Mid-19th Century Hooped Petticoat from Costume in Detail, The Skirt

I have been working away at the guys stuff for Shiloh. Three weeks to go before they leave! We are down to the wire, people. Thankfully everything is done except the stewards frock coat for Blake and pleated bosom shirt for David. Three weeks should be plenty of time to get that done. Sewing on their things has made me eager to get started on my new plaid wool dress. But first things first! My hoop from last year was really unusable. The shape was odd and it was just too large - 110" - and bulky. I decided to make a new hoop and chose the one from Costume in Detail, p. 197. It is a basic rectangular construction petticoat that measure 90" at the hem and has five steel bands set in the bottom half of the skirt. It's not the most fashionable of hoops for the 1860's but I think mine will be very practical and last a long time and be perfect for me at this time in my life of being a mother to young children.

I cut out and sewed the petticoat over the last few days, using some super lightweight striped cotton in my stash. Two panels of fabric didn't quite make 90" so the basic skirt is made of 2 full panels of fabric and 1 skinny panel. The hem will be the casing for the bottom steel and I made four more tucks spaced 2" apart for the other steels.

The skirt is cut slightly longer in the back than in the front to allow for a bum pad to be worn beneath it. This will help give the back thrust that one so often sees in period images. The waist is pleated to a fitted waistband  that's all there is to it! A very simple little thing.

I honestly have no idea why I have such a weird look on my face, but hey! Check out the yellow walls.  I painted the room that will be used for a nursery this week and I am totally loving the new color. It's much sunnier and brighter than it looks in this photo :) 

I found I couldn't reuse the steels from my old hoopskirt so I ordered new steels and hopefully they will be in by next week. I can't wait to see what this looks like all finished!

Love,
Sarah

1860's Ballgown Progress

Not completely done - but almost! I should have this sucker finished tomorrow and then I can relax and breathe a sigh of relief as I lay it away for the Yule Ball.

I really had no idea how it was going to come out. A dear lady I made some gowns for earlier this year gifted me with this beautiful taffeta after I told her the blue-green color of the dresses I made for her reminded me of my Grammie. Unbeknownst to me, this dear woman searched high and low to find the same fabric to give to me since I had liked the color so much. She couldn't find the exact fabric, but this shade is very close. This was back in the summer - since then, I have wondered about how I ought to make this up and at last, with the ball coming up in a few weeks, I decided now was the time to do it.

I could have made it perfectly plain - but what fun is that? I drew lots of sketches and at last settled on what has always been my "dream gown" design. I always loved Disneys Cinderella. I watched it every day when I was little (just like my boys now love to watch Cars and Toy Story.) You know the dress the mice make for Cinderella so she can go to the ball? It is pink and whit eand has scallops and flounces. Very pretty and one dress I've always wanted. So I trimmed the skirt with two rows of ruching in a scalloped shape. To dress up the plain fabric, I added a fringe of clear beads between the rows of ruching. Although the bodice is not done yet, it will also have two rows of ruching and one of beads as well. The sleeves are trimmed with beads at the hem and will have one row of ruching just above the hem. I may make some poufy sheer white undersleeves but I haven't decided for sure yet. The trim on the bodice is just hastily pinned on for the pictures. I may move the position of the beaded fringe to a gentle curving horizontal line instead of the corset-like line it has. . .I think that may "go" with the skirt better.

For Christmas, the high points of the scallops are trimmed with a gold poinsettia. I have doubts as to the period-correctness of gold poinsettias, but this ball is not really a strict ball by any sense of the word and the gold looks pretty with the green. :) After Christmas, I can easily take off the tacked on flowers and replace them with other flowers, or bows, or ribbon clusters, etc. Or leave any trim there off altogether.

All that is left to do is to make and attach the bodice and sleeve ruching and attach the sleeves and sew on the hooks.

