Progress report: 18th century men's shirt

[luzula]

Okay, here's what I've got so far. Floofy sleeves, like I wanted! : D

I kind of wonder if it's too loose? But then I look at this painting of Voltaire getting dressed, and decide that no, it's not.


It's not done: I still need to sew on the insides of the cuffs and collars, make buttonholes, make something to strengthen the end of the slit at the neck, etc. Should I have ruffles along the front or not? Cannot decide. Also, it goes almost to my knees and has long tails, as it should have.

...I have no sewing tag, I guess I'll just label this by fandom.

Comments

[hyarrowen]

Ooh, very nice! I appreciate the neatness of the gathering into the cuffs, and the neatness of the v of the neck slit. Looking good so far.

[sanguinity]

Oh, that's coming along very nicely! What is the fabric, and what are you using for a pattern?

I vote yes for ruffles! Wasn't it the fashion to wear the waistcoat half-unbuttoned, with all the ruffles showing? How can you do that, if you don't have ruffles?

[james]

So awesome and floofy!!

[nnozomi]

That's lovely! I would wear a shirt with a neckline like that in a heartbeat. Much impressed by your sewing skills.

[ljm]

Hooray for 18th century shirts! Yours looks very nice! (Also, that's an amusing photo you used for reference)

[osprey_archer]

Love the floofy sleeves! And also love that there is just a random painting of Voltaire getting dressed, WHY NOT I guess!

[ceruleancat]

*clapping*
Looks lovely. Successful sleeve gathers and floof.
You could probably rig internal drawstring at bottom or along the sides if you wanted to hitch it up a bit for varying functionality.
Have you decided how to do detachable cuffs?

[china_shop]

That looks so great! *applauds*

[petra]

Oo, that's excellent.

[feroxargentea]

The floofy sleeves are lovely!
For what it's worth, I vote you go the whole hog and add ruffles. Jack Aubrey would approve.

[regshoe]

It looks amazing :D Very nice floof on the sleeves, and I like how the floof goes into the gathering at the cuff. I think you should have the ruffles!

[cahn]

Oh, that looks awesome :D I vote for ruffles! ALL THE RUFFLES!

(Also, VOLTAIRE, omg :D )

[seascribble]

Very floofy and manly indeed!

[chestnut_pod]

Positively piratical! I love this.

[ceruleancat]

All patterns are mix and match, especially with items like basic shirts and shifts.
I don't know enough about 18th century men's shirts. But it's likely. , given in earlier periods, cuffs and ruffs and collars were detachable, or well, separate items to be added, and 19th century definitely had collars and cuffs as add-ons, even whole sleeves in women's gowns. Little buttons or hooks are likely. That's how you often connect bodice to skirt, or long sleeves to an open evening bodice to make it suitable for daywear. But specific construction requires research.
Forgot to say, I'm fairly certain I saw detachable cuffs made somewhere. I'll float a link your way when memory becomes more concrete. I definitely saw vids on waistcoats I can rec if you want.

(icon is for Voltaire, whose tunic is loose to increase skin in the painting)

[jesse_the_k]

Most excellent!

Was sewing a topic you learned in school? Or at your (older relative)'s knee? I couldn't gather a sleeve into a cuff if my life depended on it.

[garonne]

Wow, that painting of Voltaire is really something. Guess you can never have too much floof...

Your shirt looks so cool, especially round the arm gatherings. I expect you have decided by now what you're doing for the collar and cuffs?

I tried just now to find some info about how detachable lace ruffles and collars actually worked, via search engine and YouTube, but didn't have much success. Having them attached via buttons sounds uncomfortable--you'd need a whole row of buttons around your wrists and neck. I guess they were tacked on, and then the sewing was unpicked when they needed to be separated to be washed?