The Historical Sew Monthly Challenge #3 ~ Protection

For this months challenge the little wool jacket I made for Judah seemed very fitting. I posted about his entire outfit a few weeks ago but here are a few more pictures and details about this simple yet practical garment.

Judah is at that awkward in-between age where he is not a little boy and not yet a young man. In the 1860's he could have still worn tunics or buttoned-together skeleton suits or he could have adopted the styles his father wore. It seems that the more wealthy a family was and the higher their social status, the longer into childhood a boy dressed in younger styles. Lower class families more typically would put their sons into adult styled clothing at earlier ages.

Although I have a general idea of what I want our family impression to be, we are still far from realizing the eventual goal. Still, I knew I wanted to avoid fancier styles and wanted Judah to have some practical clothes that could withstand frequent wear and use and could be dressed up or down as needed with different accessories.

In the mid 19th century a man or boy in shirtsleeves was not considered to be fully dressed. A waistcoat at least, and more often a jacket, too, would be worn over the shirt. In Judah's otherwise mini-adult outfit this jacket still has some features of childhood. This jacket is similar to the adult sack coat style but has a cut away front, rounded edges and closes just at the neck.

It was sewn up really quickly one rainy Saturday afternoon. Judah stood for a quick draping session and a few hours later we had the jacket. It is made of a single layer of light brown wool and is lined in cotton with white cotton lining in the sleeves. The collar is interlined with plain cotton canvas for shaping. I didn't have time to trim it fancily but instead worked some quick topstitching to firm up the edges and for visual appeal.

Judah found it to be very nice on the cool spring morning he wore it to church and again a few days later when he wore it to his first living history demonstration at an elementary school. The lightness of the coat makes it ideal for almost year-round use. Being made of wool, it repels water naturally and offers protection from the sun, from cold and from rain.

He looks cute in it, too!

What the Item is: 

A boys 1860's style jacket

The Challenge: Protection

Fabric/Materials: Wool, cotton for lining and pockets

Pattern: Draped, based on original pattern shapes

Year: 1860's

Notions: Thread, buttons

How Historically Accurate Is It? As best as I could make it. 

Hours to Complete: About 4-5

First Worn: A few weeks ago

Total Cost: All stash stuff, so basically free, but if buying new materials would have cost about $35

Anne's Other Easter Dress

I hope you all had a truly wonderful Easter! Ours dawned glorious and warm and after church services we spent nearly all the day out of doors, knowing that the next day would be cold and rainy. When the sun is shining, get out in it!

Anne did not wear her pink 1860's gown for Easter. On Saturday I was getting ready to sew on the hook and eyes and she solemnly informed me that she could only wear a white dress to church the next day. She pulled a rather skimpy and sad looking white dress from her closet, a relic of last year when she was (much) shorter and the dress was much newer. She put it on and I was reminded of the scene from the book On the Banks of Plum Creek where Laura and Mary wear their too-short dresses to school and are called long legged snipes.

Luckily, I had a pretty white peasant skirt in my closet. I bought it for half price at the thrift store last year but had never worn it much since, it seems, white is not a practical color to wear around children. It had an elasticized smocked wide waistband and ruffles and ribbons and lace. Anne loved it.

We quickly converted it to a dress by cutting the skirt off the waistband, shortening both, and reattaching. The waistband became the bodice and the skirt was made just long enough to brush the tops of Anne's pink-painted toenails. I used up the pink net to make a petticoat, which was sewn to the skirt, sandwiched between it and a smaller plain innermost petticoat made of cotton. To finish it off, we attached purple ribbon straps and pinned a purple ribbon bow to the front bodice. The remaining purple ribbon we sewed as a header onto some lace from the stash (which came from some beautiful antique curtains a lovely reader sent me several years ago!) which was then sewn onto the skirt.

We added a little purple sweater. On Easter Day, Anne wore a white shirt beneath the dress and soon discarded the sweater as the day grew unseasonably warm.

We spent a very happy afternoon at the river, where a light breeze came through the trees and ruffled curls and dress skirts. The boys looked for rocks and fossils along the shore.

Christ is risen!

Much love,
Sarah

Working on Anne's Easter Dress

. . .and trying to convince myself that it's okay to not do stroked gathers at the waist. I want to, but realistically I do not have time to do them before Sunday.