Right now it's lunch time! Time for soup and crackers and shutting windows. The whole area, outside and in, reeks strongly of ammonia. I'm hoping its just a standard thing that farmers put on their fields in the fall. Whew. It's awfully powerful.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Love,


Sarah

David's Brown Linen Medieval Tunic

This week has been one of making David's tunic. He was sick on Monday so he stayed home from work. I draped the pattern on him that afternoon, cut the fabric on Tuesday and started sewing. I finished the garment a little while ago and he tried it on for the last time - the last time prior to his first event, that is! :)

This is technically a "Middle garment", being worn over his undershirt but underneath an outer garment. I haven't made his outer tunic yet, so for now, he has to make do with this. It has some rectangular construction (skirt gores, lower skirts) but the chest and shoulders are fitted and the sleeve is a transitional type sleeve that is curved in shape but set in with a gusset.

The fabric is a medium weight brown linen. I got the linen from Fashion Fabrics Club and wasn't happy with the rest of the order so I was reimbursed - and got to keep the fabrics. There is some controversy as to whether linen was used for main garments during this era, with it being th ough wool is generally more accurate to use, but I didn't know that before I got this fabric. David really liked it, so I used it. Most of it will be hidden beneath the outer garment anyway.

The sleeves were the thing that gave me the most trouble. The first sleeves I made had the buttonholes on the wrong side, so I made a new set of sleeves this morning. I had to sew the new ones in twice to get them to hang right but I think now they will work nicely!

Hopefully this coming week I'll get my kirtle done! I have an 1860's ballgown to make for a ball the day after Thanksgiving too. So much to sew!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,
Sarah

Plaid 1850's Dress, Simplicity 3727

A few months ago I posted about the then in progress 1850's dress I was making for my friend Nona. Well, at last, it is finished! Nona came over two weeks ago for the bodice fitting and over the weekend I made the bodice. Since Nona and I are very nearly the same size, here are a few pictures of the finished dress on me.

The dress was fitted to go over a hoopskirt and modern undies.

Even though I wasn't personally thrilled with the overall design for myself at first, and the style is really not appropriate for me to wear for 1860's reenactments, I really really like the finished dress. I need to make one for me!

Even if not for reeancting, it would be fun to wear for church or around the house on those days when I feel like wearing something a bit more exciting than my standard jean skirts and sweaters. I think I'd love a deep blue and brown or gold plaid. And I love black trim. The velvet ribbon and fringe just sets off the lines so nicely, I think. 

Now to plunge back into the 14th century. I have David's basic tunic draped and patterend and cut and partially sewn together. Today I need to make the eyelets for lacing the front. 22 of them.

Love,
Sarah

A Medieval Lady's Smock

I put in the last stitches for my 14th century underwear today. The smock took only a few days to make and now that it is finished, I can fine tune the kirtle mock up fitted overtop of it and start the gown at last.

And there ya have it, folks. The underwear of a 14th century lady. As Edgar Allan Poe so poignantly put it (although in reference to a tapping), only this and nothing more.

I made mine based on the square cut method. I used a big rectangle for the body, two triangles on each side for the width at the hem, two rectangles narrowed at one end for the sleeves and squares for the gussets. It actually took me longer to cut this out than to sew it together. Because this fabric does not tear, I had to pick out individual threads to mark the dimensions and cut along the line the removed thread left. Can I say tedious? But it is done now and I am happy with the result though I wish I had made the smock a bit longer. It is currently mid calf length but I think a few extra inhes would not have hurt anything. Oh well. No one will see this, anyway.

Last fitting for the kirtle tomorrow, hopefully!

The Smock Pattern Generator

Medeival Smocks - Documentation

Love,
Sarah

Constructing The Kirtle - Step 2: The Fabric

Thanks to everyone who had advice and tips for me on my last post! I am working on getting my shift/smock complete and making a mock up of the sleeve and then will baste the sleeve in and try the mock up on one more time to make sure of the fit before I cut into my wool.

I have also decided to forego the linen kirtle, at least for now. Thank you for your advice on that as well. I think the wool will hold up much better anyway.

