Wearables Late Victorian Fashion in 1/6 Scale

So, I have wanted to make 1890s (ish) outfits for one of my doll families for ages, since the setting I made the characters for is a sort of fantasy late Victorian/Gilded Age situation. I have actually, finally, at last, started to do that... so recording my Journey here.

First: Aurelie. I knew I wanted a simple, practical outfit for her, at least to start with, but have been dragging my feet about figuring out how I'd pattern it. I was VERY delighted to see RAD put up the Victorian Basics pattern... which immediately led me down a rabbithole. Because, you see, while I quite like how the blouse turned out with only a few alterations, the walking skirt... I did not so much. (Which is not a problem with the pattern, per se, it's just that I'm fussy.)



So what did I do? Self-draft one from the Keystone Jacket and Dress Cutter, of course.



And then made her a simple petticoat and a little bum pad, because the shape needed to be as close to correct as I could get on this scale (without me also losing my mind).





Then I made her a second blouse, which I like even more than the first! This time with a contrast collar and out of a much finer fabric, which gathered much more nicely.




Once I'd done this, I then, unfortunately... had to turn my attention to her husband. Now, this is the part I'd be putting off the most because it involves so much more TAILORING than simply making a walking skirt. Here's my progress so far, mostly made by altering Ken-sized patterns from Tiny Apparel so they actually fit the Granado 32Adagio. I also changed a few details, like adding the tall 1890s collar, making the sleeves full-length, and trying this cuff opening (that is sort of a WIP, not sure I'm happy with it). I also made the shape of the waistcoat more period appropriate. That was a particular nightmare, actually... I had to sew it together 3 times and I'm STILL not fully happy with it. I want to add a shawl collar and try and figure out faux welt pockets on the next go 'round... and add a bit more ease. This is uh... tight. Real tight. But it fits! And that's what really matters, right? (Right??)



(Oh, and I took several runs at a tie/cravat situation, too... This too needs improvement.)

The pants are fully self-drafted, since I seemingly have no suit pants patterns I actually like in my entire pattern collection that fit him. You can't see them in the only picture I have of him with all of the pieces on, but I was particularly happy when I got the notched back waistband figured out despite the back closure so here's one of the WIPs I took for friends. Eventually I may try to figure out braces, but... eh. I might make him a second pair that have the braces permanently attached, because actually having the braces under the waistcoat adds too much bulk at this scale.



And this is where I've paused so far! Mostly because both Des (husband) and Mina (their daughter) need new wigs, and I just finished sewing myself a human-sized Halloween costume so wanted to switch gears from sewing for a bit.

Still to come:

• An improved shirt
  • Probably without the beads-as-buttons because it makes the waistcoat fit badly.
• Also making another tie that drapes a bit better
• Shawl collar waistcoat
• Sack coat?
• An outfit each for their twin children... who are PukiPukis.
  • Pray for me.

I hope this is interesting, and if anyone has any great pattern sources... feel free to let me know!

 

Thanks everyone! This has been really fun so far, so I'm happy to see other people interested.

I forgot to put in links to the patterns I used, so here they are! In case anyone else also wants to attempt this madness in 1/6...

• Aurelie's shirtwaist(s): RAD Victorian Basics
• Des' waistcoat: Tiny Apparel 0029
• Des' shirt: Tiny Apparel 0003
• Keystone Jacket and Dress Cutter: Archive.org

 

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check those out!

The RAD patterns do come in 1/3! Much less resizing needed, at least. (And the walking skirt was reasonably non-difficult to draft, I say this as someone who is NOT confident in my drafting skills.) I think the pattern as-is at that scale will hang better, too, because there's enough fabric there for gravity to do some work for you.