The Best Sewing Patterns for Every Decade of Victorian Fashion

These are my favorite sewing patterns for each decade of the Victorian era. Spanning from the 1830s to early 1900s, each pattern is recommended for its historical accuracy, versatility, ease of use, and/or sizing and fit.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:04 1830s
01:57 1840s
02:57 1850s
03:47 1860s
05:03 1870s
05:55 1880s
06:29 1890s
07:29 1900s

Recommended patterns:

Simplicity 7212: available on eBay, Etsy

Simplicity 2890: available on eBay, Etsy

___________________

___________________

*All images used are in the public domain*

Images in order of appearance:

Portrait of Queen Victoria in her coronation robes by George Hayter, 1843
Porträt der Therese von Schenk by August Riedel, 1831
Portrait of Marie J. Lafont-Porcher by François Kinson, 1835
1873 fashion plate from ''Victoria''
La Gazette rose, May 1874
Tennis Costume, 1881
Menswear inspired bustle outfit, 1886
Princess Alix of Hesse, 1887
Photograph of an unnamed maid, via Wikimedia Commons
The Patient (detail) by Félix Vallotton, 1892
"Hybrid Roses" by Sarah Barnwell Elliott, Harper's magazine, Aug. 1906
Queen Victoria by Bertha Müller, 1899
___________________

[katjakuitunen]

My favourite pattern is the 1898 walking skirt by Truly Victorian. I have used it so many times, even to make a skirt for my late Victorian bathing suit! I also like the two last patterns for the 1890s bodice and the Gibson girl shirtwaist.

This is so helpful! I have a few Victorian dresses lurking in the back of my brain and its good to know where to start when I get to those, haha. I especially love that you showed examples of your own projects made with the patterns recommended!

[suzismith]

I am now in the process of remaking the corset. Having got myself in a major muddle due to a health issue thats lasted wayyyy too long. So its time to redo this whole thing. I had difficulty with the gusset bits.and the curved boning chanel. The accessibility of notions is a bind, so the luxury of seeing what you are buying is just that, a luxury. Now its regroup and get this baby done! Its nice to see ppl like you making these patterns. Thankyou for this and yes I would love to see how you did your corset.

[DixieDIY]

I’ve made several of the patterns you mentioned and they all worked well for me. Great picks! I’ve also been loving Black Snail patterns designs. They have several for the Victorian era.

[catherinejustcatherine]

Very beautifully filmed, illustrated, & modeled. So clearly spoken.

[bookhoarding]

This was super helpful! Thank you for this breakdown.

[arlenem]

Thank you for all the wonderful information!

[crystal]

I would love to see you make that simplicity corset!

[alexiscarlton]

Very helpful. Thank you for sharing :D.

[brooke]

Thankyou this video has been a good help to me😊

[LauraIngallsGunn]

This was such an informative video. Thank you SEW much!

[angiehomeschoolmom]

Amazing! You made it look so easy! Though, I'm sure it was not.

[barbarawestertaklax]

I love to follow you using festive 103 Bodice by Laughing Moon that you recommend. I’m soon starting a project based on it, a ball gown.

[nataliexbrutality]

Thank you so much for these amazing recommendations!! Definitely putting these all on my “to buy list” and future projects to tackle.

[TheSerialHobbyistGirl]

That Laughing Moon 103 looks fantastic!

[Nerdygoddess]

This one is getting playlisted for future reference Thank you.

[colettel.]

Great roundup, this is very helpful! The Past Patterns “1830's Full High Gown” is the one I have half-finished, and it’s an excellent pattern.

[GeekySquidoo]

Thank you, this is really helpful! Sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming to know where to start and you video gives good guidance on how to begin 😁

[mjdc]

Very useful for project and budget planning

[susankellam]

Alwlays good to know what worked for someone else.