Tag Archives: Victorian

January 9, 2026 · 11:29 pm

A Victorian Nightgown

Merry meet all,

Today I want to share with you how I sewed a Victorian nightgown. 

I bought a pdf pattern from Stella Pattern on Etsy. I usually use a regular tissue pattern, but this time I bought a pdf pattern. I knew I could never get the pattern I wanted from McCalls or Vogue patterns, certainly not a Victorian nightgown pattern. I downloaded the files and read them carefully. I wish the seller told me how much fabric I required for the pattern. That would have been helpful. Here is the link for the pattern I bought on Etsy – 

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1831703923/victorian-nightgown-sewing-pattern?ref=yr_purchases

The construction of the Victorian nightgown had some unforeseen challenges.  I bought 4.5 meters of yellow eyelet cotton, 100% cotton, on sale. 

I downloaded a pattern size, which turned out to be the wrong size. I used size 14, when I should have used a 16 or 18. Our bodies change as we age. I needed to make adjustments to the pattern. The pattern consisted of two long front and back pieces, the neckline facing, sleeves and sleeve flounce and hem flounce. I cut out the pattern at the library and that was not a good thing. It was not till I did a fitting that I realized the body of the nightgown would be too tight on me. Okay I altered the armholes after checking that out in a vogue sewing book. I cut into the armhole seam, basted the sleeve in and then basted the sleeve in twice, and then decided how much more I needed to cut into the armholes. I did not trim the seam, but I did cut into the seam and clipped the seam to make the armhole have more room to fit my arm. That would make the whole nightgown more roomy and comfortable for me, which a nightgown should be. I may need to alter the neckline facing. 

I cut out the flounce for the sleeves twice. The second time I cut out the sleeve flounce correctly. The pattern says to cut out on a fold. I am so happy that I cut it out again -which is why it is a good idea to always have more fabric. It is easier to make something larger, rather than smaller. The sleeve flounce needs to have that fullness. 

So once that was done, and I was happy with how the nightgown felt on me, I permanently set in the sleeves. When you are constructing the nightgown or any other sewing project, that is the best time to make the alterations. Not when you are done sewing, because you are not truly done. I got distracted when I cut out the front and back pattern pieces, and ended up having to sew the front piece center section together, which was supposed to open on a fold. Oops! I made a very slim seam allowance and with the arms not fitting earlier, I was glad I did. That meant more room for me. 

The fabric is very delicate. I stitched slowly and carefully. I know sewing machines can sew fast, but I chose sewing carefully. The end result is the nightgown looks great. 

I decided that the best way for me to know the front from the back was the slim seam allowance in the center front pattern piece. The back center section has a slightly wider seam allowance. 

I sewed the neckline facing, and I set in the sleeves and I sewed the flounce. The flounce intimidated me. I had to figure out how to sew the two big sections together. There was a front and a back, but by the time I figured out how to sew the front and back together, and stay stitch and hem the flounce,  I could no longer figure out back from front. I pinned the flounce right sides together. I stitched the flounce to the nightgown hem and pressed it. I clipped the seam allowance, pressed the seam allowance and checked the flounce and the hem. There were two spots where the fabric was caught in the flounce or a hole in the seam, but I quickly fixed those issues. 

The eyelet cotton was very easy to work with. I stitched a zigzag stitch into the center back seam allowances and the arm and arm flounce pieces. The eyelet cotton  material is very light and delicate. I did not want it to fray or unravel. I did my best to whip stitch the seam allowance for the arms. The zig zag stitch was a huge challenge, because the seam allowances are narrow and the fabric is fragile, but I managed. I snipped the stray threads.

Next, I want to line the nightgown. I have to mimic the nightgown pattern, but I will manage. I always wash the fabric first to eliminate the formaldehyde preservatives the stores use on the fabric to extend the fabric shelf life in the store. I will then cut out the pattern, except I am not making another flounce, neckline stitch or sleeves. I just don’t want the nightgown to be so see through. 

I bought white thread to correspond with the white lining material, which I also bought on sale at Fabricville. The eyelet cotton was 66.67% off, so instead of paying $90 for the fabric (unreal!), I paid $40. That and the threads and the lining material, this took 3 days to sew and cost me $50! It is sewn correctly and neatly and will always just fit me. The zig zag stitch ensures it won’t unravel or fray too much. I set in the sleeves three times before I was happy with the fit. 

I washed and dried the fabric. They put formaldehyde in the fabric to give it a longer shelf life in the fabric store. Now I just have to make sure the fabric is on the grain and start cutting! 

