Good Chemise Pattern?

[Jademozingo]

I need a good pattern for a chemise.  Can anyone out there recomend one?

Jade

[Betty Munro]

Draft your own.

For a quick and easy peasant/wench basic chemise ...   
Measure from your throat to your knees, that is your height.  Measure around your body, that is your width.  Cut 2 rectangles from wrapping paper. (1 for front and 1 for back) 
For arms, measure from neck to fingers, that is your length.  Measure around the largest part of your arm and double.  That is your width.  Cut 2 rectangles from wrapping paper.  Fold all rectangles in half lengthwise and cut out triangles from the outside corners, 4 inches in, 8 inches down on the diagonal.
That's your pattern.  Mark arms and body.  After you make your first one, if you need to make it smaller or bigger / longer or shorter, you have the original to work from.  You can taper the arms to slim out towards your hands if you want, but I like the extra puff.

Sew body back to body front.  Sew up arm seams.  The arms attach to the body at the triangles making the top of the arm also part of the neckline.  Hem neckline, bottom and sleeves.  You can use hem tape (Non-iron on, the sew on tape - it comes in lots of colors to match your chemise) to make a casing for the drawstring around the neckline, or use your hemline.  Use hem tape at the wrists to make casing for drawstring.

An average size will need 2 1/2 to 3 yards of fabric.  You'll need 1 package of hem tape if you use it for for the casing.

Anyone want to offer modifications feel free.  I am not "proud" of my method, and any alterations to better the process is quite welcome!

Happy sewing!!!

[Jademozingo]

That sounds great!  Thank you! 

Jade

[operafantomet]

Jennifer Thompson's Italian chemise pattern is really easy to work with, and the result is lush:
http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/chemise.html

Here's a chemise I made based on the pattern, it took me just under two days to complete it:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/venetian/italiancamicia.jpg

I made the sleeves a tad shorter and narrower than what her pattern suggests, because I didn't have enough fabric, but the look it pretty much the same. I especially like how the chemise is lower in front than in the back, it stays in place even though the neck opening is wide. I added a Venetian lace to the neck opening, and a drawstring to the cuffs, and I like the result very much. And this comes from one who HATES to make underpinnings for her historical garbs....

[Butch]

WOW!  Operafan!  That looks fantastic on you!

When I do gussets under the arms, I do not split the squares into two triangles; instead, I leave them as whole squares and sew them into the the arms just like the triangles, but not across the hypotenuse.

[Betty Munro]

The Italian Chemise pattern is DIVINE!!!  Cut and pasted onto a word doc to save forever ... and also the link for FRENCH SEAMS!!! 
The pictures and explanation for how to make french seams is worth every minute I have sent playing on R/F. 
I can not wait to get my sewing machine unpacked and get back to garbing!!!
Wow - thanks ladies!

[operafantomet]

WOW!  Operafan!  That looks fantastic on you!

Thank you so much for those kind words! I was very happy with how it turned out. I made a chemise about 12 years ago, it was meant to be a temporary one and wasn't all that well made. But as I loathe to make underpinnings I continued to wear it year after year... When I put the new one on, I realized that although dull to make, it makes all the difference to have a decent chemise! It's a comfy and period looking cut.

I'm glad some of you found Jennifer Thompson's pattern helpful. I love the simple, yet well researched and useful instruction pages she's put together. The chemise is probably my favourite. I'm so sad she stopped making Renaissance garbs!

[operafantomet]

Haven't tried these out myself, but the following page has lots of patterns, as well as pictures of extant garbs:

http://www.kostym.cz/Anglicky/obsah.htm

[isabelladangelo]

Operfantomet already posted my favorite but another really good one is http://www.elizabethancostume.net/chemise.html

Great for Elizabethan costuming!

[Butch]

Alright, I'm making chemises (chemi?) for a friend and her dau.  Pretty straightforward pattern.  Before I gather and tape the neckline to the appropriate size, I should finish the edges.  Now, I was going to do a small roll hem (I don't have the presser foot, so this is time consuming).  I recently got a serger.  How do you all think a small serged edge would look for the neckline and the sleeves (they want SHORT SLEEVES!).

Opinions before I tackle this tomorrow (Sunday)?

[Hoowil]

When I do gussets under the arms, I do not split the squares into two triangles; instead, I leave them as whole squares and sew them into the the arms just like the triangles, but not across the hypotenuse.

I generally find the triangle split gussets easier to work with. Its a little extra to sew, but it keeps the side seam one long seam, without a hard turn in it. But thats really just personal prefference.

[gem]

Alright, I'm making chemises (chemi?) for a friend and her dau.  Pretty straightforward pattern.  Before I gather and tape the neckline to the appropriate size, I should finish the edges.  Now, I was going to do a small roll hem (I don't have the presser foot, so this is time consuming).  I recently got a serger.  How do you all think a small serged edge would look for the neckline and the sleeves (they want SHORT SLEEVES!).

Opinions before I tackle this tomorrow (Sunday)?

Butch, my favorite chemise has the neckline and wrists serged with black thread (you can kind of see in this picture, right above the corset, and [duh ] at the wrists). I absolutely love it and if I had a serger of my own, I'd make gads of em--I would definitely make one with gold thread, to look like the Italian camicia. I don't know about using contrasting thread on a short-sleeved chemise, but if you used white thread (or whatever matches the fabric), you wouldn't even notice the edge.

