This class is a breakout from my complete course "18th Century Working Women's Dress Sew-Along Workshop" 

It is designed for students who want to start small and try their hand at making just one basic piece.

The petticoat is quite a simple part of the wardrobe to sew... Consisting of straight lines & seams, and just three stitches (running/gathering stitch, back stitch, and hem stitch) this is a perfect class for a first time hand sewer who wants to work on a serious project! If your student dreams of making reproduction garments, but doesn't have any experience this class is a great place to start. 

Week 1 - We will cut out the pieces and begin sewing.
Week 2 - We will pleat the skirt and add the waist ties.
Week.3 - We will finish the garment, and students will show off their work!

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When we think of historic 18th century costuming, it is easy to immediately find ourselves drawn to the beautiful formal garments worn by the upper class Europeans and wealthy colonial settlers, and those made for very special occasions...

But what about the real life, every day "jeans and a t-shirt" wardrobes of women working in and out of their homes? How did they dress for comfort and practicality? What did women wear while gardening, working in skilled trade shops (like tin, silver, and blacksmiths, etc.)? How did enslaved women dress? How did being colonized from afar influence dress in America, as well as other colonized lands? 

Let's look together at these hardworking women who are rarely shown with much detail in old paintings or most modern depictions of early American life, and appreciate the often overlooked contributions they made in history. 

In this class students will learn a brief history of common women's garments and their construction as they craft their way through creating a historically accurate petticoat from the late 1700s. 

The class will be casual, conversational, and very hands on - with room for lots of discussion and sharing. 

Students will join me in creating a petticoat for a working class woman. The style will be predominately Euro-American, but students will be given encouragement to draw from a variety of sources to create a garment unique to their own regional influences, if so desired. 

I'll walk students through the process, step by step, and in the end they will have created an amazing hand sewn piece AND mastered some important historical garment making skills.
 
We will hand sew the petticoats, starting each step in class and finishing the steps as homework. 

Students do not *need* to have any prior sewing knowledge or skills (just some fine motor control with a needle & thread and the ability to use scissors.)

The project will *not* require use of a sewing machine, and students are encouraged not to "cheat" and use one to make their project go faster (however, using one as an accommodation for those who's hands simply can't manage *all* of the hand sewing, is absolutely allowed! Students should know and honor their own physical limitations and I want them to feel proud of learning the skills, even if they aren't able to complete the entire project by hand as it will be taught.)

This class is listed as an "Arts" course, but it will obviously feature history and social studies in our discussion topics!