Completed: Folkwear 203 Edwardian Drawers/HSM September ’22

Photo by author.

The September Historical Sew Monthly Challenge was “Blue” so I decided to go out of my comfort zone and finally use some of the lace in my stash. By the end of the Victorian period and into the Edwardian period, European and Euro-American women began to incorporate a little color to their undergarments, which had previously been mostly white/off-white. This American combination at The Met circa 1890-1900 uses a similar shade of blue ribbon in the lace beading (the term for lace with holes for a ribbon to be drawn through). The colored lace I used, however, seems to be a bit of a stretch, historically speaking, but as it won’t be seen I am okay with it.

Pattern: Folkwear 203
Size: Large (12-14)
Time Frame: October 10-November 25
Fabric: JoAnn Fabric’s Premium Bleached Muslin 90″ wide, 3 yards (I also cut out the pattern’s camisole and petticoat with this yardage; $22.48)
Trim: Beaded lace, ribbon, and blue lace from stash
Notions: Thread ($4.19), skirt hooks from stash
Needle: Size 12 universal, stitch length 3
Total Cost: ~$9 in materials

Notes

• I got a lot of good pointers from this review on Pattern Review:
  • “Gusset” is not a gusset at all, it is that the leg is pieced.
  • The placket is terribly drafted, the review suggest two other easy options to swap out for it.
  • Women’s drawers of this period typically do not fasten at the sides.
  • Compared to others these seem to be on the short side (especially when you compare the final result to the illustration!)
• I am on the short side and these seem too short, so if you are average height or taller you will need to add length.
• The requirements for trims and laces was confusing for me, as there are several sets of requirements depending on the combination of trims/laces you want to do. Once I was actually putting these together it was a bit easier to follow.
• The waist was larger than for the measurements given for this size, so I just did a larger overlap with my closures.
• I don’t care for how full the drawers are drafted at the waistline, and the way it is distributed. My impression of extant ones is that they are more a-line/flared and smooth around the waist. These only got A-line looking after I added the trim and ruffles which helped weigh down the legs.

Alterations

• As per the pattern review mentioned above advised, I combined the gusset piece with the main piece and just cut them as one.
• I used skirt hooks and bars instead of doing buttons. I might switch them out someday, I just didn’t have buttons of the right size at the moment.
• I went my own way with trims rather than exactly following the pattern’s design.
• For the moment they are closed crotch, but I plan to convert them to split because trying to use a public toilet was too much trouble otherwise.

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