Hi! Your big historical sewing resources post is so, so useful, thank you! I wanted to ask if you have any advice for a woman who wants to make & wear historical menswear (18th century specifically)? I'm only just getting started with sewing but that is my ultimate goal. Should I stick to women's patterns first, or jump right in and hope I manage to alter the breeches to fit my hips, make the shoulders more narrow, etc.? Thanks so much and have a good day!
Hooray! Glad that post is helpful!
I’d suggest just going with the men’s patterns and altering them to fit, because whether you’re buying patterns or drafting your own they’re going to need to be mocked up and adjusted at least a little bit in order to fit a particular person. I can’t give any advice about buying patterns because I draft all my own, but I’m a trans man and have been able to fit breeches to my hips and coats to my shoulders just fine. Admittedly, breeches are a pain to fit no matter what you’re shaped like, and they’re weird and fit very differently from modern pants. I made my first few pairs too long and too loose because I was overly concerned with my ability to bend my knees, but it turned out that didn’t really give me much more movement than when I tried making them properly tight.
Adding bust darts to the waistcoat may or may not be necessary, but it’s easy to do on the mockup.
My main pieces of advice are:
Measure yourself and check the measurements against your pattern pieces to make sure they’re not wildly off before mocking them up.
Mockups! Old sheets and crappy thrift store fabric are your friends! Fitting patterns to yourself is awkward and takes practice, but is so very worth it. It’s also a good idea to look at reference pictures while you’re trying on your mockup. I look at myself in the mirror and compare it to portraits to make sure the cut and proportions and everything is good.
Good luck!
