Robe à la Française: Shift Remake

 If you've been keeping up with this project so far, I'm sure you've seen the shift that I originally going to use. It was the first garment I ever made and it showed. I go more into the issues with it in my 2020 sewing year review if you're interested. But for the sake of this project, it just wasn't going to work. The neckline was too high and the sleeves were too long, so it was time to make a new shift.

They don't have any instructions on making shifts in the book so I instead used the Simplicity X American Duchess 8579 pattern. I probably could have drafted it myself as it is made of pretty basic shapes, but why try to reinvent the wheel, ya know. I did size down to a pattern size 12 as I have pretty narrow shoulders and I thought because the garment isn't exactly figure-hugging, it was more important that the shoulder area was the right size.

The pattern has a note that for an authentic seam finish, to do French seams. I assume that this is to give the appearance of a mantua makers seam. I'd never done french seams before but thought I might as well give it a go on such a simple garment. I'm not sure that I did them all perfectly, but I'm quite happy with how they turned out.

I sewed this completely on my sewing machine. Having hand-sewed most of this project, I was really missing my machine so decided to use it for this remake.

The shift has gores in it which I've found are a very common way of adding volume for movement to garments in this period. The shift has the two gores that join at the bottom of the side seams. Using french seams to attach these felt a bit awkward, but all the seams are enclosed so I think I did an okay job. 

I feel a bit like I can easily tackle any gusset now that I've made this. Putting in a gusset with french seams is a challenge and it didn't feel very correct when I was doing it, but it looks alright at the end.

I did hand sew the neckline with a rolled hem. I just felt it would be easier to do it by hand than by machine as it is quite thin. I'm glad that I feel more comfortable and confident that I can sew by hand.

The sleeve hem and shift hem I did on the machine. I sewed a basting stitch 6mm in from the edges. I then folded along that stitch line and ironed it down. I folded and ironed it down again. I then topstitched the hems.

Now we have a finished shift! 

It was a pretty easy make once I got the hang of doing the french seams (I did have to unpick a couple that I put on the wrong way). I really enjoyed using a mix of machine and hand sewing skills. While it isn't the most enthralling to make, it comes together quickly and is a necessary part of the costume. If I were to make it again, I might go down to a size 10. The shoulders still feel a bit big and sit right on the edge of my shoulders. I'm not sure if this is how shifts just were during this time, but it feels a bit off to me.

The ribbon for the Robe a la Francaise has arrived so hopefully there shouldn't be too much of a longer wait for that post. I have also completed two more garments for my next project so you might see something about those coming soon!

I'll talk to you soon. Have a swell day!

-Maysie