As soon as I laid eyes on this fashion plate I knew I wanted it
(and of course the costume ;-))

Jen at Festive Attyre made the most fabulous recreation of it a while back.And even though I knew I could never match her skill or perfect Edwardian look, I really wanted a similar look.

So when the HSM challenge 9 – “Brown” approached I scouted out my stash for the perfect brown and plaid wool fabric, and got to work.

I drafted the pattern using Nora Waughs “The cut of women’s clothes”

I cut the pieces on the bias, carefully matched the plaid to meet at an angel at the seams.
Matching the plaid

I used some white cotton for the foundation and stitched bias-tape to make boning channels to get that nice body-hugging look of the corseted skirt of this era.

The skirt closes at the front with hooks and eyes, over a placket and secured with another pair of bones.

I finished by hemming the skirt using a 10 cm wide strip of beige cotton for hem-facing.

And that’s it.The skirt from the inside

The finished Skirt:

Just the facts:

Challenge: HSM15 nr 9 – Brown

What: A 1900s brown/plaid walking skirt.

Pattern: I drafted my own using Nora Waugh’s “The cut of women’s clothes”

Fabric: 3 m of plaid wool an bits and scraps of cotton for interlining and hem-facing.

Notions: Thread, 2 m of bias-tape, 2m of boning, and hooks and eyes for clouser.

Time: About 10 hours – the fabric matching and hand stitched hem took more time then usual.

Cost: About 200 Sek (32Usd) – all material came from stash but I bought this fabric on sale about a year a ago with a similar project in mind.

How historical accurate: Pretty good. The fabric and pattern are all good. Even though most of the skirt is made by machine the finishing are hand-stitched, as it should be fr this period. I did use some modern techniques on the foundation piece. I’d give it a 7/10.

First worn: Will be worn for photos on October 4th.

Final thoughts: I like how it came out, both the sweep of the skirt and the pattern matching looks really nice, but I’m not completely happy with the raised waistline and I might go back to tweak it a bit later on. But a ll in all it’s a nice piece to have in the costume wardrobe.