Waistcoat
Date1770- 1790
MediumRibbed cream color silk, embroidered to shape with silk thread, coarse cream linen, buttons (7, fabric covered to match), vellum, cream silk thread, cream linen thread. Threads identified by eye.
DimensionsCenter Front: 13 1/2" (neck to waist), 17" (neck to hem)
Center Back: 15" (neck to waist), 18 1/2" (neck to hem)
Chest: 33"
Waist: 31"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1970-109
DescriptionBoy's waistcoat made from a larger man's waistcoat pattern. Waistcoat has ribbed ivory silk taffeta fronts with embroidered floral design in shaded pinks, coral blues, gold, yellow, and green silk, primarily in satin stitch, with the addition of stem, chain, and French knots. Embroidery is concentrated on fronts, hem, and shaped pocket flaps. Seven fabric-covered embroidered buttons and worked buttonholes.Construction Details: Constructed out of a man's waistcoat pattern for a boy. Backing constructed out of two linen panels joined with a backstitch. The back was unlined and the tails are finished with a small hem. Center front panels were lined with linen, a button stand added to support the buttons and buckrum to support the buttonholes, and the lining was then felled to the silk. The linen lining at the skirt was pieced together. To accommodate smaller size, the silk pattern was cut down and joined with skirts using a whip stitch; remnants of an eight buttonhole still remain, and stitching can be seen on the opposite side of the pocket. There may have also been an eighth button at the bottom of the center front. Silk is pieced in triangular pieces at the arm. To support the blue embroidered trim, it was constructed with vellum underneath; remnants of this can also be seen.
Construction History: Ca. 1770, the pattern is first made; silk embroidered cream silk to construct a men's waistcoat. However, when actually constructed into a waistcoat, it is cut down to adjust to a smaller size.
Label TextThis boy's waistcoat appears oddly proportioned, with oversized pocket flaps and out-of-scale embroidery. The odd proportions are the result of alterations. The small waistcoat was actually made from a man's garment. The scale of the embroidery and the large pocket flaps are more in keeping with the man's waistcoat. To make the smaller garment, the tailor or seamstress removed a section of textile from above the pocket flaps to shorten the body. Additional fabric was cut from the underarm seams. The original linen back and linings were cut down and reused as well.