I wanted to make Anne a frilly and fluffy 1950's style dress for Easter and bought yards and yards of pink netting for a fluffy petticoat. However, she begged me instead to make her a dress to wear over her hoopskirt and she picked out some delicate pink fabric and we got to work.

The fabric is a very sheer and lightweight cotton that I got almost 5 years ago, before Anne was even thought of. It was originally meant to become a regency gown but, as often happens, plans change. It's not quite correct for the 1860's as the print is not as regular as it should be. It is, however, certainly a double pink and Anne is all about pink!

We looked through many cdv images and Anne was very specific in the style she wanted. A "big neck" (she hates "chokey" necklines) and "plain long sleeves" and "a big skirt". I wanted to do short sleeves but she would have none of it. So, long it is!

So far we have the bodice sewed together and the skirt hem and tucks done. Now I need to do all the hand finishing of the bodice and then attach the skirt to the waist. Then attach fasteners.

Luckily, Rose is of a perfect size to fit into Anne's Easter dress from 3 Easters ago, so I do not need to make her a new gown. She looks just as cute as Anne did!

It needs a good pressing, but it fits!

Sweet Baby Anne 3 years ago!

Hopefully we will get this done in time for Easter!

New Clothes for Judah

It is Spring here! What beauties, what glories, what miracles! Last year I was too busy moving and settling in and having a preemie baby to really sit and watch new life unfold here in these hills. It was a cold, wet, late spring last year anyhow, and the locals say that it was an unusually harsh winter. This year I am, as Anne Shirley would say, thrilling to every sight and sound and smell of spring.

I love the warm southerly wind, I love the trees misting over with green and I love the flurry of bird song and the twinkle of robins wings high in the branches. Such a busy time of year! The babies love spending every moment they can out-of-doors and letting the sun soak into their pale winter skin. Already they are getting roses in their cheeks. Little Rose curls her toes into the grass. Soon, she will take her first toddling steps upon this good, good earth and thus new horizons will open up to her. She is growing so fast.  

The weeks are slipping by and next month is our first living history event. Crunch time! I still have two children to completely outfit and Anne's dress needs to be finished. The past few weeks I've been working on Judah's new clothes. His dad asked him to accompany him to a school demonstration and Judah was all too happy to oblige. He gets two days off of school out of the deal, new clothes, and the superiority of talking to children older than he is! How could he refuse? ;) 

At 8 years old, during the 1860's he could have worn a skeleton suit or could have started to adopt menswear styles. We decided to go with the lower-class look of menswear attire but the style of coat is distinctly young boy. I was working with a limited amount of wool and this style coat was perfect for the yardage I had. 

Judah's coat style was mostly inspired by this one.
We changed the collar a bit, relocated the pocket to the waist (and made two of them)
and omitted the trim. 

The shirt is the smallest size of the Laughing Moon Men's Victorian and Edwardian Shirts pattern and the trousers the smallest size of Past Patterns Light Summer Trousers. I had to shorten both the trouser pattern and the shirt pattern but otherwise they are man sized. . .I can't believe my little boy is so big! Everything is a little bit roomy but I hope they will fit him this year and perhaps next year, too.  

He needs a little waistcoat but I didn't have time to sew one up for him this time. Once everyone else has their bare necessities I can go back and make additional garments as needed. It is a lot more work than I am used to to outfit six kids!

He wore his new outfit to church today. He was kind of uncomfortable with the unlined wool trousers at first but told me that he has become used to them. 

Love,

Sarah

Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #5 ~ Roasts

Out of the many recipes in the Hospital Stewards Manual there was only ONE that mentioned roasting a fowl. It was vaguely described in a paragraph that also detailed grilling a bird and sort of disappointed me. It sounded very bland and went something like this: Rub the prepared fowl with butter, roast.

The grilling instructions called for seasoning with salt and pepper after cooking so I added that to my recipe, too. I just can't imagine a chicken would be very tasty with no seasoning at all. At least the chickens one can buy for a few dollars at the grocery store in these modern times.

I bought a small whole chicken and after rinsing it and patting it dry I stuck it in a large cast iron skillet and rubbed it all over with melted butter. It went into the oven for about an hour and a half.

I took it out when the skin was golden brown and crackling. It didn't look too bad.

