Lingerie for Trousseaus

Blanche asked me to make her some pretty things for her trousseau. We ordered some Kimono crepe from Sears, Roebuck. She wanted light blue, I ordered a length of pink for myself. I especially liked the idea of making a wide flowing wrapper that does not require setting in the sleeves.

We also ordered white check nainsook that looks like dimity and some cotton lingette that looks like silk charmeuse for shimmies. "Mary," Blanche asked, "do you think you could make stepins that look pretty?" I'm sure I can, with a little yoke and three pearl buttons at the side. We have worn drawers made from bleached flour sacks for so many years we don't know the difference. After a few washings, they're as smooth and fine as silk.

Once when Aunt Ruth came and stayed a while, she taught us hemstitching, so we could have a tiny fancy row along the bottoms of garments with a peekaboo look where the cross threads are pulled out and the lenghtwise threads are caught together with a stitch.

Another pretty look is to crochet an edging, either single crochet or a picot edge with a fine crochet hook and number 10 thread. It goes faster if you unthread the sewing machine and make a row of stitched holes where you intend to crochet.


Left:Cotton chemise and drawer combination with silk lingerie flower. c.1920. Museum of the Rockies Collection
Center: Cotton waffle weave bandeau with cotton twill tape, elastic and side stays. c.1920. Courtesy of the Virginia City Collection of the Montana Heritage Commission.
Right: Silk crepe envelope chemise or teddy. c.1925. Museum of the Rockies Collection.
http://muse.museum.montana.edu/sof/jazz.html