Now we’re getting into the territory of “only for the brave”. This slip pattern is a single-size, straight-up repro of a Ladies Home Journal pattern, reproduced by Past Patterns (Pattern #9206: Ladies’ and Misses’ Dart-Fitted Princess Slip: Circa 1912-1916). The instructions are a single sheet of paper with the front and back of the pattern envelope photocopied on it. Honestly, the only reason I chose to do a princess slip instead of a separate corset cover/petticoat was because I wanted to cut down on the number of garments I had to make in a short period of time, but using an original pattern is not a path I recommend for new sewers. The actual sewing wasn’t hard, but deciphering the pattern did take some work.

Below you can see the total extent of the instructions. Don’t be fooled by the chunks of text that say “HELPS” and “FOLLOW THESE EASY DIRECTIONS”! Most of that text is generic and not specific to this pattern, so nearly all of the instructions are what you see here in the illustrations. I decided that the button opening is supposed to be on the back for all views, and I’m still not sure if you’re supposed to use only the circular flounce or the gathered flounce (but I cut all the pieces before I started questioning that, so I ended up using ALL THE FLOUNCES for extra floof).

The pattern states that it’s for size 34″ bust, 24″ waist, 37″ hips, but  frequently these old patterns have quite a bit of ease. I’m 2″-4″ bigger than those measurements throughout, and I still ended up pinching out more from the darts.

I used the same fabric and neckline lace as on my combinations. Because this slip has a CB opening, I decided to stitch my drawstring “ribbon” to it, which works well for wearing but isn’t great for laundry – I can’t remove the ribbon when it goes in the washer, so it gets a bit tangled.

Unlike with my combinations, for the slip I *did* remember to cut down the armholes before finishing them. I eyeballed the armhole placement and snipped the curve to open up to that point. This is something you want to mark while it’s on a body/dressform, so you can see in 3-D where you want the armhole to be. The armhole then got the bias tape treatment to finish it off.

Finally, the flounce! These lace strips were actually the first bits of heirloom sewing I did – I wanted to practice my technique before doing any neckline lace. Again, I followed the methods outlined on the Wearing History blog, with the only modification of using strips of receipt paper as a tear-away interfacing for support.

There are 6 panels total, and I joined them together with French seams after applying the lace. Then I hemmed the bottom, gathered the top, and  zigzagged it and the circular flounce to the bottom of the petticoat. Eventually that raw top edge should get covered with some wide beading lace with a pretty ribbon, but because that part is decorative and not functional, I’m waiting to find something affordable. Lace is not cheap! This insertion lace was already sitting in my stash – another lucky find from long ago.

Done with undies for now! Whew. Next up – blouse and skirt!