The Great Pattern Review
Wingeo
#101 - 10th-15th C. Chemise & Outer Stays
Frannie Germeshausen - Recommended
I made the Chemise with Narrow Sleeves to wear under the Bliaut. This was very, very easy. She has you use the fabric all the way out to the selvage for the body, so be sure to wash and dry your fabric first in case there are shrinkage problems. The only odd things were: first, when I pinned the sleeves to the body, there were little extra "ears" sticking up from the body. My only suspicion is that this excess is there for the full-sleeved version. I just trimmed them off, to no ill effect. Second, the other thing that puzzled me at first was the casing for the drawstring. Once I understood that the casing was also the facing, it all became clear. Also, I knew I was making a full-length version, so I bought the full 6-1/3 yards of fabric recommended. I'm 5'6". I have at least a yard left over. I made up another chemise using the Full Sleeve Option, and, indeed, the oddness at the neckline was not there. Also, all the extra fabric left over from making the narrow sleeve option was needed for the full sleeve option. The chemise went together quickly and looks great. Another very useful garment to have in stock. I made it the Full Sleeve Option again (in red) to wear with a black corset and skirt (the perfect ensemble for a Vampire Ball).
I've made both styles of the chemise, and I finally made the Outer Stays, which I thought could work as a Victorian outer-wear waist cincher. I made it on a couple of hours. It's one pattern piece (two pieces of fabric) and there's nothing very tricky about it. It's not a tight cincher on me, but rather decorative (I used a remnant of some lovely green/black two-way taffeta I'd been given). Once again, the yardage requirements are off. It specifies a yard each for the fabric, lining and interface. For the stays without the shoulder straps, it took less than a 1/2 yard each.
#103 - 10th-14th C. Bliaut (Style A)
Frannie Germeshausen - Recommended
There were a lot of things about this pattern that were challenges to me: the first time I'd lined something, the first time I'd worked with curved seams, the first time I'd had to deal with the fact that there was not quite enough of the fabric on the bolt and had to do some quick thinking, and the first time I'd used velvet (as the trim). So, some of the angst I had with this pattern were my own darn problem. As it turned out, lining the bodice was quite easy to do (except for the slight disorientation I experienced attaching the sleeve lining). The curved seams took a few runs at it on the muslin/lining, but ended up fine. Being somewhat shy of fabric was a bigger challenge, as this pattern has very voluminous sleeves and a very full skirt. I could have used a cutting layout to determine the most efficient use of fabric, but there is none. The recommendation is 45" fabric. The green jacquard I'd fallen in love with was 56" wide, and was puzzled when the skirt sides seemed to be taking every inch of the folded fabric. I just measured the pattern piece, and found it's 26" wide at it's widest point. The absence of a cutting layout was really felt here. Also, there was no pattern piece for trimming around the neckline, so I ended up not doing it, even though it's shown in the picture. There's also no yardage given for the sleeve lining, so I'll tell you: the better part of 2-1/2 yards. Another odd thing are the side ties. The picture shows something that looks laced up, but what you get is a pattern piece ("cut 4") for ties, and 8 places to attach them. So, I have two bows on each side. I still don't know what she really intended. The side opening is very wide -- if I use this pattern again, I might close it up somewhat and add laces. Also, when fitting, be sure the bottom of the opening (the very bottom of the bodice) is resting on your hips, or you'll end up with an odd cross between a bliaut and a sideless dress. Which is what I have. No one else seemed to notice, but it's one of those things . . . I have deeper sleeve trim because I was using my trim fabric to make up my shortage, and it's quite pretty that way. It's also lined in a particularly yummy ivory moire. She makes a suggestion of omitting a trim and folding the sleeve up if you have a pretty lining, and I think that could look very nice. Some of my problems wouldn't have bothered a more experienced sewer, but once I got going, it was OK. I might use this pattern again.
Annette Stubbs - Recommended for Intermediate level sewers.
I made View A. I didn't have many difficulties following the directions, but I made a mistake using a knit crushed velvet without lining the bodice, so the neckline turned into an oval, instead of a v-neck. I also don't recommend gluing the trim. The sizing is generous and I had no trouble with the lacing, but I needed long ties to close the side grommets.
#207 - Late 18th C. Robe A L'Anglaise
Gladys Campbell - Recommended for Intermediate level sewers.
Read all the instructions and the markings on the pattern pieces before you begin. There are a lot of pieces and the markings are different from the big commercial pattern companies (Simplicity, McCalls, etc.). You must make a muslin first to adjust the fit. I found the bodice length was too long. All the pieces fit correctly and go together well. The bodice must be snug; you will probably have to make some adjustment. The stomacher can be lightly or heavily boned but, it cannot substitute for an 18th c. corset. You must have the corset. The pattern instructions explain how to add more fabric to the skirt if you want more fullness.
#211 - 1790-1820 Double Breasted Waistcoat
David Salvin
There are errors in the pattern in terms of the sizing. The lines on the edge of the front facing don't line up (they cross over sizes) and secondly the lines for the 36-38 cross over into the 38-40. I've already called the pattern maker and she admitted the problems (claiming I was the first to find them). She says she will fix them. On the waistcoat the instructions (while they may have been period accurate) are a pain in terms of modern sewing and can easily be altered to make it much easier to complete the pattern (without any machine sewing showing).
#212 - 1790-1820 Frockcoat
Kevin Roche - Recommended
The pattern goes together well but runs very small. There are two drawing errors in the cutting lines which are easy to correct. Plan on making multiple muslins for the best fit. Kevin is pictured at the right.
David Salvin
There are errors on the pattern markings. The lines for the sleeve top are again mixed up between sizes. Size 36-38 is transposed with the 38-40 lines.
