WWI Centenniel--Hello Girl uniform upgrade

I made my Hello Girl uniform this past spring, however it was lacking a proper shirtwaist and the patches/medals.   I started with the shirtwaist.  In looking a numerous photos, it appears that there were several styles of shirtwaists worn which leads me to believe that it was not a standard part of the uniform issued to the women.  I noted different collar and cuff styles so I decided to make the Wearing History Elsie blouse pattern which is a fairly basic shirtwaist with a shaped cuff.  I made the blouse as the pattern indicated using a cotton sateen and turn of the (20th) century mother of pearl buttons from my stash.  It went together quite quickly.  One small change I made after watching the Wearing History video about this pattern was to use a casing rather than a waist stay.  I simply sewed single fold bias tape to the stay line and used 1/4 inch cotton tape in the casing.  I was pleased with the way this turned out and I feel I can use it with other skirts from this era.

I also decided not to line the jacket as my research shows them to be unlined.  I just added seam binding to all raw edges and called it a day.

Next--I needed to add the various patches and pins to the uniform.  I was copying the uniform of Grace Banker below.  

I searched Ebay and found a number of chevrons for the lower sleeve but wasn't sure which style.  I did some research and found that gold chevrons indicated service overseas.  I also noted that there were different styles of the chevrons--the were constructed different ways.  This link explained that how the chevrons were made simply depended on the tailor shop that was making them.  Each base had it's own and the stripes were issued to the commanding officer in rolls.  Individual stripes were cuff off and given to those who earned them.  I was able to find old new WWI stock with bullion embroidery so I bought those.

Next was the various patches.  It's s hard to know the colors with black and white photography.  The patch at the top of the shoulder is a WWI 3rd Army Patch which I found out by looking at collector sites.  It seemed easy enough to reproduce that one.  The second patch is a Signal Corps rank patch.  That one wasn't so easy because I could not find one for a Hello Girl uniform anywhere.  I only found them for men's uniforms which had a khaki ground.  They had the same design so I figured I'd have to make one.  Not knowing what color to use for the embroidery, I went with khaki.  I found a lot of info at this link which also includes info on the arm brassards that are seen in some pics.  My goal is to eventually make one of those as well.

I bought some printable dissolving paper and printed out pics of the patches I wanted to reproduce.  I found the dimensions of the 3rd Army patch on a sale listing so that one was easy.  I had to create the other one based on the size it looks in the pic.  Here's what I had to work with:  photos, tracing paper, dissolving paper.

I used some of my worsted and backed it with fusible hair canvas then I pinned the dissolving paper to the front.

I used zig zag embroidery to create the design.

I pulled away the excess paper and there was a lot of paper left under the embroidery which caused it to have "fuzzies."  I ended up soaking it in the sink to dissolve the paper.

The rank patch was actually easier as far as getting rid of the fuzzies was concerned as the embroidery wasn't as dense.  I hemmed the edges of that patch

Here they are on the sleeve.

I also was able to find an Army Distinguished Service Medal.  They've looked the same since 1918.  The difference between the more modern ones and the WWI medals is the pen mechanism so I decided not to worry about that. 

I also found 2 original collar tacks on Ebay.  They were missing the back piece but modern ones from the craft store fit them perfectly.

Here is part of my Hello Girl Display with the switchboard which was one of the props used in the Hello Girl documentary film.  This was at our Maryland State DAR WWI Centenniel for Founders Day.

The switchboard itself was new--made from photos--but the earpiece and microphone were originals.

Here is my display which has photos and copies of original documents as well as part of the history.

Our wonderful Maryland State Historian had buttons made for each of the stations and she had brochures that we designed printed as well.  Attendees were given bags to put their goodies in.

Our historian also wrote a skit in which each of us gave a presentation.  Here we are at the end after taking our bows.

And--we had a photo area with a WWI reenactor.

