1770s “Swallowtail” Jacket + Petticoat

1770sGeorgian
Written By Ageless Tailoress
Inspiration - Extant Example held by the ModeMuseum Provincie Antwerpen

Inspiration - Extant Example held by the ModeMuseum Provincie Antwerpen

I found out about Huntington Beach's Revolutionary War Days in December of 2019, meaning I had roughly a two and a half months to build an entire late 1770s wardrobe, I could manage that. I first needed to make the underpinnings, so I turned to American Duchess's first Simplicity patterns (1) and made a basic shift out of a cotton/linen fabric (2). I did not add the sleeve ruffle nor the neckline ruffles because I wanted a more "streamline" shift. The main seams were machine sewn, but the garment was finished by hand, and I used a basic cotton cording to gather the neckline to fit when worn. The next layer was the stays, which I have an entire blog post dedicated to (see Late 1770s Stays). I decided to make a skirt and jacket combo for my outer layers trying to go for a more middle-class vibe. 

I chose this lovely midweight maroon linen/cotton blend (3) to make my petticoat out of. To construct my petticoat I used the Chapter 3 petticoat instructions from the “American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking” (4). The first step to making my petticoat was to measure the length I needed it to be which was 40.5” from my waist to my ankles plus 2.5” for a hem. I cut two of these panels, using the full width of the fabric. I then sewed the two panels together with a ⅝” seam allowance leaving a 8” gap on both seams, which is how one gets into the petticoat. After sewing up the two side seams I cut two 3” wide 20” long pieces of fabric to act as my waistband. I folded ½” on either side to finish the waistband and attached it to the skirt using pleats.  For the front I started with a box-pleat in the center front and knife pleated out from there and with the back I did an inverted box-pleat at the center back then knife pleated out from there. I then folded the seam allowance from the top of the waistband over to cover the raw edges of where the skirt and the waistband met then I hand-stitched it down. After the waistband was done I turned the hem up by a ½” using my iron then I folded it up another 2” and hand-sewed it down. The final step for my petticoat was cutting two lengths of cotton tape 22” long and feeding them through each waistband so they would meet at the side seams and therefore close the garment. 

After the petticoat was done it was time to work on the jacket. I chose to make JR 18th Century jacket (View D) (5) out of this lovely Colonial Williamsburg reproduction cotton fabric (5) with (2) has a lining. I cut out size 18 and due to the many alterations I had to make when I did my mockup I could have gone a size down or two. I had to take in from almost every seam, as well as shorten the length of jacket/stomacher as to not make it look award on my frame. After spending so much time on the main jacket I had no patience to try to fit the sleeves so I used the Italian Gown sleeves from (4) because I knew they fit from a previous dress I made. Before I made the jacket I worked on the stomacher. I sewed the three boning channels as marked and then hand sewed the top to finish it. The first step in making the jacket was to cut out all the pieces out of the fashion fabric and the linen lining, from now on they will be treated as one piece. I sewed the back pieces together leaving the seam from the mark on the pattern to the hem free to create the “swallowtail” part of the jacket. I then attached the back and the fronts by the side seam and the shoulder seam. All of these seams were sewn by machine and hand-felled down. I then hemmed the jacket and finished the neckline using a ⅝” seam allowance. After the main jacket was down I tackled the sleeves. I sewed the slit and the underarm seam and hemed it using a ⅝” seam allowance. I then attached the sleeves to the main jacket by machine and hand-felled them down. The final step was to hand sew 6 eyelets on either side of the front of the jacket, for this jacket closes in the front via lacing. I used a red silk ribbon to lace the jacket. 

Overall I am pleased with this jacket + skirt combo, especially with the way both garments are finished. A negative I can say about the skirt is that I had to mess with the placket after finishing the waistband which was a pain, but came out alright. And in regards to the jacket the sleeves are a little bit too tight in the biceps which does not limit my mobility really but it makes the jacket hard to take off.  

For accessories I paired the ensemble with a fine muslin cap I made from the 1780s Cap Pattern from (2), a linen fissu to shield my chest and shoulder as well as clocked stockings from American Duchess (7) paired the “Schuyler” shoes from American Duchess (8), worn with the “James” buckles. (9)        

Ageless Tailoress
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1780s "Scarlet" Stays
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1770s "Sunflower" Stays