1920s Foundation Garments - The Plain Foundation Slip

The plain foundation slip is really an elongation of the built-up waist lining, with pleats added at the sides over the hips for ease. When putting together your 1920s wardrobe, keep in mind that the plain foundation slip takes just under 3 yards for the average figure! Choose a firm but smooth fabric. If the dress fabric is sheer, a slip of the dress material is preferable.

The following image illustrates a typical 1920s plain foundation slip. This kind of slip can be made with a camisole top if the dress in which it is to be used requires it.

The upper part of the slip is fitted in the same manner as the built-up waist lining, with fitting in any excess waistline fullness by deepening the side seams.  French seams are used in the side seams from the armholes to the hips, which then release into pleats to the hemline. Stitch across the top of each pleat  (as shown) to secure the pleats. Armholes and neckline should be finished with narrow seams.

And that's it! With the exception of the side pleats, the plain foundation slip looks very similar to slips of later decades. Next in this series will be the coat-dress foundation slip!

History of Sewing: 1920s Foundation Garments - Foundation Slips

It's time to return to my series on 1920s foundation garments, and examine the remaining type of foundation garment, the foundation slip. Along with camisoles, the slip is perhaps the most enduring of foundation garments. There are three categories of foundation slips:

• Plain foundation slip (look familiar?)
• Coat-dress foundation slip
• Tunic-dress foundation slip

 Plain foundation slip

The foundation slip offers protection to the dress, or serves as a foundation to which some part of the dress may be attached (similar to the waist linings). Slips eliminate any unsightly break at the waistline under a dress of sheer material, and can intensify the color of the sheer dress.

In the 1920s (and beyond), the preferred slip was made of silk or rayon (rather than cotton, for example), which provides smoothness so the dress slips over them easily, and prevents the slip from crowding up over the knees. Some things don't change, eh?

In my next posts on this topic, I will provide more details about each foundation slip type. Stay tuned!

History of Sewing - Introduction to 1920s Foundation Garments

You know that the women of the 1920s obtained freedom from dreadful corsets with stays of whalebone and tight lacing. What you may not know is that they did not abandon "foundation garments" altogether.

There were several types of women's foundation garments in the 1920s. The foundation garment served to retain the correct lines in a garment. Which foundation garment was worn depended largely on the specific lines of the garment and the material of which it was made.

The foundation garments were grouped into two general classes: waistline foundations and lining foundations.
Waistline foundations consisted of two types:

• Inside stay belts
• Fitted hip yokes

 Lining foundations consisted of four types:

• Camisole or bodice lining
• Built-up or plain-waist lining
• Close-fitting lining
• Foundation slips

In future posts, I will delve into more details about these undergarments. Stay tuned!

Scraps from the Past - Embroidered Eyelet to Edge a Slip

This is the scrap I found in a pattern envelope for fabulous 50s slips - classic embroidered eyelet.

 

And here is the pattern - a great collection of slips for every occasion. In the 1950s slips were simply required lingerie for wear under every dress and skirt. This particular pattern was cut for the half slip, so you can guess that the embroidered eyelet trimmed the hemline. :)