Strippers, Turning 40, and Test Driving Underwear

I am not one to have issues with my age. In fact, I have always embraced aging. And now my peers are all finally, technically adults. I was the weirdo little kid who preferred hanging out with the grown-ups throughout my childhood. So I was shocked to have an incredibly vivid, angst filled dream about my upcoming 40th birthday... and I blame it all on the underwear. And the glitter tutu. Glitter causes brain damage, I am quite certain.

Before I can get in to all the crazy nonsense about strippers and my underwear, however, I will have to show you what I made and how I made it.

I am continuing to work through Ms. Conover’s fabulous dressmaking book; “A Complete Course in Dressmaking”, and this time I am tackling not one, but two, projects. Since we determined how to make a dress “block” in my last article (Envelope Chemise) this eliminates half of the work involved in creating the Step-In Chemise. We will be taking that same block pattern and altering a few things to make the new piece. I am also going to work up a quick Ribbon Camisole.

Supplies you will need:
• Tissue paper or tag board, your preference,
• 1½ - 2 yards of fabric,
• Ribbon or elastic for top edge casing,
• Trim, anything your heart desires,
• Fabric or ribbon for shoulder straps.

Now, the Envelope Chemise and the Step-In Chemise are very similar. The main differences are in the style of the shoulder straps and the leg openings. (I will say 'crotch' with trepidation for I had the unfortunate experience of being part of a Yahoo sewing group - made up of women mostly over 60 years of age - that got temporarily shut down and reclassified as an “X rated, adults only” discussion group because we had a hot and heavy thread going on pants fitting. Apparently the word crotch was mentioned one too many times for Yahoo to be comfortable with. Good grief. I think our editors here are much more sensible. The little old ladies in our Yahoo group got quite a kick out of being classed as X-rated, though! So prepare your eyes. You are going to see the word 'crotch' a fair amount in this article.)

Rather than having tank-style shoulders and a button flap crotch like the Envelope Chemise, the Step-In Chemise is cut straight above the bust and gathered with ribbon or elastic with shoulder straps and, in Ms. Conover’s version, a closed crotch.

A Step-In Chemise is designed just like the name implies. It is designed to be put on simply by stepping into it. The pattern is very simple and straight forward, and working from your block, you could easily whip one up a simple one in an hour or two. Like anything else you can spend half an eternity decking one out with all kinds of fancy lace and frills too, it’s up to you.

Ms. Conover has us start by tracing our foundation pattern from the last lesson onto drafting/tissue paper. Then she has us proceed with drawing in the new lines on the paper pattern first. I drew mine out on a heavier tag board paper so I can keep the pattern for repeated future use.

Just like in previous lessons you can follow along word for word from Ms. Conover’s instructions here (starting on page 46).

As I was thinking about how this chemise was designed to fit versus the Envelope Chemise, I decided to make one alteration to my foundation pattern. The Envelope Chemise is pulled on over your head. The Step-In Chemise is pulled up over the hips. Now my hips are my largest measurement by quite a bit. I was afraid that if I didn’t make the top edge of the chemise a little bigger than my hip measurement I was going to have trouble getting it on - so I added a total of 8” to the side seams all the way down. My Envelope Chemise fit well but it was a little more restricting through my hips/thighs than I would have liked so I figured the extra wouldn’t hurt there, and the extra at the bust would just create fuller gathering.

I followed Ms. Conover’s instructions for adding shaping to the center back, thus adding a center back seam. I don’t really think that small amount of shaping changed the overall drape of the chemise. If you opt to leave out the shaping the center back seam can be cut on the fold.

The other “alteration” I made to the pattern, if you can call it that, is that I cut the crotch straps longer than I thought I would need so I would have plenty of length to adjust the fit. On the Envelope Chemise I made the straps too short and had to do some creative lengthening. Our modern clothing is worn so tight against the skin that these loose, free flowing garments take some getting used to. Now it occurs to me that you could definitely make these to fit more snuggly by choosing a soft knit fabric rather than the traditional/historical woven fabrics.

Once you have your pattern pieces drawn you are ready to cut out your fabric. Make sure you include your seam allowance if you haven’t added it to your paper pattern and a casing allowance on your top edge. I added a 3” casing allowance since I wasn’t sure how I was going to do the casing.

At this point you are ready to begin construction. Now Ms. Conover instructs us to sew up the side seams and the crotch strap straight away. As you can see from the diagram, the Step-In Chemise has a nice, scalloped leg opening. This is a lovely detail, but I didn’t really like the way she has her students finish that leg opening. Her instructions are to make facings for those leg openings once the crotch and side seams are sewn together. That seemed like a lot of futzy, monkey work to me so I decided to do my own thing.

My first step was the stitch the center back seam using a French seam, followed by the crotch seam - also using French seaming. Now that meant I was going to have to guess at the length of the crotch straps. I measured it against my Envelope Chemise and left it a tad longer just to be safe.

Next I used a narrow, satin bias trim to edge my leg openings. I wasn’t sure how far up I wanted the scallop to be open so I picked a point that seemed good and extended my trim a couple of inches beyond that.

