18th Century Dressmaking: What does it mean to "cut shapes"?

Описание: Hello!

While the concept for draping (for any fashion time period) is often quite easy to pick up, it’s a skill that takes time and practice to perfect.

This is especially true for 18th century dressmaking, as mantua makers had to understand the garments they were making and how to fit them smoothly onto a body wearing structured undergarments. This involved knowledge of weave structures, grain line, structural stability and tensioning.

Imagine "cutting shapes on the body" as a combination of draping and drafting a body block – without any measurements or mathematical calculations!

This is a skill best learned in a teaching environment, where you go through the process yourself with a knowledgeable guide at your elbow.

That’s why this is a demonstration of the concept, not a tutorial.

As stated in this video, the shapes cut from draping will not be the same as the final pieces that make up your gown – you will still need to FIT the gown while you’re making it.

Cutting YOUR shapes is a service I offer. Please contact me for details on how to book a personal appointment with me, where I’ll drape, draw and cut your shapes and teach you how to use them in your own dressmaking.

I hope that in the not-too-distant future, workshops will be available in the UK so that more people in the UK learn how to use this method – to build a community that shares and spreads these skills. Our understanding of the past will continue to develop – and all our gowns will be even better! 😊

Further reading:
Lauren Stowell and Abby Cox, The American Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking (https://amzn.to/34CVTkY)
Marla R. Miller, The Needle's Eye: Women and Work in the Age of Revolution (https://amzn.to/2Iex0V6)
Clare Haru Crowston, Fabricating Women: The Seamstresses of Old Regime France, 1675–1791 (https://amzn.to/34AScMw)

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ABOUT TIMESMITH DRESS HISTORY:

I am Rebecca Olds, an independent scholar in the field of Dress History, specialising in original practice reconstruction of extant garments of the eighteenth century.

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