It's A Wrap!

Here is something I only learned about in recent years... "wrapper" is the term used in the 19th century for what we now call a robe. Who knew?

The word is used in modern times as a term for the garment worn by men and women in West Africa. In Nigeria, the term includes the matching headscarf.

This is a modern Nigerian wrapper.

In the 19th century, in Western society, "wrapper" denoted a garment to be worn about the home. A lady's wrapper was generally loose, and tied at the waist. There may be many buttons up the front. Often the bottom of the wrapper was left open, so show off beautiful petticoats. The wrapper was often made of darker fabrics, sometimes very colorful, and (dare I say it?) even gaudy! And, OF COURSE, the wrapper was worn over a corset.

I found myself looking at photos of wrappers.

Here are some from Pinterest.

I like this rope tie a lot.

Well, of course, I had to make one. Why? Why? I don't know. A few years back I went to a conference on 19th century clothing, and they held a Wrapper Party. All the participants wore their wrappers to the event. I did not have one, and, in all reality, I probably would not have attended anyway. So, why, why did I want a wrapper? I ask you.

But, a wrapper I wanted, so I set out to make one. I bought this pattern. Little did I know that, after opening the pattern, the directions were a BOOK! Yes! A book! Who needs that much direction? I was thinking that the wrapper would be an easy garment to make, say as compared to a bustle dress, but when I saw the book, I was not so sure.

This is the book. The pattern is from Laughing Moon.

I chose these two coordinating fabrics. I bought them at a little fabric store, in the basement of a house in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was March 2015, and c..c..c.. cold in Pennsylvania.

This is the way out in the middle of nowhere fabric store.

The lining of original wrappers was often pieces of various fabrics that a lady may have left over from other projects. I chose this fabric for the lining. It was purchased at the same little fabric store, but not by me. My friend, Pattie, purchased it to make her own wrapper. (we were shopping together.) She passed away before she made her wrapper, so I chose her fabric as the lining of mine.

So, finally, at the beginning of 2017, I began.

Cutting required that I get the right size. Even though I measured, as I sewed the garment, I had to deconstruct it as I went, and make it a bit smaller. For example, the waist was way too low when I followed the pattern exactly. I took the waist apart twice, and I had to take the sleeves out as well, to make the shoulder fit correctly.

I think the deconstruction and reconstruction is why it took me so long to finish it. It would stand, partially finished, on my dress form for months at a time. Then, I would take it down, work a bit, and put it back. Other, more exciting, projects beckoned me away.

I would ponder bits of the garment as I went along. For example, I really did not want to make 50 buttonholes all down the front. So, I decided on hook and eye tape closure. Then, to make it look extra fancy, I added frog closures, just for looks.