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| Half a casaquin, the lovely and somewhat strange pleats in back. |
You may have noticed I've been talking a lot about 18th c. jackets, particularly the casaquin, lately. There's a good reason why! I've been looking into this style of jacket in order to create one for my very own.
Those of you on Facebook already know all about this, have seen the in-progress photos, but I'll do a proper blog post about it.
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The petticoat in progress, and the jacket fabric just draped on,
to see how it would all look together. |
You see, there is this fabric I've had since I started costuming back in 2003. I remember buying it, where I bought it, how much I paid for it, and that I intended to make it into a Robe a la Francaise. Back then, there was plenty of it for that purpose, but over the years this fabric has been made into The Worst Victorian Dress of All Time, then re-made into The Ill-fitting Robe a l'Anglaise, and now it's been cannibalized again in order to make this little jacket.
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The former Robe a l'Anglaise wasn't an ugly dress, but i was unwearable.
The bodice was made to go over a Victorian corset
(because I did not have stays at the time) and the neckline
was too wide and too low. |
Originally I intended a pet en l'air, with the watteau pleats at back, to be worn over the green petticoat, but a little mathy-math showed that I did not have enough fabric, so I changed the design to Janet Arnold's short jacket, from
Patterns of Fashion 1: 1660-1860
:
I drafted the pattern on 1" square grid paper, expanded the waist a bit, shrunk the bust a smidge, then cut the stuff out. The bodice pieces are interlined with canvas, the skirts are just lined with muslin. I've gone with 3/4 sleeves instead of the full length.
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The completed walking-length petticoat, in changeable taffeta,
dusky blue shot with pale gold. I love this length of skirt but
have never made one - and the shoes sticking out the
bottom, love that! |
The plan is for massive trimmings in the same fabric as the petticoat. I'm going to gather long strips of green, with pinked edges, and carry it around the edges of the jacket, and add it to the sleeve cuffs as well. There are also large ties across the front, for nice fatty bows down the stomacher, which will also feature bows in the yellow fabric. The cool thing about the ties across the front is that this jacket will be adjustable for several sizes larger, although not so good for sizes smaller, as the bottom front edges meet at the waist.
I'll update you all again as the casaquin ensemble completes. This will be worn to a Women In The Arts presentation and fundraiser, on November 6th, and will be part of a tableaux on drawing and painting in the past.