So, after fitting the mock up my next problem was my fabric. I had 8 yards of a beautiful wool/silk blend fabric that washed up very prettily, with a slightly fuzzy surface. The problem was the color - a light tan. Skin tight bodice + skin colored fabric = a very uncomfortable Sarah and a husband who won't let her out of the house. I spent a loonng time trying to decide if I ought to dye the wool a different color or just buy new wool. Frugality won in the end, and I decided to try to dye the wool.

My last dyeing experience was not successful at all (overdyeing an already-constructed 1860's style dress). The dye came out splotchy and uneven. It was a failure. It was hard for me to actually dye the wool when it came to the point. I didn't want to ruin it. I prayed about it and spent about an hour on Sunday night heating water, standing over a steaming washing machine and agitating the fabric in the dye for about a half hour before giving up hope and letting the cycle finish and plopping the wet fabric in the dryer. I had no idea how it would come out.

Much to my suprise and thankfulness (why I am always suprised when God answers my prayers?) the fabric came out splendidly. The dye was even and clean and the color was almost exactly the same color as the linen I had planned to get for a linen kirtle - a pretty blue-green. The wool is a few shades darker than the linen sample, but still! I'm very pleased. I used 1 box of Rit dye, dark green, and 1 box of Rit dye, royal blue. I dissolved both packets in 4 cups of hot water and agitated it in the hot-water-filled machine before adding in the wet, warm wool fabric. The color came out very soft and muted since I used the 2 packets to dye 5 yards of 60" wide wool.

Now; another question for you experts. To line or not to line? I do not really want to fully line this dress but am thinking I may need an extra layer of fabric for support in the torso area. Has anyone done this? How does it work? My wool fabric is a tad stretchier than the sheet I used for the mock up. I have some sturdy and tight woven dark brown linen I could possibly use to line the torso. From what I've read, linen was only blue, cream or white in period but this would be hidden anway and seems a better choice than cotton. What to do?

Love,
Sarah

Constructing The Kirtle - Step 1: The Mock Up

Having procrastinated too long already, I decided this morning that I needed to do something creative and start work on my 14th century things. I am starting out very simply with a linen smock, wool hose, and a kirtle. I am not yet sure what kind of overkirtle or cote (the terms are quite confusing to me still!) I will make yet. But first things first.

Having looked at quite a few different sites and read about different methods of making this basic, supporting under-dress I took bits and pieces of advice from different places and put them together to make my initial mock up. I'll share some of these great resources as I go along.

I started with a big rectangle of fabric from a sheet and cut a hole in the middle for my head. Then, keeping the center front on straight of grain, I began pulling and pinning and cutting til I had something that looked like it was starting to work. I then took the basic rought shape of those pieces (front and back) and smoothed out the lines and averaged them up. That was used to make a second mock up which fit pretty well, but still needed a bit of fine tuning. The 3rd and last mock up is pictured here.

My question to you ladies is; what do you think? I am not exactly sure what level of fitness I am going for. I know the bosom has to be supported but how tight does this dress need to be? Right now, it is fairly tight but does not feel confining. I am so used to wearing corsets, though, that tightness does not really bother me. It is very tight just below the bust line and for a few inches down the torso. Then just above the hips it begins to flare out. The pattern stops at hip length since from there I will just make it a rectangular shape to the floor and add gores as needed to get fullness in the hem.

There are some wrinkles under the bust and some at the waist from time to time. I have heard from other costumers that this is normal. I really don't see how I could get a supportive garment totally wrinkle free without the use of boning or cording of some kind, so are the wrinkles here okay? After all, the only thing holding me up and in is fabric! :P

How about the neckline? Is it too low? Too high? (I don't want to go any lower!) too shallow, too wide? Too scooped?

Aghh!! I'm so excited to finally be starting this dress but am so nervous I'll make a dreadful mistake which will render it unwearable.