[Butch]

OK, thanks Gem!  I'll try it!  This will be the first time I'm using the serger, so we'll see how it turns out.

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

The drop neck Chemise patterns that I use are the ones from SIMPLICITY. I add more height to the center of the sleeve, taper down to the side seams to make the neck deeper overall.

[Cilean]

I need a good pattern for a chemise.  Can anyone out there recomend one?
Jade

If you do a search in the sewing forum you will find dozens of threads about Smocks.


www.reconstructinghistory has a smock pattern and other things

www.margospatterns  Elizabethan Underpinnings are an awesome pattern to obtain

Free Patterns on the Net:

Many people love and adore Drea's Smock Pattern:
http://www.elizabethancostume.net/smockpat/


Caitlyn has a good one:
http://www.caitlinsclothing.com/underwear.html

Here is a PDF to make a good smock
www.houseffg.org/resources/Elizabethan_Shirt.pdf


Red Dawn's Smock Pattern
http://www.reddawn.net/costume/shirt.htm


What I would recommend? Margo Anderson's Patterns, I have used Red Dawn's and Caitlyn's in the past and I have just Dame Drea's as well.

Cilean

[Lady Neysa]

I've made several chemises using Red Dawn's pattern.  Very easy, even if you're a beginner.

[Butch]

OK, used the serger for the first time.  Serged the neckline and (SHORT) sleeves on the chemises for both the girl and her dau.  I will gather and make the necklines later, probably Wed or Thurs.  I will use narrow elastic for the sleeves on both.

Serger work is a bit different.  I found it a bit challenging to navigate the 90 deg turns in the neckline.  All in all, I did alright.  Certainly better than I expected for never having sat down before a serger until now!

[Butch]

Wow, the neckline didn't turn out AT ALL!  I gathered it up evenly around, and sewed a piece of bobbin lace about 3/4 inch down from neck line.  It completely ate up the armhole tolerance.  I think it may be that the person I'm making it for is too conservative.  She wants it to have a neckline of 25 1/2 inches; I was thinking more along the lines of 36-40.

I think I'll rip the bobbin lace back off, and sew a casing inside the neckline, right at the edge of the serging.  I'll let her decide how much neckline to give herself, and adjust it as she feels appropriate.

Man, what an unwelcome setback!

[gem]

Well, does she understand that once you gather up that fullness, the neckline will get smaller?

[Butch]

I don't think so, and unfortunately, I'm in Lees Summit (MO), and she's in Maple Grove (MN).  I'll just do the drawstring and be done with it.  It is already a bit fantasy with short sleeves.  I've gotta move on.

Never thought I'd have such trouble with a SHIRT, for Heaven's sake!

[Butch]

Done with the chemises, gotta wash them now.  Ended up sewing a casing on the insides of the necklines, with the top of the casing along the serged edge.  Did two small buttonholes on the fronts, and threaded shoestrings through them.  They look pretty nice!

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

Athena sent me the pattern number for Simplicity 5582, which has a chemise, skirts, and a bodice.

Haven't done the skirts or bodice yet, but the chemise is easy enough for a non-sew-er like me.  And comes out really nice.  My friend Jeanne helped me make it to wear to Bristol this past weekend.  Photos are in the Bristol thread and the non-H/A fantasy thread, because I wore the chemise with my new Moresca frou frou garb.

[gem]

Done with the chemises, gotta wash them now.  Ended up sewing a casing on the insides of the necklines, with the top of the casing along the serged edge.  Did two small buttonholes on the fronts, and threaded shoestrings through them.  They look pretty nice!

I am fascinated by this description of the neckline. Do you have pictures? And remind me which pattern you ultimately went with?

[Butch]

I'll get some photos together.  Sorry, it's late and I'm tired.  I had no idea these things would be so challenging.  I've pretty much made the standard rectangle pattern shirts, some with banded cuffs and collars, and some with soft ruffs at either or both cuff and collar.

I used that pattern that was linked on the first page, but was unable to make the banded neckline work, so I ripped it out and put a casing on the inside.  Really nothing special, but the serged edge does give it a bit of a poor man's lace look.  Really didn't like making the short sleeves with elastic, but that's what she wanted.

Next I will be making pairs of bodies from the elizabethancostuming.net site, but will be converting the pattern to be a front break vice a rear break.

Gonna end the outfit with box pleated skirts, and possibly overskirts (depending on the time I have left).  These chemises took much longer than I expected!

OH!  Also gonna make a simple washer woman's cap out of some of that blackworked linen.  Already have a caul and forehead cloth for the little girl (IF she decides to keep it on!)

[Butch]

This pattern:
http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/chemise.html
But used 10" squares for the underarm gussets.

[Dinobabe]

I couldn't find a chemise I liked so I combined patterns.

This for the body, minus the gussets.


And this for the sleeves.


It came out very nice!  The sleeves fit the hole perfectly, no gathering, which I prefer.
I want to make that coat, it's sooooo cute!

[LadyShadow]

I agree that would make a cute coat.  Where did you find that pattern at?

[Dinobabe]

I've had it for a long while.  I bought the wrong size and didn't realize it until this week and of course Simplicity doesn't carry it any more.   You can still find it on other pattern selling websites, though.  Sometimes Hancocks will have out of print patterns because they are left over.

I love the shoulder epaulets!

[LadyShadow]

I hate when patterns go out of print