Blue Wavy Stripe 1860's Dress

Well, our first living history demonstration of the year is behind us. It was wonderful! I was a little worried about how it would go and how the kids would do but they were great. Now to sit back a little, enjoy a breath or two, and look forward to our first full weekend event at the end of April.

I ended up making a new dress for the demonstration since refitting my old gown would have been more work than starting from scratch. I still want to redo it, but will do so when I have more time to deconstruct it, refit it, and then sew it back together. With a new dress one just has to cut and sew! I fitted a new bodice several weeks ago so already had a master pattern to work from, which does save so much time. 

While I really wanted to use my yellow lawn it has been quite a few years since I made my last sheer dress and I wasn't feeling very confident cutting into it. Sheer fabrics are treated a little differently and I didn't want to be rushed while making it. So I went to Jo Anns, coupon in hand, and found a blue and white printed stripe cotton that jumped out at me. 7 yards came home and a few days later I had a dress! Benjamin calls it the "M&M dress", because he thinks the wavy lines look like hundreds of m's. :) "Look mommy! M and m and m and m and m and m. . ."

I didn't do anything fancy for this one since the fabric is pretty decorative on its own. The only problem I ran into was when I was matching up the stripes at the seams. The printed stripe is printed off grain. Not terribly so, but definitely enough to drive me crazy. I had to make a choice. Cut everything on grain and have stripes going kinda wonky across the garment? Or cut according to the stripes and have the whole garment off grain? Since the stripes are just so noticeable I decided to go with cutting the dress based on the stripes. I think it was the right choice. The dress doesn't fit or hang badly (at least yet. . .I'll know more when I've worn it more) and its relieving to have all the stripes match up. 

I made the plainest possible bishop sleeves and little bias cut cap sleeves that are edged with piping. I decided to fasten the bodice with actual buttonholes for this dress instead of using the usual hook and eyes. I'm glad I did! 

To finish it off, I made a black silk belt to go with the reproduction belt buckle I got from Jeremy Richardson. Oh my gosh I love this buckle. It is just so beautiful. I have another one in silver that I can't wait to wear as well. The belt is made of a layer of buckram, covered with a layer of muslin and a layer of black silk and lined with white silk. The buckle just slides on and the belt closes in the back with hooks. 

I can't wait to wear this dress again; it's such a fun outfit! 

But I'm glad, too, that all my immediately needed projects are done and I can slow down some. That is soooo nice. Here are some pictures inside on the dressform so you can see the details better.

1860's Boys Summer Sack Suit

I pushed through and got Judah's clothes finished this past weekend. He doesn't have a vest yet, but for now this will do, and I can make him a vest before the next event in late April.

I didn't really know what this outfit would be when I started it. I made his shirt first and then the trousers. I made suspenders out of ticking. I then thought that I might make a paletot for him since I have the fabulous Past Patterns paletot pattern. I spent a while sizing it down to a 32" chest and shortening it through the torso to his 9-year old proportions but after all that work I found that I didn't have enough fabric left to make the durn thing.

So, we went back to the sack. It's really for the best, after all! Sack coats were just SO common in the 1860's and they don't take much fabric. Most of the pictures of older boys that I have seen do show them in some type of sack coat.

We draped this one and for the sake of coolness I made it up unlined. It is a single layer of the same tan and white stripe cotton that I used for the trousers. Theres a narrow facing at the front opening and the edges are bound with brown twill tape, laboriously stitched on by hand. But it was worth it. I like how it looks. Four buttons and done!

He is the right height now to use an antique curved handled walking stick we have had for a while. At first he wasn't sure about this new accessory, but delight kindled in his eyes when he realized he could use it in a masterly sort of fashion, herding his small siblings along and waving it at his brothers. So yeah. Maybe we won't be bringing it with us to events.

One of his complaints last summer was that his clothes were just really hot to wear. Now, that is normal to some extent but I kept that in mind while making these and chose the lightest fabrics I could. I hope that this will be more comfortable for him through the warm months. If we go to many fall events I will make him a warmer coat or a woolen overshirt.

BUT FOR NOW. . .he is ready to take on the world of the early 1860's. Now I'm rushing to get my own dress and things in order. Then, a break for a while. The babies still fit into their new dresses from last summer and I made little David a new pair of overalls. He needs a matching trouser/coat set like Judah but I will have a month to get those ready for him after this demonstration is over.

My Hobbit Children!

It was such a gorgeous, warm, sunny day yesterday! I thought it would be a good opportunity to take pictures of the three littlest in the hobbit costumes I made for them last fall. Well, they aren't costumes anymore, really, just play clothes. I am sure they won't fit for Faire this fall so they may as well get use out of them while they can. 

And yes, I know I ought to be hunkered down madly sewing in my spare minutes for our upcoming demo but it was too nice yesterday to be cooped up indoors. And I have been making progress. I have Judah's new, bigger shirt done and finished hemming his new trousers yesterday. Weekend goals: pattern and sew his waistcoat and at least start his coat. 

