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The shift is the basic undergarment for all
women. It is usually a large rectangular shaped piece of fabric which is
folded in half at the shoulder. More rectangles are added for the arms
and gussets for the underarms. The elbows were always covered as
the eighteenth century person considered elbows very ugly. Linen tape
was used to form a casing for drawstrings at the neckline. Sleeves were
gathered at the elbow with a cuff, as the century drew to a close the
gathered sleeve and cuff was eliminated as woman's fashions required
tighter sleeves. Shifts were the closest garment to the skin and were
used as nightgowns as well as an undergarment. They were almost
always made of white linen and a woman usually owned a few. Very few
extant examples lasted through the centuries, it is thought once a shift
became totally unusable the garment was probably given to a servant or a
slave or cut up and the fabric used as rags, stuffing or for sanitary
usage. Shift vs. Chemise - Chemise is a French term. Unless you are portraying someone of French extraction, the garment was called a shift.
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Want to make your own shift?
Mara Riley has
excellent and very easy |
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