I have experienced a sewing Renaissance lately and have been working on more challenging projects. So here is one of the projects that I have finished: (Special thanks to my lovely dress form Josephine for modeling!)

Only one week before an English Country Dance Ball I decided that I wanted, and needed, some period undergarments for my Regency gown. That is typical for me, to wait until the last minute to begin a complicated sewing project! I can’t even tell how many times my mom and I have finished sewing a dress the night before an event. Since I did not have the time to ship the pattern that I wanted from Sense and Sensibility patterns I downloaded the e-pattern for Regency Underthings. The pattern includes a chemise, chemisette and short stays. This was my first experience with an e-pattern and I loved it! Of course, the best part was not having to wait for the pattern to be shipped since I downloaded it within minutes of ordering. Using an e-pattern actually saved me time, because I did not have to trace my pattern; I can just print a different size if needed. I never cut into my pattern pieces in case I need a larger size later, so I usually spend a lot of time tracing them onto tissue.

The chemise was easy to sew and very comfortable. Seriously, very comfortable. All of the seams are flat felled so I am pretty sure that the chemise will withstand a lot of wear. For the short stays, I was exactly between sizes and decided to go a size down. I am glad that I did because it fits perfectly and I can either lace the stays up all the way or I can leave a small gap in front. I made sure to use 100% cotton threads and fabrics and I stitched the eyelets by hand.

Now comes the part where I admit that in regards to periodicity I cheated for the short stays. If this was an outer garment I would not have been able to live with myself, but I figured that since it was undergarments no one would see them. To be period correct I should have done all the top stitching by hand but I was running out of time so I used my sewing machine. I also had to use plastic for the boning, but figured that I can replace that later if I want to. When I get time I am also going to take the binding off and resew it by hand so that it is neater.