Butterick 4514 - Shawl and Travelling Case

Issued May, 1892, the case also appears on page 697 of The Delineator for June, 1898.

The text that accompanies the illustration:

A case of this kind is frequently called into request at this season, when everyone is making ready for Summer journeys. A few of the necessaries may be packed in such a case for a short journey or for use until the often-belated trunk arrives. It is made of brown linen, by pattern No. 4514, price 5d. or 10 cents. The shape is oblong and figure No. 6 shows the inside, which is provided with a wide and two narrow pockets, for comb and brush and other articles of the toilet. All the free edges are bound with brown braid. The outside of the case is simply embroidered with shaded brown silks. Straps are bound with braid and secured with buttons and button-holes. A small outside pocket for change and a strap by which to carry are also braid-bound.

By the time the case appeared in the Delineator, the pattern was six years old. That's a relatively long life-span for a pattern. It may have been a popular gift to make and give.

The shawl case is a member of a whole family of soft luggage that could be made at home or at sea, in the case of ditty bags made by sailors.  The Workwoman's Guide of 1840 gives extensive instructions on making travelling dressing cases for both gentlemen and ladies,  glove cases, brush and comb bags, boot bags, housewives ("hussifs,") and watch pockets.

By the last quarter of the nineteenth century the term "shawl case" had become a generic term for a smallish case, carried by hand by women, not unlike today's ubiquitous tote bag.

The exact form of the shawl case varies.  The shawl case pattern listed in Demorest's Family Magazine for August 1879 is a standard duffel or hold-all shape.  It had to be decorated because the Victorian decorated everything.

The flat form of Butterick 4514 makes it a little easier to make.

Are you traveling over the holidays?  Don't forget your shawl case! (Just in case your trunk arrives late - some things never change.)

Originally posted August 3, 2008, entirely re-written December 20, 2014, updated on February 4th, 2023.

Butterick 1566 - Ladies' Sack Chemise with Round or Square Neck

1895. This pattern is featured on page 239 of the Delineator magazine for February, in the article "New Styles of Underwear."

The article provides extensive details on how the chemise could be made up, using both rather luxurious trimmings, and then using more economical trimmings.

India lawn was chosen for the development of the round-necked chemise, pattern No. 1566, price 10d. or 20 cents, being used in shaping. From the neck edge falls a frill of English embroidery that is caught up at the center, and at the center of the front, a deeper frill falls below the upper one. The neck edge is finished with embroidered revering threaded with pink baby ribbon, which is formed in a rosette in front. The embroidery is applied plainly about each arm's-eye and is narrowed under the arm, and the embroidered revering is used as a completion, being run with ribbon that is formed in a rosette at the bottom of the arm's-eye. The embroidered frills could be omitted and short, lengthwise rows of Valenciennes lace insertion and wide embroidered beading used in alternation could trim the front, while a frill of lace could rise at the neck edge. Similar frills could trim arms'-eyes, and a ruffle of the goods edged like the neck could finish the bottom.

This pattern seems to have just barely avoided being destroyed by time and inattention.  Typically these early Butterick patterns arrive folded into a packet that measures about 5 inches square, with the label pasted on.  Envelopes don't seem to have been supplied, and separate instruction sheets won't appear for another twenty years.  (The Shawl and Traveling  Case 4514 pattern dates to about the same time.)  My guess is that at some point this pattern was rolled  up and subsequently became squashed at the bottom of a drawer or shelf.  Mice or bugs or both could have attacked the paste used to attach the label to the pattern.

Here is how the pattern looked when I first unfolded it.

And here it is after a careful pressing with a cool, dry iron. (I've rearranged the pattern pieces to reflect the way the chemise would be put together.) The pattern pieces actually show few signs of use. Outside of the damage caused by poor storage conditions, there are almost no tears or pin holes, and the notches are still crisply cut.  Note the notch at the bottom indicating the hem line.

This is about as simple a pattern as you can get for a chemise, and home dress-making books of this period usually give ample instructions for drafting a chemise pattern on your own.

From Needlework, Knitting, Cutting Out, by Elizabeth Rosevear, 1894

The seam allowance of only 1/4" seems rather narrow if the maker intends to fell the seams, as should be done for body linen.  Note that yardages are given for lace trimming and insertion, but you're expected to know how to apply this, as well as any facings for the sleeve and neck edges.

The Sears and Roebuck Catalog for Fall 1902 offers chemises for ladies ranging in price from 98 cents to $1.89.  Even the low-priced model offers lace edgings and insertions (though probably not of very high quality.)

Let's wander over to the yard goods department of the catalog and see what it'll cost us to make up the Butterick chemise in the most economical way possible. (I'm assuming that white sewing thread and needles are always kept on hand in the household.)

Pattern                                     20¢
Lawn, 2 and 3/4 yards, 32" wide, @ 20¢/yard 55¢
Lace trimming, sold @ 12 yards for 8¢        8¢
Lace insertion, sold @ 12 yards for 18¢     18¢
TOTAL                                     $1.01

Considering only the materials and not the value of the maker's labor, the home-made chemise is three cents more than Sears least expensive purchased chemise, but 88¢ less than the most expensive one.

Updated on January 26, 2023 with new information from the Delineator magazine.