worth it

As per my previous posts it’s been a real struggle to work on stays. But all the reading up on Worth and hunting around for information on the making of (I’m making boards left right and center and sub boards. Technically i really should put all the Worth boards together but I have about 100 followers on each and I may then break links for those people. And broken pins are horrible be they real or virtual.

Today I get ALL THE BOOKS!!! I think a a few from stack but mostly from all over the city. Have I said how much I love my library? I do. I really do.

Four pattern books, four baby. And some I had no idea we could possibly have- one of the Devonshire Ball!!!!!!!! I have the pdf of the book published the same year- it’s very grainy but a few hundred mb as it is.

I am also on the hunt for ball gown bodices. They require very different cutting. 

I want my Victorian wardrobe to be nice and full again. So I need a new day dress (black gabardine, it will be a glorious thing of pleated beauty. There is a Worth gown that would look amazing.) I want a dinner dress, and a summer dress, and of course the sunburst.

I’m still reading the Worth biographies. Mostly for info such as how many workers there were (1200 or so) and how the house was organised with room by fabric type, and how models were created and could be made a number of times but not if a royal chose it first. 

I really would like to find the patterns that were published with one of the women’s magazines. I think it was Demorest? 

Well I’m off to look in the digital books. And see if there are more patterns in Costume that I have missed. And get them via ILL.

Instruction book for the French and English systems of cutting, fitting and basting

Instruction book for the French and English systems of cutting, fitting and basting

by McCall, James. [from old catalog]
Publication date 1881
Topics Dressmaking. [from old catalog]
Publisher [New York
Collection library_of_congress; americana
Digitizing sponsor Sloan Foundation
Contributor The Library of Congress
Language English
Call number 7753846
Openlibrary_edition OL23634383M
Openlibrary_work OL13841925W
Page-progression lrPages 110
Possible copyright status The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright restrictions for this
Full catalog record MARCXML

Oh this is great! Note that the above image shows one way of reducing wrinkles at the waist. There are others also inside the book.

image showing seams taken in at the back and extra added at the side hip.

Image showing wrinkles at the waist of the left, on the right a solution by opening all seams from hem to waist and taking fabric away at the back and front and adding to the side.