I hope to have some progress posts in the next week or so. My next step is dyeing some wool to make this dress in. The current colour of the wool is very nearly a flesh color and I think I want something a little darker, for the sake of modesty. We'll see how the wool ones comes out, and then I will make a linen one. I got my fabric samples from Fabric-store.com and found exactly the color I wanted. :) It's a lovely pale blue-green-grey called "Meadow".

Any and all input and constructive criticism on the fit will be extremely welcomed!

Love,

Sarah

Practical Head-ware

I thought about finishing my brown drawn bonnet for use this fall at events. It has only been in progress since February. But I rejected the idea in favor of making a new sunbonnet since I sold the ones I had previously made and was without one entirely. And, gasp, is it not rather *shocking* to go about bare-headed? (although I usually do. . .)

This one is made from Timely Tresses Lucy Amelia Sunbonnet pattern. This is the 3rd one I have made from this pattern and I must say, I do like it very much. It has a pleasant shape that flares from the head instead of encasing it in long vertical lines. The long vertical lines were just not doing it for me, you know. I am not exactly thrilled to see myself in a such a bonnet and be grimly reminded of the long, narrow face of a mule. This pattern is a different. And I do like it. Perhaps this will take care of my preference to wear nothing on my head at all.

The brim is made from a double layer of white and blue striped cotton. The brim is interlined with two layers of cotton flannel, for stiffness and washability and the whole thing is hand quilted for sturdiness and shape. The crown is just one layer of fabric and there is a drawstring adjustment for the neckline and ties at the neck and under the chin.

I love how fast this pattern works up - both quilted bonnets I have made from this pattern have taken just one day to complete. The corded one (with over 25 rows of cording if I recall correctly) took just two afternoons. I don't usually use patterns but this is definitely a keeper!

Fall is surely here and this weekend we are off to another event. If I try very hard I may succeed in being a good girl and keeping my bonnet on when out and about!

Love,

Sarah

1850's Plaid Gown, Sleeves, Collar and Skirt

Some of you may remember the royal blue satin-and-velvet ballgown I made earlier this year for my friend Nona. Nona is just the loveliest person to work with in costuming. She is thorough in her planning, she knows exactly what she wants and she doesn't complain about being fitted. :)

After her ball gown was finished Nona brought me the Simplicity 3727 pattern along with a beautiful blue and green cotton plaid. She loved the style and the fabric was exactly what she had in mind. She told me to take my time and not rush with this dress since she did not need it right away.

Finally - after five months! - I am starting on this dress. I hope to have it done so Nona can use it next weekend at our next Civil War event. I am rather glad I did not make it earlier this year since it is working up to be quite visually heavy - more appropriate for cooler weather than warm.

Simplicity 3727 is a pattern based on an original dress from the Wisconsin Historical Society. It is more of an 1850's style than a true Civil War (1861-1865) style, but even so, this style is really far more appropraite than most gowns seen at events around here. ;) And Nona is a bit older, so perhaps this may have been a style she would have liked and would have continued using in the period. I have made 2 other dresses from this pattern for other people, but this is the first one I am making in a natural fiber! *bliss* Synthetics just do NOT work well for mid-19th century sewing!

The fabric is a 100% cotton plaid in dark royal blue and emerald green. Nona looks very nice in these rich, clear, dark colors. The trimming is black cotton fringe and black velvet ribbon. The ribbon is made from bias strips of velvet yardage, which was a lot more economical than purchasing ready-to-use velvet ribbon. I just "eyeballed" the strips but tried to keep them at about 3/4" wide. The sleeves are partially open, and instead of the fringe trimming the edges of this opening, Nona opted for black cord frogs to close this opening decoratively. Matchings frogs will be used as decoration on the bodice. The lower sleeve is lined with black cotton sateen and the upper sleeve with plain white cotton.

The sleeves are really very rich and heavy looking. I love the contrast of texture and mood between the sleeves and the undersleeves. The undersleeves are quite light and dainty and have a very feminine pointed cuff, which I love, and are trimmed with very dainty lace. They close at the wrist with a buttohole and shell button.

