Outlander Era Women's Costume Patterns

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has fallen in love with the costuming on Starz' production of Outlander.  It's not that unusual to see 18th century costuming in movies, but it is a nice change of pace to see costumes from before the American Revolution or what common folk wore.  I've been struck by the graceful simplicity of the designs.

Which of course means that I want to make one.  I'm so backlogged on my projects that realistically I won't get to that for a long time, but a costumer can dream, can't she?  

I've done some preliminary research on patterns and thought I would share that.  I will start with some relatively easy patterns for less experienced seamstresses, them move on to historically correct patterns for the hard core historical costumers.  Also, except as noted, I have not personally tried these patterns nor found reviews on them.  

Starting off with a pattern marketed towards sewers with average skills and who just want a general Scottish look, several years ago Simplicity came out with their Celtic collection, including 3623 for women.  It's more Renaissance fair than 1700s, but it's still charming.  It's currently out of print.  It surprises me that Simplicity did not reissue it in anticipation of  Outlander coming out.  They have a limited number of copies available on their website and you can also find more on Ebay and Etsy.  The pattern was previously released under the number 0663, so check for that also.

Period Impressions 1735-1740
Open Front Jacket

For the look in the above photo from the show, the only jacket pattern I have found for the 1740s, when Outlander is set, is the Period Impressions 1735-1740 Open Front Jacket.  I have never used a Period Impressions pattern before, but the sense I get from the Great Pattern Review of the Greater Bay Area Costumer's Guild is that they are usually pretty good.

J. P. Ryan A Fine Collection of Ladies' Jackets

J. P. Ryan had another good contender with their A Fine Collection of Ladies' Jackets.  I have used patterns by that company years ago and remember them as being pretty straightforward.  The earliest jacket in this collection is dated to 1750, but it does have the advantage of offering variations that are appropriate up to the early 1780s for other projects you might have in mind.  View C-D actually looks the most like the jacket in the Outlander photo, but J. P. Ryan dates it to a couple of decades later.

J. P. Ryan Women's Basic Garments

For the various underpinnings and skirt that go along with the outfit, J. P. Ryan has a nice set of Women's Basic Garments.  That includes a shift, petticoat, pocket, handkerchief, short gown, and apron.  My understanding is that only the short gown and pocket are actual patterns.  The rest are diagrams and instructions.  You could probably draft your own using instructions easily found on the internet, such as these instructions for a shift from La Couturiere Parisienne.  Tidings from the 18th Century by Beth Gilgun has diagrams and instructions for basic women's clothing, plus a wealth of other information.

Of course, one will also need a set of stays ("corset" to most modern folks) to get the proper silhouette.  Advanced costumers can use Mara Riley's instructions on how to modify the patterns from the Elizabethan Corset Generator to work for the 18th century form.  I've had good luck with the corset generator.  If the boning placement is not clear to you, there is a good diagram for that in Tidings from the 18th Century.  

If that sounds like too much of a challenge for you, there are plenty of stays patterns available.  Since the characters in Outlander were pretty active, you can use more lightly boned jumps instead of the more constricting full stays.  Those also come in front opening versions - much easier for us who live alone or have husbands who are at a loss at helping their wives get laced up.  Mill Farm offers a Jumps or Leather Stays pattern. My one experience working with a Mill Farm pattern, their Women's Riding Habit Jacket and Waistcoat, went extremely well.  Tailor's Guide has an even more lightly boned set in their Ladies' Partially Boned Stays pattern.  If you do want to go for a fully boned set of stays, I have used J.P. Ryan's strapless stays without problem. 

Finally, the aforementioned Mara Riley has a well regarded book out, Whatever Shall I Wear? A Guide to Assembling a Woman's Basic 18th C. Wardrobe, that goes into the specifics of color and fabric choices, accessories, etc. for working class women throughout the 18th century.  If you are going to spend all that time and money making a costume, you might as well get it right.  The Dress of the People: Everyday Fashion in Eighteenth-Century England by John Styles also sounds like a good resource.  Obviously, it focuses on England, not Scotland, but chances are that there are a lot of commonalities.

So, there you have it.  If you do try these patterns or have already used them, please let me know what you thought of them.

Update: Simplicity has come out with 2 Outlander style patterns for women.  I've written another blog with the details. 

copyright Nellie Kampmann, 2014

Simplicity 2207 Steampunk Gown

I wanted to make something kind of theatrical to wear to my book signings to really put the audience in a spooky mood.  Ideally, I would like to have made a late Victorian mourning outfit for that.  Unfortunately, in order to do that up right, I would not only have to make the base gown, I would have to have all the proper underpinnings for it.  Realistically, I don't have enough free time to have all that finished by mid-August, so I went with Plan B - Simplicity's 2207, a lovely Steampunk outfit with a very late 1880s/early 1890s feel to it.

I am making it in black acetate taffeta and purple velvet ribbon for the trim.  I appreciated the fact that the skirt has an elasticized waistband in the back, as my waist size has been in a state of flux for the past year.  I didn't pay attention to the pattern instructions and ordered 3/8 inch ribbon for it.  In hindsight, that will not show up as much as it does in the illustration.  Since my color scheme is more muted, it may not make as much of a difference.  I also ordered vintage black glass buttons for it.  I was toying with the idea of using some clock faced buttons I have in my stash, but for my purposes, it's probably better to stick with a faux Victorian look than go full out Steampunk.

I have just started making it and already have an observation.  The flounces and ruffles are designed to be finished using a serger or zig zag stitch.  Since most of what I sew is historically correct reproduction clothing, I never bothered getting a serger.  It would have come in handy big time for this.  I zig zagged the edged once on the #6 width, which on the lightweight taffeta, ended up being more like a #2 width.  I had to go over it a second time to make the color noticeable and to make the finished edge more secure.  The single row of zig zagging felt like it could easily get pulled loose.  Fair warning, you will need a lot of the contrast thread for this.  I expect to go through 2 large spools, possibly more.  I'm going to have to hand trim all the fuzzy edges off of it, too.

Come to think of it, I am in the mood for this general style, having watched the full series of Lark Rise to Candleford recently.  The costuming in that was charming.  The photo below doesn't do the costuming in general justice.

IF I have time, I will be making a late 1880s/early 1990s bonnet to go with it.  I found the perfect pattern offered by Lynn McMasters.  She has some very cool bonnet and hat patterns in general.  If I enjoyed making hats (which I don't), I could have a field day with these.



And if I get really energetic, I would like to make the late 1880s coat from Truly Victorian.  One of the characters in Lark Rise wore something similar to this made out of cotton velvet.  It was worn over a bustle-less skirt, and the extra length included to cover a bustle draped quite prettily in the back.