civil war pattern

Silk Belt Pattern

Here is one of my versions of a fun bow belt. Belts and sashes such as these were pretty common in fashion plates, especially with bows. You can see them in the front, side, or even on the back of the dress. This version has rounded ends.

First, start with the belt part. Measure your waist, and add about 3 – 4 inches for overlap and seam allowance.

Then, figure out width. I wanted a 2 inch belt, so I cult mine at 5 inches wide, folded it over and sewed it with a 1/2 inch seam. 

Sew one corner and most of the side! Leave one side open so you can invert, and enough space to sew the tails into the belt. Press. Trim corners so you get a nice angle. I use a butterknife so I can get a crisp edge while pressing.

For the next part you need the tails. You will need to cut 4 of these. scanned belt tails pattern pdf

  • Do keep your height and hoop skirt size in mind. I am 5 ft 4 inches, and using a 108 inch hoop. If you are significantly taller or wearing a larger hoop, you may want to adjust the pattern to be longer and wider. I would cut out a paper version, tape it together, and drape it on your dress. See if you like the result before you make it!
  • You can always cut about 1/2 or so around the pattern if you want it just a smidge bigger.

Cut, out four of the tails, and sew with a 1/4 – 1/2 inch seam allowance. You will not be sewing all the way up the belt, as you see there is a line a few inches from the top that says, “Stop Sewing Here” that is so it is easier to invert your work. You can fold in that part later and sew it down. 

If you are adding the trim on top, you do not need to stress at all about having a perfectly rounded or straight edge. 

I made the trim by using a rotary cuter to make 1/2 inch cuts of silk. Then, I got a baby fork, and fork pleated. You can look up how to fork pleat on youtube. It is very, very simple and fast! I used the sewing machine to sew the trim right onto the tails.

I added a tack stitch in the center of the tail, to keep the tails together, so they didn’t overlap each other.

Put the tails into your belt about a half inch. Fold in the raw edge and sew your belt close.

For this type of bow I cut a 6×12 inch piece of fabric, and folded it in half so it was a square. Then, I sewed it together, but I left about 1 1/2 inches in the center un-sewn so I could invert the fabric. Trim edges to make them have a nice angle, turn in raw edge (no need to sew it now) and press.

Sew trim on top.Using your trim, pinch in the center and wrap the trim around a few times. Sew right into the center of your two tails on the belt. And it is done!

 

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Note: You may have noticed some slubs on my silk belt. Sadly, the only matching trim I could find for my dress was a shantung. In an ideal world, you should use silk taffeta for historical sewing. 

copyright2021 – this pattern is for personal use only. This pattern is not to be sold or redistributed.

A Quick Neck Bow

I cut out one piece of fabric 12X5 inches. Folded it in half and sewed one corner and the side with a 1/2 seam allowance. Flipped it inside out and ironed.

Then, I folded the sides into the back and overlapped them by 1/4 – 1/2 inch and sewed it down. 

Took a needle and sewed the center with some big stitches and yanked the thread to create the crunch. I usually do this two times, and then wrap the thread around the middle a few times for extra stability.

The center was a 3×3 inch piece of fabric. Sew a 1/2 inch seam to make a 1 inch tube. I didn’t both sewing the ends, you can just turn them under, while wrapping it around the bow. Flip inside out, and iron.

If you want ties, measure the length of tie you want. You can always make it shorter. I made mine 5 inches wide just like the bow and sewed it with a 1/2 seam allowance.

I wanted a fringed edge, so I left about 1 inch un-sewn on both sides of the seam.  Fringe by using a pin to pluck a few threads at time.

Just in case you are wondering, this isn’t silk taffeta… what it should technically be made out of! The silk I found that matched my dress was a shantung, which has slubs. But, since it was a trim, and I wanted it to match… I just went with it.

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