The collar is also of light white cotton and trimmed with the same lace. Here you can see how large the collar is. This definitely dates the dress to the 50's. By the 60's, the collars were much more narrow. I still have to slip stitch the bias band to cover the seam allowance on this collar, then it will be ready to baste into the neckline of the basque once that is finished.

No pics of the skirt - but its just a plain old rectangular paneled skirt with the typical hem facing and waistband. :) This weekend Nona will be coming over to get fitted for the basque. Hopefully we won't run into any snags and I can get some pictures of Nona wearing this gown next weekend!

Love,

Sarah

1930's Style Red and Cream Cotton Dress

At last I have some pictures of my 1930's style red and cream dress! I've had this done for a while and have worn it a lot. It is definitely a new favorite. It's a bit difficult for me to go through the murk and mire of 1860's fashion that has more recently been going through my head, but I believe with this dress I wanted to go for a more early-to-mid 30's look with slightly longer, slimmer skirts, more flare at the hem and with a lot of emphasis on the shoulder/neckline area.

There were two dresses I based this one off of. One was a reprinted Past Patterns pattern for an earlier 1930's dress, and one was in an ad from a 1934 Sears Catalog. The pattern is very basic. The bodice is my base one that is slashed and spread at the chest level for some fullness to be gathered into a center front seam. The sleeves are circular two layer flutter sleeves with the upper sleeve being slightly smaller than the under sleeve. The skirt is made in six gores and is cut to be a little generous at the waist, fitting not too loose nor too tight over the hips and coming in again around knee level to create a little shaping before finally flaring out into a trumpet like shape at the hem, which ends a bit above the ankle.

The fabric is a lovely 100% cotton voile I got from Jo Anns last year. It was on clearance in the home dec department. The red floral print is HUGE so I wasn't sure how well it would look as a garment. But I was pleasantly suprised it worked quite well for a dress. I just had to be careful where I placed the big floral motifs so I would not end up looking lopsided when I wore the dress! I squeezed this dress out of 3 yards of fabric with almost a half yard left to spare. I love dresses that take such little bits of fabric. :) The fabric is very sheer so I had to make a slip to wear under it - which you have already seen in my post quite a few post backs about the ultra-modern 1930's bias cup slip. :P

I have more 30's dresses planned! I even bought fabric a few weeks ago for another summer style one; a pretty blue-green cotton printed with pink flowers. I hope I get a chance to make it while it is still warm enough to wear it! I just need to get through reenacting season with my interest in the 30's intact. Reenacting sewing has a way of draining my mind of everything but the 1860's. ;) This week it's mens clothes. . .and finishing my new quilt, if I get the time!

Love,
Sarah

The Smallest Kepi

I have made a lot of American Civil War reenactment clothing over the years. However, I have never made a kepi before and I have never made anything for an animal before. When our unit commander asked me a few months ago if I thought I could make a kepi for our units mascot, a little yorkie-poo doggie named McGregor I hesitated at first. But then he said "I know you probably can't do this. . ." and that was it. I just had to prove I could!

The kepi was probably the most common form of headgear worn by Union troops in the 1860's. If I remember correctly, the kepi was adopted from the French army. They are impractical things, of course, but the army didn't seem to think of practicality in the clothing they issued at times. :) I began to study David's kepis to get an idea of the shape and realized a kepi is a pretty basic thing, after all. A circular, stiffened crown, a shaped band, a rectangular band on the bottom, a leather brim and leather chin strap- which, if pictorial evidence is any guide, was hardly ever used as a chin strap and served mainly as a decorative addition to the kepi.

For McGregor's kepi I asked for his weight and used a similary sized stuffed animal as a guide. I used scraps of blue wool flannel left over from David's sack coat for the main part, lined it with black polished cotton and used bits of soft, old black leather from an ancient duffel bag in my possession for the brim and the chin strap. Alas, I did not have any small Federal Eagle buttons to put on the kepi so two four-hole brass buttons were used instead.

