FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Ms. Frizzle Visits the Apothecary
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
As a young child I loved history and science, and therefore loved the "Magic School Bus" books and Ms. Frizzle. These days I sometimes get to be a Ms. Frizzle type as a museum educator, especially at our apothecary museum. So, I wondered what Ms. Frizzle would wear to take her students through both time and space to an apothecary shop in the past. I decided to make my first ever garment a skirt that she might have worn on such a trip. I wanted it to be a history bounding garment I could wear in life. So, I pulled elements from late Victorian petticoats and walking skirts.
Outline the construction…
Since this was my first ever garment, I wanted to keep things simple. So, of course, I chose not to follow a pattern. I used the top of the embordered petticoat from the FR article 1890-1910 Petticoats Part 3: Shapes as my basis. I shrunk the yoke to more of a waistband size and capped it at the body panel. Instead of gathering the top I used the idea of the back pleats from turn of the century walking skirts. The fashion fabric is a printed quilting cotton whose pattern was just perfect for the task. The skirt is flat lined with a blue cotton/silk originally bought for a project I never started. The skirt is entirely hand-sewn. I've watched a lot of costube videos over the last year and a half, and I learned a lot about various stitches from them. In the past I've only ever used a running stitch for a blanket. After I had pleated the back I realized just how heavy the back was. So, I chose to backstitch the waistband to the skirt body rather then felling it down, which helped to spread out the weight. Also, the waistband ended up a little big. Rather than adding buttons as planned, I used a ribbon as the closure to allow for some gathering, which worked. The shirt and shoes in the photos were from my wardrobe, but styled nicely with the finished skirt.
It turned out beautifully, and I hope you get lots of wear out of it. The fall at the back works well. Best of luck x
Really like the fabric choice, all those little medicin bottles 😉
You got a lovely shape with the skirt. Clean in the front with a little party in the back. Well done!
Love the fabric choice! Looks lovely!!
What a wonderful shape – the clean pencil skirt front transitioning into those perfectly proportioned pleats.
Love the fabric, nice fit and style on the skirt!
Such a nice skirt. I love this. Great choice of fabric as well. Thank you!
Amazing work.