Once I am done sewing the lining together, I have to sew it to the nightgown. The pattern is always sewn right sides together. I have two meters of fabric, so the lining will be easy to do. I just have to keep in mind the alteration I did to the nightgown and do that to the lining or just add an extra inch to the whole pattern. I am sure it will be lovely. 

Today I tried – tried being the key word there, to make a lining. I seam ripped the neckline facing. I sewed the neckline again and this time I did it correctly. The nightgown is now done. I will check tomorrow for any small touch ups that need to be done, but it is complete and correct. I think the victorian nightgown looks great. It fits true to me. It is just beautiful.  

Does this inspire you to sew your own nightgown? I hope so.

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(

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March 25, 2015 · 12:37 am

Paranormal Experiences

door study

The Attic door in our former Victorian home

Merry Meet All, I ate greasy fries and watched a few paranormal videos tonight. I just joined a Facebook group Haunts from the Cape. They mean haunts from my favourite place in the world, Cape Breton, next to Halifax as my favorite place. I clicked on a video link about the Bell Witch. Then I stumbled onto another cool video. I enjoyed the video but I was never scared by the video. How much of it was true and how much was fake? That is the question. 

But I can tell you now about my true experiences. I want to say that 1) I wish these occurrences weren’t true. I get scared too. I get stressed too. Oh yes. I used to live in a Victorian house with my Mother as I was growing up. The house was haunted. I want to share the experiences we- yes, we all had in the house. I allow you to decide for yourselves what happened but I can say it is true. I am so glad to have moved out of the house due to the ghostly activity that is, until I moved in here. I have a cat now. Maybe the spooks will scram. Ha ha

We used to have a back porch. I used to try to open the door only to feel something resist on the other side. I waited and it, whatever it was, would let go. Then I would open the door.  I saw lights go upward, not down, but up the fireplace mantel.  My brother and sister used to feel like we were being chased by something invisible as we raced up the basement stairs. Interestingly enough, I found myself including that in the paranormal novel I wrote. It just felt natural to include it. Then we painted the basement and it ceased. I also saw the number 6 written on the basement walls when we moved in.  My brother Jesse was renovating the house and he says he felt watched all day. We did major renovations to the house. 

One night after an evening of partying and bawdy revelry at our favorite bar, my friends and I trudged home and crashed. We all slept in the living room. My friend reported seeing little lights  falling as he fell asleep in the chair.  The attic door in the attic- well, that should be in a Hollywood horror movie. The room was meant for the servants (I think I was my Mom’s main servant but that is another story.) The door was hard to open and close by a mortal hand but it opened and closed on its own. I mean, you had to use your strength to open or close this door. The small attic room was too small for me to stand upright in. In the summer, it was sweltering hot and in the winter, it was Bone Chilling Cold. I hated it in there. I used to do everything in my power to avoid going up in the attic. I was too scared. I hardly ever spent the night up there in all the time I lived in that house. No way 

My clairvoyant friends used to come over to and tell me about the ghosts they saw in my house. One was of a cat and the other of a rocking chair and one friend saw an old lady who wore a pink cardigan with grey hair in a bun.  My Mom claims but she now denies that once time the bathtub- claw-footed, poured water on its own. I remember just after we moved in, the long nights when I used to lie perfectly still in my bed and every hair on my body upright and I would listen to noises when I knew damn well every one was in bed. I heard knocks, whispers. I used to open the basement door at night and something would hush. The basement would look so dark- a black bottomless hole. Trust me, it was freaky.

We found blue glass in the garden while we lived there which probably ended up in our yard due to the Halifax Explosion.  I lived in Edmonton years before I moved to Halifax with my family. I remember feeling something behind me as I lay in my bed the night my aunt Jeannie passed. Was it her spirit saying goodbye? I will never know. I remember when my Mother received a phone call that my father (thank the Goddess) had passed away. He was an abusive alcoholic. The caller was millions of miles away but I knew what the call was about and what the caller was telling my Mother without knowing how I could have known. It freaks even me out too. 

Remember that I live in a city known for its ghostly history. So this is nothing new here. If you want to know more, you can read the previous posts on this blog and on my main blog Broomsticks & Cauldrons. I discuss Halifax’s spooky history in more detail.  I now live in an old house that is around 80 years old. I don’t know if this place is haunted or not. But I have seen a ghost cat in my apartment and not too long ago I saw a dark shadow. OK a ghost cat I can take but that shadow was too much for me. It was dark and practically walked through a wall. If my chair was not so solid, I would have fallen through the chair. I cleansed and smudged my home.  I am not the type of person who would risk humiliating herself on a blog.So everything I have written here is true but I respect my readers. You can decide for yourselves. I will talk more about how to psychically protect yourself in future posts. So don’t be scared and please keep reading!!   Blessed be, Lady Spiderwitch )O(

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