Back when I made my first regency gown, I meant to make detachable undersleeves for it. Alas, the fabric yardage was off and I did not have enough to do so. I went a little overboard buying extra of the fabric for my new regency gown, so I decided to finally make undersleeves.
I looked through all my pattern books, but many did not have patterns for just an undersleeve, or they were more of an 18th c. cut which would have eaten up more fabric. Fortunately, Patterns of Fashion I had the perfect undersleeve pattern. I decided to use this for the HSM challenge “Fitting” because the pattern came only in its original size as a gridded pattern and for its bias cut-this would require me re-fitting it to my own arms. I sized up the original, make pattern adjustments based on my measurements, made a mock-up and fitted it, and then made the final version.
Pattern: Patterns of Fashion I detachable undersleeve from #26, c. 1798-1805 morning gown, Salisbury Museum, SBYWM:1946.17
Size: Custom fitted
Fabric: Same cotton-linen from the dress it matches
Trims: None
Notions: “Universal” thread and linen thread
Cost: $0
Notes
- As you can see below, the sleeve is cut on the bias, which makes for a very nice, close fit with a woven fabric.
- I hand-sewed with linen thread where stitching was visible, but otherwise I used my machine with universal thread.
- I am not sure why mine is so much shorter, unless the original woman was extremely tall or the upper sleeve extremely short. From the notes it did not seem like the undersleeve went all the way up the arm, rather only up to the bottom of the upper sleeve, but maybe I misunderstood.
- I didn’t do anything particularly fancy for the sewing, in fact, I followed some of the “slapdash” aspects you see on some historical gowns. For example, my hem is just a running stitch with small bites on the outside.
- Overall, this was a really easy project and I am glad I made them. It makes this dress much more versatile. I also really like the shaping it includes to partially cover the hand, which you see a lot in this time period (and it kept my hands warm).
Alterations
- I cut off quite a lot from the top of the pattern, almost 9″, as you can see from the image above.
- I took it in at the sleeve seam quite a bit, just below the bicep, which you can see in the mock-up below.
- I added a 1/2 hem allowance to the bottom of the sleeve.
They do get a bit more creased looking when one’s arms are relaxed, but from what I can tell from fashion plates, this is pretty normal for regency wear. Plain regency sleeves, when you really start to look at them, often look a lot like bulky sweatshirt sleeves or like they are too long.
The Sartorial Sleuth 
I may try this. Thanks for the thoughtful post.
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