French seams brought the side seams together in no time flat. I did a quick pull on to make sure I could clear my hips easily and it was all good. Now it was time to decide how I was going to finish the top edge. I had chosen simple, inexpensive muslin for the chemise so I wanted to keep the trim simple and inexpensive as well.

Ms. Conover’s instructions for finishing the top edge are to make a faced, slashed opening in the casing for a ribbon drawstring. I opted to change this as well and rather than a drawstring I simply used elastic. In retrospect I am not sure that was wise but let’s finish the construction and then I will discuss my revelations regarding fit.

So once the side seams are done, you simply need to decide how you will do your casing and trim. The final step is making, measuring, and attaching your straps. Again, your straps are something that can be incredibly simple or elaborate whatever you desire.

For my straps I went with a strip of basic muslin with the bias trim attached. The overall look of the chemise is basic and simple and I think the straps stay within that theme.

I always find it amusing when I am doing these articles to look back at my original brainstorm pictures to see what I actually end up using from the original brainstorm. In this case I didn’t end up using any of my original trim ideas. I had found some wonderful hand-crocheted collars at the thrift store that I thought might work for a soft lace effect across the front and back but they were simply too large. My other laces were too stiff for the soft muslin, so I dug around in my stash some more until I found the ivory stitched organza. It was obviously a salvage piece that had been taken off of something else. The organza had a nice, soft hand to it that only comes from wash and wear. Both the lace and the peach bias trim were awesome thrift store scores.

Step-In Chemise construction was briefly interrupted at this point to construct a brilliant turquoise, pink and green glitter tutu. Rody Pony endured humiliation so his sweet princess could have a tutu for her 5 year pictures:

And back to our regularly-scheduled program, already in progress. So once I had the chemise all trimmed out I tried it on and determined that I really needed to shorten the crotch length. I didn’t take anything apart; I just zipped a new crotch seam and stitched down the new seam allowance. Now this is where I decided that I should have tried the ribbon casing instead of using elastic. The chemise looked okay and it felt fine but it didn’t look “right” if you know what I mean. I didn’t feel like I had just walked out of the 1920s.

That led me to perusing the internet late at night in search of period 1920s photographs, and low and behold I came across something even better!! I found this wonderful silent film that depicts a 1920s woman showing off her lovelies. I am guessing that this film may have been very scandalous in its day just for the amount of skin shown. This is what got my brain thinking about strippers, too much internet before bedtime. I have included some links at the end of the article for period examples of the Step-In Chemise.

As I spent time pouring over all these pictures of beautiful 1920s underwear I began to pick out the differences between my chemise and theirs. I gathered my slip snuggly across the top edge. The 1920s pictures show loose fitting slips across the top. Also the entire body of my chemise appears to be shorter than the originals were intended to be. Ultimately I think this comes from a completely different expectation of fit rather than faulty patterning. My pattern looks exactly like Ms. Conover’s, but where I went wrong was with the fit. Our modern expectation of fit is much closer to the body than our vintage counterparts.

Kass McGann gives a fantastic explanation of the modern versus vintage expectation of fit on her website Reconstructing History. I had read her page about how to wear 1920s clothing authentically a long time ago, but obviously I needed a reminder. Busts were not yet boosted by lifting, padded 'wonder bras' in the 1920s. Drawers had to be loose fitting and easy to pull aside when using the facilities, which were still questionable in their quality and location in the early 1920s. There were no discreet, universal, and consistent public restrooms back then. Nothing like our modern gas station bathrooms... oh wait - they aren’t discreet, consistent, or universal either!

The nice thing about this pattern is that even though the slip I constructed doesn’t exude the time period look I was hoping for, it is cute in its own way and incredibly comfortable! This is where I decided to take my Step-In Chemise for a test drive. I am not entirely sure if they would have worn the step in as a sleeping garment but that is how I will probably use it so I wanted to see if it was comfortable...

Apparently all of these new fitting revelations, glitter tulle, visual overload, new jammies, and more glitter tulle were too much for my weary brain. I went to bed that night all happy and comfy in something much prettier than my usual ratty t-shirt. And then the nightmare began. Somehow my brain took all of those things, analyzed them, and came to the conclusion that on my soon approaching 40th birthday I was going to allow my friends to talk me into being a stripper for a night?!?! AFTER CHURCH we head to some remote, back country strip club where my friends head in while I check in with the other strippers. (This is the part where I start having the out of body dream experience of screaming at myself to run, run away!) But of course I don’t listen to myself; instead I check in with my stage name, Stella something or other.

You have to realize how real and horrifying this dream was. I had a stage name for a strip club for crying out loud, and somehow I had come to the point of being okay with becoming a stripper on my 40th birthday?! A major problem being that I was also fully aware that I had not magically been endowed by the dream fairies with any new found skills like the ability to dance naked. I’m a northern girl. My skills are more on the level of melting a snow man with my sexy moves shovelling snow while wearing a snowmobile suit with three layers of long underwear underneath. Now that I can do with confidence!