It's nice that the back yard is mostly fenced in so that I can let the babies out back and let them run around as they please. I just followed them around and let them do their thing. Which was mostly plucking moss, picking up sticks that blew down in a recent storm and moving said sticks to either the wood pile or the fire pit and screaming joyfully while rummaging through the winter pile up of dead leaves. 

I really like how these styles are so practical for normal wear. I foresee more outfits for the girls in the same styles for summer dresses. Loose, breezy, comfortable clothes are best! Both for hobbits and for little ones. 

Corded Sunbonnet in Grey

Over the weekend I did a lot of work and as a consequence have been extremely tired this week. We graduated the baby out of her crib to a toddler bed and graduated Benjamin to a big boy bed. I had the brilliant idea of giving the boys the (finished) basement so they all would have more space and their own bathroom so we set to work early Saturday, hauling beds and dressers up and down the stairs. Then we all decided we liked it better the way it had been before, so back up and down everything came. Then we went to IKEA and bought bunk beds for the boys and a few other things to make their room more organized and space-saving. Then we had to put all that together. And then I arranged the girls room, and so, I am tired. And I am not in the mood to sew anything. I just want to plant my little raised beds and putter around outside. It's that late-winter-restlessnessy feeling. I just want to be outside, dammit.

Spring comes early. We do not mind. 

This sucks because in less than two weeks I will be giving a talk at an elementary school for a Civil War day they are having. The children who are going with me need their things finished. At the very least, I need to refit a dress so I have something to wear. I had planned to refit my pink dress last month for the HSM "Refit/Reuse/Remake" challenge but. . . yeah, didn't happen. I ordered some yellow gingham lawn that I would love to make into a sheer gown with a half-high lining before the school day and use my new repro belt buckle from Jeremy Richardson and my sorta-new mourning brooch but WHO HAS THE TIME?!?! Ahhhhh. I just really dooooooon't want to sew. 

Anyway. I made this sunbonnet a few weeks ago, working on it here and there in between other projects. It's based on the original below, which was listed on eBay. I liked the drawn effect of the brim and wanted to try it out for myself. 

Here's what I came up with:

I LOVE it! I used a thicker cord for this bonnet since my complaints with previous ones have mostly dealt with brim floppiness. I hate starching things although I know it's a completely common and period correct way to get things stiff. I just don't like how starched things wilt in damp conditions. I want a brim to withstand a deluge. And I don't like slat bonnets. 

This cord is thin cotton clothesline and works really well. The brim can still be turned back, if needed, and holds it shape nicely without the aid of starch. I added a full gathered, long curtain. I mean this curtain is long. Maybe a bit more so than I really need but I like how it covers everything. 

I made it up in a semi-sheer, striped grey fabric I bought a few summers ago. Works well, and the color will go with everything. At least I will have a pretty cool sunbonnet to wear for the school demo even if nothing else gets done. Must. Get. Motivation. Back. 

A Yoked 1860's Girls Dress

Anne's dress for this year is done! She may get a few more wears out of last years pink frock, and she may get another new dress later this year for fancier occasions, but I am really liking this plain, sturdy little dress that we made in a blue-grey print that exactly matches her eyes.

Like she was last year, Anne was very involved in every detail of this dress. She looked at original images and at last settled on a yoked style with short puffy sleeves and a wide, shallow neckline. She kept me company while I sewed, sewed pins into my skirt, cut up scraps of ribbon and argued with me about putting polyester ribbon on her dress ("Mommy, they DID have ribbon back then!") and watched Beatrix Potter movies on YouTube while I stitched away.

Some of the images that inspired Anne

In passing, those movies rather horrified me. While I loved them as a child, as an adult they seem absolutely morbid. Most of the plots involve some sinister, conniving character plotting to eat the silly, naive, innocent character! But Anne seemed to love them as much as I once did. 

The construction of the dress is quite simple with the yoke being an easy variation of the smooth fitted bodice. I drafted a new basic bodice pattern according to Anne's measurements, made a mock up, and drew on a line where I thought the yoke should be. The mock up was then cut apart to create the pattern for the yoke, while the lower bodice was slashed and spread to create a wider lower bodice piece to be gathered to the yoke. 

It went together pretty smoothly. I found that I was completely out of the cotton cord I usually  use for piping so I had to substitute with slightly thicker butchers string. The piping came out clunky and awkward but I guess it is better than no piping. Or maybe not. Childrens clothing does not strictly need to piped in this period. Oh well, it's done! And I have a new ball of cotton cord now so next time I won't be unprepared!

It's made a little large so as to fit all this year. The back has a big overlap and the buttons can be moved if Anne eventually needs extra room. The skirt has three 1" tucks than can be let out, but as we made the skirt pretty long I don't think we will need to let the tucks out.

I love how these came out in black and white!

No lining, except in the yoke and the waistband and hem is faced. The dress took about 3 yards of 45" fabric.

Anne's shoes are modern WalMart finds, and the straps aren't in a correct position for the 1860's, but I may be able to move the straps before the season starts and they will look a little better.