmaking'. There are only 50 pages in this booklet, but it packs a lot in. There is a double page spread entitled 'The Making of Boys' Knickers'.

It has been interesting to compare the Weldon's instructions to the construction details of a Utility suit held by the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley (object No.U2017/864). The Weldon's way of making the knickers is very close to the directions given in turn of the century tailors' books, and involves a great deal of hand sewing. The knickers belonging to the Utility suit are made more in a way that a modern home dressmaker might recognise, and I would suggest that this would be thanks to the greater emphasis put on efficient manufacture during the war and immediately afterwards.
The waistband is a good example of this simplified process. Weldon's directs the sewer to apply interfacing directly to the waist of the trousers, caught down invisibly all round, and to bind the upper edge. It then tells you to make a separate facing, to turn it in all around, and then slip stitch it in place over the interfacing.

I know they didn't have Netflix back then, but surely no-one has so much spare time in their life to spend the entire day facing a waistband?

The Utility knickers have a separate facing that has been interfaced with a bit of stiff muslin. It's been applied right-sides-facing, turned to the inside, and topstitched.

Our pattern for boys' 1940's style short trousers will be the next one published, and will be named 'Barry'. It will be followed by a pattern for shirts, 'Roystan'. Keep an eye on the Ivyhouse Costume Facebook page, or visit our online shop for more details.

This week I have mostly been using Blue Thread...

Here is Angela's blue dress all finished! Doesn't she look a treat in it? Look out for her at events across the UK this summer, and don't forget to say hello!

Mucking about with that V&A frock.....

This week I have mostly been unpacking parcels....but am getting on with Angela's outfit for getting out and about. Here you can see it pinned and tacked on the dummy. It's becoming less and less like the original with every day that passes! The peplum that's been added is because Angela has an unusually long back measure, and I'd already cut the bodice, using that time honoured technique of 'reckoning you're about my size'. Naughty dressmaker. I really like it though, so it was a happy accident.

The cut of the bodice was transferred to a block of (sort-of) the right measurements, following the diagram in The Cut of Women's Clothes. It goes together pretty easily, and is comfortable to wear. The collar was made using our new machines, which have a scallop stitch and a feather stitch. Stitching it took a few minutes, cutting it out using tiny embroidery scissors took forever. It's really pretty though.
The skirt was cut using the 1909 petticoat pattern near the back of whichever one of the Francis Grimble books covers 1909 - I'm always getting The Edwardian Modiste and The Voice of Fashion muddled up. It's become a bit of a go-to pattern at the museum, and I've adapted it by putting a deep inverted box pleat at the back. It's a nice shape and doesn't take a lot of fabric - economy being forever our watchword! With nearly 200 people needing costume, it helps if we can stretch our resources.

Hopefully, sometime next week, I will be able to show you the finished outfit.

Meet Kitty!

Well here it is, my first pattern all finished and ready to buy.

This pattern is based on a genuine baby's dress in my collection. It was a gift from my friend Kitt - hence the name - who works as a volunteer living historian at a local National Trust property. It's quite nice when a dress comes to me that way, as often it comes with its history, and I get to know the person who once wore it, even if they are long gone.

The original dress is all white, as was traditional for babies for many, many years. A beautifully turned out baby, in a snowy white frock, was a credit to its family, and most especially its mother. We all know how tricky it is getting and keeping our whites bright and clean! I've made this pattern up in colours too though, and it's worked very well. I'll show you the dresses in a day or two.

I think this dress in white would make a lovely Christening outfit for a precious little girl who was already up and running! Once they grow a bit, a long gown becomes impractical and baby gets fidgety. My niece has learnt to crawl this week - if I can catch her, perhaps I could persuade her to show you how sweet this dress looks on.

Today at the museum.

Day dress | Mascotte | V&A Search the Collections

Today at the museum - the day job - I began work on a new dress for our marketing officer, Angela. This dress in the collection at the V&A, (a much grander establishment than ours) caught my eye because we have yards and yards of striped cotton fabric on the shelves that I can use, and the cut of this dress can be found in The Cut of Women's Clothes by Norah Waugh.

I'm not sure I'll copy it slavishly.....a slightly wider skirt would be more practicable, and elbow length sleeves for hot days, but this lovely and simple dress is a great jumping off point for me! I've already altered the width of the front bodice pieces slightly, just to avoid a slightly awkward line on the bust. I'm also thinking of making it a two piece dress so I can supply a second bodice or blouse to match the skirt.....and instead of lavender, it'll be in navy blue - Angela's favorite colour!

Hello World, Ivyhouse Costume here!

Well, today has been a busy one, and I think I'm developing square eyes... A domain purchased, an e-commerce site begun (but not yet live), and a Facebook page established.

This blog will be a site for dress diaries and news from Ivyhouse and my world in general. The Facebook page hopefully will become a home for the sewing community to share our photos, ideas and love for sewing and beautiful things.

I am near to finishing my first pattern, which has been so lovely to work on. I just need to complete the instruction booklet, and then we'll be ready to rumble! On the first of March you'll all get to meet 'Kitty'.