So I am really starting to freak out in my dream, the impending doom and stage fright are creeping in heavy as I go along back stage and start picking out make up and meeting up with random odd people I haven’t seen in 20 years. Apparently these were people my brain thought I would run into in a strip club? The head stripper (who turned out to be a classmate from high school) starts taking me on a tour of the club, not at all sympathetic to my pleas of having made a horrible mistake. Now I’m starting to feel trapped.

She takes me to meet the house manager who turns out to be this scary guy dressed head to toe in a vibrant magenta sequined/glitter suit. And he is huffing a can of spray glitter. This is when I realize that I am doomed and never getting out alive with my clothes on. As they start calling my name to come on stage my real brain finally kicks in and takes control. I look around pretending not to have a clue who Stella is and offer to help the next girl in line with her costume, because that’s really what I know how to do. Thank heavens, that’s when I woke up!!

...I am not sure if my departure from reality classifies my Step-In Chemise test drive as a success, or as an utter fail. I can tell you one thing; I plan to be as far away from a strip club as possible on my birthday! I will say that the Step-In Chemise was very comfortable! I think for any future Step-Ins I make I will avoid adding the extra ease through the bust by making the crotch seam with buttons/snaps like the Envelope Chemise. Then I can slip it over my head and not worry about having to pull it up over my hips. I know that kind of defeats the “step in” idea, but I think I would like the overall fit a little better if it was a little slimmer through the top.

So now we can move on to the Ribbon Camisole. This is a super simple and super sweet pattern to work up in minutes if you have to! And it has the added bonus of requiring very little fabric! This is a great stash-buster pattern.

Supplies you will need:
• ½ yard of fabric or 12” wide ribbon, cut to length if you can find it
• Trim
• Ribbon or fabric for straps

After my Step in nightmare I decided to make my ribbon cami a little more modern. I had just been handed some scraps of beautiful turquoise batik from my quilting friend with instructions to make something for my daughter from it. So I made us matching Ribbon Camisoles! Really, because of the weight of the fabric they are just awesome summer tank tops. And thankfully, they didn’t make me think about strippers at all!

Ribbon Camisoles were originally made with 12” ribbon - if I am reading Ms. Conover’s instructions correctly. I have never seen that width of ribbon at any of the fabric stores I frequent, online stores or brick and mortar. Not to say that it isn’t available, I have just never had need for anything like it. I did not find 12” wide clothing grade ribbon on a quick Google search either. I did find a large selection of 12” wide satin ribbon used for decorator purposes like grand opening ribbons. I have a feeling they are much stiffer than the satin ribbon used for clothing purposes. If anyone knows a source for this type of ribbon, then please share!

There is really no need for an illustrated or paper pattern for this camisole. Basically we are making a joined rectangle with a top and bottom casing and adding straps (or not, your preference).

Ms. Conover doesn’t even give any specific ease guidelines for this cami. I guess she figures if we can’t work it out on our own by this point in her lessons, then we are a lost cause.

The first step is to determine how big to make the cami. I decided to go with 2” larger than my full bust measurement. Now Ms. Conover’s camis were 12” deep, this being set by the width of the ribbon. I am larger chested and I didn’t want the cami to be too short and end up looking like some kind of goofy crop top. I cut my fabric for a 16” finished length.

Zip together your one side seam using the ever-popular French seam. Once you seam is together, lay out your top with your side seam moved to the back about 2” - as you can see in my picture and Ms. Conover’s diagram.

The next step is to shorten the back length for ease of wearing. I have to say I was a little skeptical of the benefit to this. As someone with a longer torso or lower butt (I’m not sure which) I am forever having to pull my shirts down in back. It drives me crazy so I wasn’t too keen on purposely shortening the back length.

Once you have trimmed your bottom edge, go ahead and work your casings. There are any number of ways you can do the casing, pick your favorite. I opted to do an external top casing in contrasting color and I left off the bottom casing so I could wear it as a summer top. For my top I made straps from matching fabric and I made them wider than typical so I could wear a very non-historically accurate bra.

This time I went with ribbon for the top casing rather than elastic and I was pleasantly surprised. It was very comfortable. My big fear was that the ribbon would cut into the tender skin around my arms, but not even a little bit. And guess what? The less I gathered it in with the ribbon the more it looked like a 1920s silhouette! (Even with the crazy batik fabric.)

I am pretty certain that the Ribbon Camisole will become a staple in my wardrobe. It was so simple and so, so comfortable. I wore it out to dinner with my husband and daughter and I never once felt like I had to pull it down in back. Sorry, no pictures of me in my cami - my daughter is cuter anyway. I made her top more of a tunic length and trimmed it with some pale blue satin ribbon.

Well that concludes this episode of 1920s Underwear! I hope you enjoyed the craziness as much as I did. The more I work with these 1920s patterns, the more I love the simplicity of the era. More importantly, I hope it encourages you to try your hand at making your own under garments. Here are a few links for images of beautiful vintage Step-Ins:

Adored Vintage
The Velvet Lady
Missouri History Museum

We got Miss L’s 5 year pictures back and it appears that all of the glitter was well worth it:

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