I spent the first week or two of June re-watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on Netflix (which I HIGHLY recommend) and that put me on a 1920s kick and sent me scrolling through Pinterest and sighing dreamily over the fact that original patterns are so widely available online today. Most of them are in French, but I'll take what I can get.
I selected a simple "combinations" pattern from my 1920s Pinterest board, and dug out some lilac-colored broadcloth I've had stowed away for awhile (long story). Broadcloth is hardly an accurate fabric choice, but I'm trying to do some stash-busting and I figured this could act as a sort of "functional mock-up." And I must say that they do make excellent and incredibly comfortable summer pajamas/loungewear, since my bedroom gets really hot in the summer!
The scan is from a 1925 edition of "La Mode du Jour" and was posted on the Bibliothéque Nationale de France's "Gallica" website. I used the diagram pictured as a base, and just sort of guessed at how it should be drafted, measured out, and put together.
The body is composed of two main pieces, plus a flap at the crotch which buttons or snaps (so that you can use the bathroom without the classic romper problem of having to get naked). I made the top half of the body large enough that it slips on easily over my hips, then added an extra inch on each side of the bottom half (though in hindsight it should have been two or three inches), and made the whole thing long enough to go from armpit to slightly above mid-thigh. I sewed up the side seams, gathered in the waist/hips, felled all the seams and the top hem, and covered the gathered bits with some lace edging/tape I had.
Then I moved on to the crotch flap, which had left me a bit mystified. I ended up cutting out two squares wide enough to go up and down the slit I had cut to separate the legs. Each square was then folded in half and attached to the leg-slit-things. Those seams got a bit weird, but they did end up being felled down. (Note to self: take pictures and notes of your process.) I then attached some twill tape that had snaps pre-attached to it (I had a piece just the right length left over from… some other project, I guess). Then I felled the bottom seams from the short edge of one flap, across the leg, and ending on the other flap. It made sense when I did it, I promise.
Then I used an off-white thread and my sewing machine to do some decorative stitching modeled after the combinations the model is wearing. The thread color is a bit too close to the fabric to be seen from a distance, but it’s still pretty.
For the straps, I made detachable elastic and (silk!) ribbon straps from the instructions found here (or here on Pinterest). Or in the spirit of the instructions, anyways - I measured out my own elastic (ended up with about a foot for each strap), stretched the elastic to almost its full length, and used that to measure the ribbon length by.
Now, what did I learn in this project? Folks in the 1920s had this combination slip thing figured out - it’s not super flattering (and broadcloth is wrinkly), but it’s SO comfortable. Also, buttoning or snapping at the crotch is very convenient for going to the bathroom. Now, the front and back flaps on mine are the same length, which makes the snaps a bit difficult to get to (there’s a lot of reaching involved), so I’d suggest doing one long flap attached at the back and putting the closures at the front.
Stay warm, stay safe, stay dry.
Alexandra