#213 - Sack Back Gown (Robe A'La Francaise)
Lauren Henline - Highly Recommended
While looking at the directions for this pattern I was extremely overwhelmed, but as I went along I found it much easier than expected. It takes a lot of patience and handwork, but it certainly gave the look I wanted. I made the whole dress in about a week worth of evenings and a weekend worth of days, so if you're determined and have sewing experience it works up rather fast. I did interline the entire dress is a muslin because my fabric was too light otherwise. The most difficult part was making the pleating in the back, and because of my double layers the pleats did not press in as nicely as I would have liked. This dress, I found, took more yardage than what was noted on the pattern. Instead of attaching the front to one side I opted to put hook and eye tape down both sides of the front opening so I can change out the stomachers if I want to change the underskirt and stomacher for different events. Overall, I highly recommend this pattern!
#302 - Victorian/Edwardian 9 Gore Skirt
Sally Norton - Highly Recommended
I like this skirt. The pattern is well-marked and the instructions are clear. It went together easily. I chose to pleat the back. I made it in a lightweight fabric for a Spring event; I'll probably use the pattern again and make it up in wool for winter.
#303 - Victorian/Edwardian Waist w/Tucks
Sally Norton - Recommended
I've made both versions of this blouse: the Victorian version in a thin cotton dotted swiss with unlined sleeves to get that late Victorian collapsed leg o'mutton sleeve look (shown in the next photo) and the Edwardian in black silk. This is a very simple blouse to cut and assemble; however, the instructions for the sleeve binding, the collar, and the binding for the back opening are so terse as to be useless. If you have some sewing experience (intermediate or advanced beginner) you can either figure it out or determine a work-around. I could not get the pattern piece cut for the back opening binding to do what I think it was intended it to do. I created a placket instead. I used the Victorian sleeves again but paired them with a bolero jacket to create an 1896 walking suit. The sleeves of the jacket are interlined with tulle so they hold their shape.
#305 - Victorian/Edwardian Molly's Short Cape
Frannie Germeshausen - Recommended
It was very easy - an excellent beginner's project. If your fabric is wide, the cape itself is one piece of fabric, with a lining and collar. The instructions say to use hooks and eyes on the collar as closures. I hate tight things at the throat, so I made a loop from my fashion fabric which I sewed into the seam between the fabric and lining, and used a fabulous vintage button, and put the closure more on the shoulder. She gives a pattern for a period decoration using soutache trim; she describes the quantity needed as "lots and lots." If I were going that direction, I'd want more guidance than that!
#407 - Victorian/Edwardian Yoked Waist
Frannie Germeshausen
I chose this pattern because my grandmother was wearing a yoked blouse in a photo taken of her the summer of 1906. The pattern includes a ruffle below the yoke. While I've seen photos of this exact design worn by women of the time, I left it off, as my grandmother's blouse didn't have a ruffle. I did cover the yoke with lace, in addition to the collar and cuffs, again to resemble her garment.
First, the yardage requirements were way off. Omitting the ruffle would save fabric, but there's no way I needed 4-1/2 yards for the blouse and another 4-1/2 for the lining. 2-1/2 yards for each without ruffle would have been sufficient - good thing I got my fabric on sale. Also, there's little guidance on resizing up or down - fortunately, I seem to be the size of her fit model, so it worked as is.
The yoke part of the blouse was easy - the instructions were clear and thorough, and everything went together perfectly.
After that, things were less smooth. The instructions became very terse, and even inaccurate. Discussion of how to handle lining the sleeves and body of the blouse were nonexistent.
The instruction on the sleeves was to sew the seam closed. Then, attach the cuffs by sewing the top layer to the sleeve, turning it, folding the lining layer and hand stitching on the inside. However, with the sleeve seam sewn all the way closed, this was impossible. I had to open the seam about 1/2" to be able to turn the cuff.
Attaching the rest of the garment to the yoke could have been made easier. Because of the issue with the cuff, I made a small slit at the center back of the fabric to be gathered into the yoke so I would be able to turn the yoke. Gathering the fabric into the yoke would have benefited from notches to match, especially where it came to aligning the sleeves on either side of the yoke shoulder seams.
It ended up slightly uneven, so I plan to take it apart, calculate some markings of my own to make sure things end up on center, and re-gather and re-attach the blouse to the yoke, and re-hand sew the lining. (And, yes, I hate to gather and I'm not to thrilled with hand sewing.)
In a nutshell, this could have been easier and turned out better with more complete directions and pattern markings. If those had been there, this would have been a great beginner project. As it is, it's fine for those with some experience of how things should be done, because you're on your own.
#701 - 12th-16th C. Wimple
Frannie Germeshausen - Recommended
I made just the hood to go with one of the turbans I made to achieve a medieval look. It was very simple to make. She allows extra room at the crown of the head to accommodate long hair being wrapped up in a braid. As I have short hair, I took this section in accordingly. As with the turban pattern, the fabric requirement was a problem. Looking at the package, I couldn't figure out the requirement for just the hood. It's not much, and I had some remnant fabric that was enough.
#714 - 1795-1825 Turban
Frannie Germeshausen - Recommended
The owner of Wingeo really likes hats, and so do I. This pattern has extremely odd pattern pieces, but if you think it through and follow the instructions, the hats work. The big problem was the fabric requirement. She doesn't tell you how much you need for the turban wrappings until you're into the instructions. This meant another trip to the store, hoping they still had the fabric in stock. I used very sheer fabric for the green/blue hat, and made the wrappings into tubes. I then put a seashell into each loop of the wrapping. The photo shows Frannie wearing the Turban with a Hood.