Project Log: 18th Century Handsewn Shortgown Jacket

Intellectual Effort and Tedium

I hold great respect for the good people who made it through life in the tough centuries before my birth. I want to know them better and appreciate their ways of life, and I believe they were more like us than many will admit. As a twenty-first century woman who has always cultivated many hobbies, I am continually building upon transferable skills and pouring effort into creative endeavors which might most serve a particular moment in my life. At this point, I needed an activity which required a healthy balance of intellectual effort and tedium.

Exploring 18th Century American Clothing

In the past year, some of that exploration has come through replicating clothing worn by American women of modest means in the late 18th century. Having grown up near Virginia’s “Historic Triangle”: Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Jamestown, the foundational history of the United States has never been far from my mind. And, with the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution approaching in the next decade, it seemed the perfect time to outfit myself with a reasonably authentic 18th century ensemble.

Few paintings or drawings survive of those of middling and lower classes living in 18th century America. So, when reconstructing clothing, historians and hobbyists rely on European images for inspiration and verbal descriptions of attire given in newspaper ads seeking the return of runaway enslaved or indentured persons.

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Recreating an 18th Century Woman’s Shortgown

I started out by making a night-gown like undergarment, known as a “shift,” from spare cotton muslin I had in stock (blog post on that to follow), to test the waters of hand sewing. Though I only used materials I had around, I did invest in a printed pattern and used online resources to learn period-correct techniques such as sewing “felled seams.” Pleasantly, I found the project to be both enlightening and therapeutic.

Buoyed by my successfully completed shift, I researched and planned the pieces I would need to complete a working woman’s attire appropriate for roughly 1760 to 1780. That list included what was referred to as a “short gown,” a jacket-like bodice garment worn over boned stays with a peplum-like flounce resting on top of a separate petticoat (skirts).

This was actually the fourth item I sewed, preceded by the cotton shift, single tie-on pocket, and an underpetticoat.

My Shortgown Garment Construction & Alterations

Arm & Shoulder Fit

Based on my research, short gowns (as opposed to “bed gowns”) tried to achieve a close fit in this period, so I wanted mine to be snugly tailored as well. To that end, I made three separate mock-ups and modified the pattern according to the adjustments needed. The pattern I used was published by JP Ryan, but I altered the armscyes (raised underarm seam) and back seams significantly. My changes allowed for nearly full shoulder range-of-motion and improved fabric economy because I could lay out the back pieces closer together for cutting.

Torso Fit

I am not a tall person, but most of the height I do possess results from the length of my torso rather than my legs. To accommodate my proportions, additional alterations included lowering the waist, as well as shortening and reducing the volume of the peplum-like ruffle.

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The Final Product

I used a medium-weight 100% linen textile in umber brown and the same type of fabric in white for the lining, plus linen thread. A scrap of heavy cotton canvas was used to add stiffness to the front closure seam. I am satisfied with the final product. Though the fiddling with the mock-ups to achieve the right fit required some perseverance, the extra effort paid off. Oh, and I completed all seams with plain hand sewing. And with that, this project consumed a considerable number of hours to complete. Finally, I added a cross-stitched label with my initials and year to the inside back collar.

One Stitch at a Time

I’m glad to see that in the age of ubiquitous and instant photography, more people who create things seem to be sharing images of the process used to achieve a polished finished object. Most things worth doing require thought, experimentation, and often much tedium — this applies to cooking, sewing, sports, child rearing, white collar and blue collar jobs, and almost every other vocation life throws our way. We should remind ourselves of this fact when we view items created by human hands. When we watch a historical movie set prior to the mid-19th century, it’s humbling to think about the fact that every uniform, every gown, every overcoat, every shoe shown would have been shaped and assembled one stitch at a time by someone’s laborious effort.

Finding primary sources which describe the process of making specific material goods prior to the rise of industrialization has always posed a challenge for historians. Diderot’s encyclopedia is a rare gem in this category and more museum collections are available online for the perusal of the lay historian than ever before. I am grateful to have access to resources, much more than the American Bicentennial celebrants of 1976 had at their disposal. Though, many strive for accuracy now, it is not truly achievable. However, each stitch I place by hand (or mistake I rip out and repair) helps me to see my forebears as human beings who mostly strove to do their best with the circumstances they’ve been given.

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Looking for inspiration for your own Living History project?

Head over to Pinterest for more images of 18th century common folks from the around the web.