I'm really pleased with the way this uniform turned out.  It was completed with the gas mask bag (I still need a gas mask) and the helmet which each Hello Girl was issued. 

Here are some pics from the WWI Centennial on Veterans Day at the Smithsonian Museum of American History:

Side by side with the original!

Fast forward 100 years . . .

Last you left me, I had written about my 1783 Chemise a la Reine.  My new project skips forward about 100 years.  I was asked to portray Ellen Hardin Walworth at our Maryland State DAR Founders Day Tea.  October 11 marked the 125th anniversary of the founding of the DAR and I was proud to be asked to play Mrs. Walworth who was a fascinating woman.  She lived from 1832 to 1915.  The DAR was founded in 1890.  I had these portraits to get an idea of how Mrs. Walworth might have dressed:

 The top portrait looks to be a natural form gown from about 1878 - 1882.  These gowns were called natural form gowns because they were not worn with bustles.  That period was followed by the bustle period.  The sleeves look to be of that period.  The second portrait looks to be possibly in the 1890's due to the big sleeves.  Really large sleeves were popular during that period.  The big leg of mutton sleeves were typical of that era.  Bustles were not worn during that period either.  I bought patterns from both of these eras and decided ultimately to go with the natural form one.  I greatly dislike those huge sleeves of the 1890s.  I like the shape of the natural form skirts better as well.  They are flat in the front and don't flare much.  There is a lot of fullness in the back.    I settled on Truly Victorian Patterns:  TV125 for the 1879 Petticoat, TV221 for the  1878Tie Back Underskirt, and TV420 for the 1878 Cuirass Bodice with evening options.  Research revealed that older women typically wore darker colors so I found a glorious Sienna silk taffeta at Renaissance fabrics.  It's one of those silks that changes colors in the light as the warp and weft are different colors.

 I made the petticoat first.  It was the most labor intensive of the three pieces.  I did not make the train.  This era is quite a departure from the 18th century and Regency garments I'm used to making.  The skirts of this era have all of their fullness in the back.  The back of the petticoat has an inner and outer back with tiered net ruffles between them--yards and yards and yards of net!  Fortunately I was able to get 10 yards of cotton netting on Ebay for a reasonable price.  The back of the outer back piece has a piece of cotton twill tape sewn on the inside about 8 inches above the ruffles with buttons sewn across.  This is where you would attach the train.  I added an extra ruffle figuring I can put the buttons on the lace trim if I ever want to make a train.

The petticoat closes in the center front with a hook and eye on the waistband.  It is made out of bleached muslin.  I used my ruffler attachment set to a 2:1 ratio to do the tiny pleats on the ruffles. There was just no way I was going to gather that much fabric. I concealed the raw edges of the top of the ruffles with cotton beading lace and blue ribbon.  Once that was completed I could work on fitting the other garments.

The skirt was very straight forward.  Just sew the front to the side fronts then the side backs and a large back piece.  There is an opening left between one side back and the back.  I chose to actually made a placket so my petticoat wouldn't show.  I pleated the back piece to fit the waistband then attached hooks and eyes.  There are ties attached to the inside seams where the side backs join the back.  These are tied pulling the front tighter and making the back fullness protrude more in the back, not allowing it to move around to the sides.

 The instructions for fitting the bodice were quite interesting.  You had to do several different calculations that you don't do with modern patterns.  However, upon making the muslin, it fit perfectly with a few alterations.  I refashioned the neckline so that it was a square in the front but with a high back--unlike the version on the pattern.  I also raised the neckline about 3/4 of an inch and it was still quite low.  I don't have proper Victorian underpinnings and a corset really is necessary to achieve the correct silhouette so I fitted the bodice using my modern waspie corset then I ordered one with a little more coverage and a larger hip spring.  Corsets of that time actually went halfway up the bust but I was able to achieve the right look using the modern corset.  I wore the outfit with American Duchess Tavistock button boots.  They really button with a button hook!

