Make-Do-And-Mend: Regency Chemisette

This was another quick and dirty, do-it-in-a-day project and I'm actually super thrilled about the results!

So let's talk about the idea of recycled clothing.  It's definitely not a new idea even though Millennials or Gen Zs (or Ys or Xs or whatever the latest generation is being called) may like to believe THEY came up with it because only THEY want to save the world from ultimate destruction of human kind and evil capitalism . . .  Ooops, sorry I digress.

Anyway, reusing and repurposing clothing has been around, well as long as clothing has been around I suspect.  And not just mending holes.  I'm talking whole-sale reconstructing one garment into something else.  I LOVE to do it because it's so fascinating to see how one item of clothing (especially when it has been really loved) can turn into something entirely different with a whole new spirit!

So here we go with a favorite button-down shirt of mine (by Levi's) that I likely bought from Target probably a decade ago.  I have love, love, loved it, but I find myself never wearing it anymore.  I had it in a pile to give to Goodwill, but I kept taking it out of the pile because, well something was telling me to.

And last week as I passed by it again I thought . . . YES!  CHEMISETTE!  And that day the shirt and I conspired to create a beautiful, Regency white, cotton, dotted swiss chemisette.  And it was perfect.  

HOW IT STARTED:  Okay here's the shirt in it's original form.  Washed but not ironed.  In perfectly good shape, no tears or stains.  I think I stopped wearing it because it just got a bit big on me.

THE PATTERN:  I used one of the many scaled diagrams in Janet Arnold's Patterns of History (but honestly chemisettes are pretty easy you can probably make one of these up on your own at home).

I used the top left gathered diagram for it's simplicity.

Because I was limited to the original shirt I did NOT do the back on the bias.

THE DE-CONSTRUCTION:  First I had to very carefully remove the two front breast pockets.  Easier said than done.  I did pick one very small hole in one part ;(  I then cut off the back shoulder piece along with the collar (all in one piece and discarded that) and cut the side seams off.  I was left with the front two halves and the back.  I ironed the shirt front and back to make sure I would cut it as evenly as possible.  Though to be honest this is a pretty forgiving project.  I did not cut off the bottom hem becuase I thought it would become the new bottom hem of the chemisette.  However, because I changed the shape a bit, I ended up cutting it off and should have just removed it from the beginning.

THE CONSTRUCTION:   That's pretty much it.  Trace the pattern onto the shirt, hem the side seams, hem the bottom (create a channel through which to run twill tape to gather around the raised waistline).

Initially I left the button placket in the front thinking I might just change out the buttons to fabric covered and leave the button holes (I didn't want to lose any width in the fabric) but I didn't like how that looked and removed the front plackets to make a plain front as the pattern indicated.

I debated over a plain or frilled neckline.  I did not want to attempt the mushroom pleated collar in the book because this was a one-day between bus pick up and drop off project so there wasn't time) so I settled on a pre-made ruffle and went with the frill.

Plain neckline option.

Ruffled neckline option.

THE FINISHED RESULT:  I love it!  And I can't wait to wear it out. Perhaps it will be a favorite piece when my bestie an I travel to Bath next year for the Jane Austen Festival!  Time will tell.

WORN UNDER A SHEER GOWN:

What is YOUR favorite Make-do-and-Mend project?  Please share in the comments.