Truly Victorian TV494, 1894 Shirtwaists

Truly Victorian TV494 Shirtwaists (1894) is a sewing pattern for a blouse with large puff sleeves as worn in the period: Bell Epoque 1890-1900. The sewing pattern is published by 'Truly Victorian', a sewing pattern designer who mainly focuses on Victorian style clothing.

Truly Victorian TV 494
The sewing pattern is a multi-size sewing pattern; you can make it in sizes A to N. These letters represent the size of the chest and waist. The sewing pattern does not come in the envelope as with the well-known other brands, but is issued in A-4 format and is packed in a plastic sleeve. It contains the large radar sheet in all sizes  and an explanation and introduction published on four A-4 papers.

The shirtwaist
A shirtwaist is actually nothing more than a blouse. Shirtwaists used to be worn mainly in the summer, had no bones and were unlined. They were made from light, soft cotton. Shirtwaists were worn in the skirt or over the skirt and were both chic and everyday (work) clothing.

Sewing level:
The sewing pattern does not mention any advice regarding the sewing level you need to make this blouse. We think that a beginner will succeed, with maybe a little bit of help in case the sleeves and making buttonholes are too difficult. It is not a difficult design to make.

Recommended fabrics:
The fabric recommendation is hard to find on the sewing pattern, but in the end we find it on the first page at the very bottom.

Suggested fabrics: "Lawn, batiste, muslin, silk, seersucker, or other light weight fabrics."

Notions: you only need buttons and half a meter of mesh or interfacing for the inner top of the puff sleeves.  It is strongly advised to first make the blouse as a sample, for example from muslin. The fabric is not stretchy, therefore it is important to pick the right size to make sure  the blouse fits nicely.

Pros:

• The sewing pattern is one of the best sewing patterns if you want to make grotesque puffy sleeves.
  
• The sewing patterns offers many sizes
  
• You can vary with the body of the blouse and as in our photo above right: make an extra ruffle on the top of the blouse in the middle.
• This is truly a sewing pattern suitable for making something special.

Cons:

• Without interfacing or extra tulle on the inside upper side of the sleeves, the puff sleeves  will not stay upright.
  
• It is really important to first make a sample-size, because the body of the blouse must be tight.
  

Conclusion:
We think Truly Victorian TV494 Shirtwaist is a nice sewing pattern and we enjoyed making the blouse. The blouse is ideal for Cosplay, LARP or Fantasy. But also to learn how to make puff sleeves and make clothes festive or 'upcycle' a blouse.
The sewing pattern provides great explanation and is not difficult to make.