To accomodate pointy doggie ears I added narrow black grosgrain ribbon in V shapes at each side. A long tie was attached to the point of each V to tie under his chin. Modeling the kepi is little David's stuffed doggie who has approximately the same size head as McGregor.

I'm crossing my fingers that this will fit him. . .hopefully it will. I will find out Friday!

Love,
Sarah

Wrapper Progress - Facings, Hems and Sleeves

I got the facings on the long front openings sewn down yesterday and then attached the hem facing. The hem facing is about 4" wide and protects the hem from wear and tear. It is a fun pinkish red print that is a cheerful glimpse of color - not that anyone is supposed to see it!

After that I sewed up the sleeves. They are a variation of my basic one piece coat sleeve. They are still cut on the fold, but the bottom edge is curved and belled slightly. They come to just above my wrist and will be worn with open undersleeves. This eliminates a close fitting cuff for maximum coolness; after all, this wrapper is meant to be hot-weather wear. If I like it a lot I may make another one specifically for cooler weather. I sewed a band of horizontal stripes to each sleeve to visually emphasize the width of the sleeve. The band is sewn down by machine close to the folded edge. This was a lot quicker to do than sewing it down by hand!

The skirt also got a horizontal striped band. The band is about 2 3/4" wide and is placed 8" above the hem. This seemed to work best for my height and figure and for the fact that this probably will not be worn over a cage. I would probably have made the band a little wider and a little higher up on the skirt if I were to wear this mainly over a cage.

Next I piped the armscyes. I had to piece in a little bit on the back armscye. For some reason I cut it weird and the sleeve would not have set smoothly unless I pieced in a half circle shape on each back shoulder. That done, I set in the sleeves. They have two small pleats at the back shoulder to create room for movement.

Try on time! Here I just threw it on over my modern clothes and tied the belt loosely in the front. So far it seems to be working well. The basic construction of the wrapper is now done. Yeah! Now I need to sew hook and eyes to the lining and I am contemplating making functional buttonholes to close the outer layer of the wrapper at the front. I have some pretty mother-of-pearl buttons I'd like to use for the front (it will be closed to the waist) but I need to do a little more research to make sure that they are okay to use before I put them on.

Love,

Sarah

Wrapper Progress - Bodice Fronts, Lining and Tie Belt

 I may be posting a little more often over the next few days as I work more on my wrapper. This is more for my benefit than for any assumed interest of my dear readers - for, alas, I often make something and then when I want to make a similar item, I have forgotten how I made the first one!

Since yesterday, I have whipped on the skirt to the bodice back and sides and attached the bodice front pieces. The bodice fronts are cut with the bodice and skirts all in one, eliminating a waist seam for the center front. The bodice fronts are also cut quite wide (half of a 45" panel for each front bodice piece) and the excess width is pleated into the shoulder to create fullness over the bosom and into the skirts. The white cotton lining, however, is cut without the extra width and is cut to end at the waistline. I turned up a narrow casing at the bottom of each front lining for a drawstring to adjust the fit at the waist. Any extra fullness on the drawstring comes only from what would in an ordinary dress be darted, so there will not be much bulk there.

After sewing the center fronts to the wrapper and stitching the shoulder seam, I decided to try it on to see if the fit was working. So far so good! The pleats need to be pressed and I need to turn and stitch the self facings on the front openings but otherwise, I'm thrilled with it!

I cut the neckline down to a V shape and piped the edge. I want the lining to close seperately from the outer layer so clipped the seam allowance of the lining only a few inches up from the center front edge of the bodice. This clipped area I turned to the inside and hemmed down by hand.

Here's a picture showing the lining and the drawstring to adjust the waist. From what I've read, it was more common to have the lining fitted with darts but I chose to use a drawstring for a few reasons. 1. This will not be worn with a corset. I don't know about you ladies, but my body certainly is NOT the same from day to day. Especially during "that time of month" and some days my clothing fits tighter or looser than others. I don't want a closely fitted darted lining if some days I need to let things out a little. Especially when its hot. 2. The drawstring will be very handy if, Lord willing, we are ever expecting again. If that happens, I can even leave the lining unfastened on the inside to allow for belly expansion and use the drawstring to tie the lining shut at the waistline over the bump.