 I remembered that I had that little antique Victorian or Edwardian camisole.  It's a lovely little thing--completely hand made with the tiniest pintucks and feather stitching.  There are patches sewn on where the cami had worn.

The bodice went together without issue.  I did have to use plastic boning which I dislike as I didn't have any sprung steel bones in the correct lengths and time was of the essence.  Typically bodices were underlined (called flatlining) to give them more structure so I did this using unbleached muslin which allowed me to make my dart markings easily. Bodices were typically not lined.  Seams were just finished and typically a waist stay was stitched in.  Edges were faced with self fabric bias strips. Truly Victorian patterns have you make a bagged lining.  Given the ravely nature of the silk taffeta, I decided that I would go ahead and do a bagged lining using lightweight black silk.

I was able to find some nice wide vintage lace on Etsy in a sufficient quantity for this.  I have a huge lace stash but most of it is either narrow or Swiss embroidery, neither of which was the look I wanted.  I just hand whipped the lace in place making little pleats as I went along.

I went ahead and made machine buttonholes but at a later time, I'll go over them by hand.  I had gotten some 1890ish vegetable ivory buttons from someone in the Vintage Fabric Buy and Sell Facebook group which were the perfect shade.

I ended up with almost 4 yards of extra silk taffeta!  The yardage chart didn't list anything wider than 45 inches and my silk was 56 inches wide.  So I purchased an overskirt pattern to make up at a later date.  Ladies could change the look of their outfits by putting different overskirts on!

Our beautiful Maryland State Society DAR Chapter House where our Founders Day Tea was held was the perfect setting for a photo shoot.

Size matters!

Yes it does! The last week and a half I've been working on my red gown. It is fitted with a boned corset type foundation so I needed to make sure that it would fit perfectly before cutting into the silk crepe. One thing I've learned is that the body measurements listed on the commercial patterns (with the exception of Burda) are completely off. They leave entirely too much ease for the measurements listed. I've learned that it is best to take your measurements then look at the finished measurements for the pattern and choose the size that has the correct amount of ease. It is helpful to refer to an ease chart like this one. The gown I've been working on is a perfect example. My bust measures 35 inches. According to Vogue's size chart, this would be between a size 12 and 14. I made a size 10 and sized it 1/2 inch smaller than the pattern. The finished bust measurement for the 10 was 36 inches. The foundation of this dress has 10 strips of boning to hold it up since it is an off the shoulder style. If I made the size that corresponded to my measurement, it would have been huge. As it were, I made the muslin using the 10 minus 1/2 inch at the bust, plus 1/2 inch at the waist and plus 4 inches at the hips. The muslin fit perfectly. I was afraid that the added bulk of the foundation might make it tighter than the muslin so I cut the garment with 1 inch seam allowances at the side seams so that I could fine tune the fit.

I tried something new. I bought stainless steel flat chain boning. Typically this comes in precut lengths with little tips on both ends of the boning strips. I purchased a 12 foot roll, cut it with bolt cutters and applied the ends myself using two pairs of needle nose pliers. I needed all different lengths for this and I have several more projects that need boning. I have to say that I love this stuff! The plastic stuff curls and it is uncomfortable. This stuff curves in all directions so it moves with your body. It is typically used in dance and theatre wear. Here is a peek at what the inside of the foundation looked like:


The foundation is covered with drapes that twist together at the left front and get stitched down to the top edge of the foundation layer. I was really pleased with this dress and I think it may be my favorite gown so far. I love the Belville Sassoon styles and I have several of their gown patterns in my queue. Here are the finished photos:




Here is me in the gown!


There was a photographer at the banquet who took some lovely photos of our group of six and I will post them when I get those copies. Of course we DAR-lings all had our proper white gloves on in the photos taken there! We must always be prim and proper at our DAR functions!

Kitty Cam: This one is from Ems--Chelsea takes a snooze on the window sill.