American Duchess and the Great Lappet Adventure

By Elizabeth M.

Dear Venturers,

I have started my third ever 100% hand-sewn project and it is… drumroll please… a cap! The 1745 “Lappet Lite” cap from the American Duchess 18th Century Dressmaking book to be exact. 

Now following instructions is not something I’m used to with sewing. Generally I’m the trial and error type, so naturally I had intended to use the pattern shapes from the graph in the book and just ignore the rest, but I’ve actually found the instructions to be quite useful. They even specify which stitches to use and where! It almost feels like cheating! 


Part I: Drafting 

I started out by transferring the little picture on the page to a big picture on my white cotton (argue all you want about what the material should be, but this cotton just so happened to be free and available) with an authentic 1700’s ballpoint pen. I then discovered that the dimensions the book gives do not fit my head and so I had to add about 1.5 inches all around to make it the desired size and allow for some poufy hair. Because I’m a nice person, here’s the pattern…




Part II: Sewing

This is the part that takes *forever,* as it should. I also happen to still be sewing and so I’ll update this post when I finish it. 




Part III: Research

Since this is coming from American Duchess, I didn’t do much research, but if you’re looking for some 18th century examples, here ya go…










https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/98211 

if you have better research, then good luck! 


That is all.I will hopefully update this soon! 



https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/98211
https://www.metmuseum.org/


“I am no bird, and no net ensnares me.”

Comments

Post a Comment

How does this relate to you? What did you think?

Popular Post

My First Post and Portfolio

By Elizabeth M.
Image
  Dear Venturers, Greetings! My name is Elizabeth. I love historical sewing, reading, chickens, and pretty much anything obscure and interesting.  I have named this blog, Venturing in the Prior because I like to think of my sewing endeavors (that's mainly what I intend to write about) as grand adventures, whisking oneself away into another world full of fun mysteries waiting to be discovered. Since, of course, I'll be writing about most of these adventures, I thought it would be amusing to take all you (those who might happen to read this blog) on my adventure with me, making us all venturers into the unknown and intriguing world that is the past so that we all might learn something.  Since you've bravely agreed to accompany me this far at least, I wish you the best of journeys as you set forth reading the reports of my findings. They may not be entirely accurate, nor the quality of work as nice as one might desire (one being me), but, as previously stated, I am still lea...
Read more

My 1860’s Corset (With Measurements)

By Elizabeth M.
Image
  Dear Venturers, I have one literal day to complete a corset. Sounds crazy, right?? I was looking for how to make one. There’s lots of videos and stuff, but no patterns! Unless, of course, you buy one.  So here is how to make one yourself!  (for free! ;)) NOTE: this is for one half of a corset! Not for both sides!  1. Choose your fabric. I would recommend a twin sheet for this one. Maybe 2-4 king-sized pillowcases. I used a white cotton sateen which I will also double-layer. 2. Cut out the main piece. These are the measurements: 3. Next you’ll need a triangular piece to fit in the V-shaped hole for the bust. The larger the V and triangle, the more bust you have. Here’s mine: 4. Add in the hip piece. These are the measurements. This part was very tricky for me!  5. Cut a few slits in the sides. Do this by cutting a straight line wherever you have extra fabric hanging, and then curve in each side of the slit by just a little bit. Then sew the slit together again....
Read more