Now I need to work on the sleeves and the skirt hem. . .I should definitely be finished before next weekend! I can't wait to wear it!

Love,

Sarah

Tunics Done and Wrapper Started

The two extra tunics for young Patrick are finished. I do say, this tunic style is by far the quickest and easiest I have ever sewn up. 2 hours per tunic and there ya go. These were finished and delivered yesterday, so hopefully young Master P. will be cool and comfortable during the rest of our hot reenactments. Since he is growing quickly he got an A line style that can be worn til it is hip length. The belt is simply pinned into place at the side seams right now and his mother can adjust the belt to accomodate his waist placement as he grows. This style is great because all that really needs to be fitted is the neckline, shoulders and armscyes. Everything else can be as baggy as you please - it all is pulled in at the waistline with the belt so there is lots of growing room.

The blue one is a solid cotton. Yes, a solid cotton. It is true that solid cottons were not generally used for clothing during the 1860's. However, this particular cotton is very thick and is definitely not your regular run-of-the-mill quilting weight cotton. Since it is an identical hue to a ballgown I made for this young mans mother earlier this year I went with it and for all intents and purposes, this is a fine wool tunic. :) It is trimmed with black braid down the front and at the belt and black decorative buttons and is intended for church and dressier occasions.

The plaid tunic is brown and tan and green and is trimmed up in green. It is a lightweight cotton and will be a good play outfit. The dark plaid will hide stains - I love plaids for this reason! Stains and little boys just seem to go together it seems.

With the tunics out of the way I've started my wrapper. Yay! I have it all cut out and partly sewn together. It will have a V-neck, slightly short, open coat sleeves with loose lace trimmed undersleeves and a decorative white petticoat. Here is a picture of the back and side bodice pieces with the skirt pinned and ready to be whipped to the bottom piped edge of the waistband. I thought I would have to fit a new muslin since this will not be worn with a corset but much to my suprise, my muslin fit very well without a corset! Now that is odd! I must be extra squishy or else I have lost some more weight since the last dress I've made. I think I'll go with the idea I've lost some more weight. It is more appealing to me. :)

 

Love,

Sarah

Tunics and the Boys Who Wear Them

I finished sewing on the trim on the boys new tunics this morning and now all that is left to do is work the buttonholes and attach the buttons in the back. I had hoped to have them done so I could start my wrapper today but I found out I will be making a couple of tunics for a 5 year old boy in our group before our next event so it doesn't matter - the tunics must be done before the wrapper is. I can live without a wrapper if need be.

These tunics are cut on the bias except for the back bodice pieces. I like the visual effect of bias plaid but it wasn't as easy to work with as the usual straight grain pieces I use. The finished garments just don't have that crisp look. But it is a period style and one I had not tried yet. It was a fun project, even if I did run into a few problems when making these up!

Judah's tunic is green and blue plaid and is trimmed with green bias strips and plain gold colored metal buttons. I somehow have my doubts about those buttons - they seem a little too big to me. But Judah wanted some shiny gold buttons like Daddy wears on his uniforms and these were all I had on hand.

David's tunic was, I thought, a red plaid cotton but on closer inspection, stimulated by David's horrified exclamation last night, "Sarah, his tunic is pink!" I determined that the plaid is, instead, a light red. :P It is trimmed similarly to my inpsiration image and has two narrow rows of dark red trim at the hem and at the sleeves. I may put black buttons down the front but I haven't decided yet if it will look right or not.

The style is a basic rather roomy, lightly gathered at the waist bodice with a jewel neck and loose sleeves, a narrow waistband and a skirt that reaches just to the knee. I hope they will last the boys through next summer.

Off to cut out some more tunics. . .

Love,
Sarah