I transferred the chicken to a platter to rest for about twenty minutes while I cooked up some rice (also from a recipe in The Stewards Manual) and cooked the pan drippings into a gravy with a little flour and milk.

We cut up some coarse bread and had the rice and chicken for dinner. The kids liked it. It was very bland, certainly, but it was filling and comforting. I imagine this would be a welcome dish for a hospital patient. The many many recipes for soups, puddings, teas and broths seem to indicate that a soft diet was the norm among most of those who were convalescing in hospitals. A nice cut of chicken would have seemed like a feast after a diet of soft things.

The cat got the carcass last night and he must have shared it with friends as it was gone this morning. That $5 chicken fed us all well. I may have to cook these more often!

Love,
Sarah

Historical Sew Monthly Challenge #2 ~ Tucks and Pleating

The challenge for February was Tucks and Pleating.

I love pleating and I love tucking so thought that this would be pretty easy to do. I wanted to make a dress for both Anne and Benjamin and utilize tucks for skirt decor and pleating to control the fullness at the waist. As it turned out I didn't have time to get Anne's dress done (a bad cold swept through all of us and my poor girlie was laid low with an ear infection) but I did get Benjamin's dress finished!

This is actually a pattern I made for Judah back when he was a little guy. I think this pattern is seven years old and I was so happy to find I still had it, tucked away with all my other patterns. It saved me a lot of time with draping and I could get to work quickly.

Judah's dress from way back when. Seven years ago! Wow. Time flies!

I did modify it for Benjamin by lengthening the bodice a little. I eased the bodice to a piped edge, then pleated on the skirt. I tried it on him and it looked bad. So bad. After seeing how bad it looked I swore off sewing for the rest of the year. That resolution lasted a day or two and then I sighed, picked up the dress, ripped it apart and resewed it. This time I shortened the bodice, added a piped waistband and repleated the skirt into tinier pleats. I tucked the bodice to fit instead of easing it and I sewed down the tucks for about an inch above the waistband for a more tailored appearance. 

The adjustments worked beautifully and I could not be happier with the end result! To be sure, the dress *just* fits him now and I am pretty sure I'll be making him something new before the season is up, but at this point I'm just glad to have successfully completed this. We have an event late next month and if he is able to wear it for that I will be well pleased. 

The fabric is a lovely lightweight but tightly woven yellow and black plaid cotton. I bought this years ago before Benjamin was born thinking it would make a nice shirt for David. He wasn't terribly fond of the bright yellow so it sat on my shelf for a long time. Yellow is Benjamin's color so it was perfect for this project. I have a little bit of the fabric left.  Just enough for a light jacket to go over this dress. In late April the weather may be cool (or hot) so layers are always good. 

We went outside and down the hill to the creek on this lovely day and Benjamin had fun splashing in puddles, chasing the cat and beating the ground with sticks. I tried to get some good pictures of his face but he never likes to have his picture taken so it was hard to do. Here are some of our better ones. 

Love,

Sarah

What the item is: A basic mid 19th century childs dress

The Challenge: Tucks and Pleats

Fabric/Materials: cotton

Pattern: my own

Year: late 1850's-mid 1860's

Notions: thread, two buttons

How historically accurate is it? quite. 

Hours to complete: about 6 if you count the initial failed attempt

First worn: today for pictures

Total cost: fabric was stash, but it was super cheap when I bought it. So, maybe $7-$10?

Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #4 ~ Sweets for the Sweet

I sort of copped out on this fortnights challenge because I fell back upon a memorized recipe that we often made our boys when they were little. Cheap Crimean Lemonade is in the Hospital Stewards Manual though so it is a real historical recipe. It is sugar in it, so its sweet. Plus, since I've made it before I know it is good and it is quick and easy to make.

We've all been battling colds for the past few weeks and are all in various stages of recovery. I like to keep a lot of fresh citrus in the house when we are sick and I had a bag of little limes to use up. In the 18th century a surgeon named James Lind experimented with treating sailors at sea with citrus to prevent scurvy. (try saying that five times fast!) After seeing how effective citrus was in preventing this, in 1795 the British Royal Navy began issuing lemons or limes to their sailors. Limes were cheaper and easier to obtain, so perhaps that is one reason why this recipe is called Cheap Crimean Lemonade.

It is very easy to prepare, requiring only sugar, lime juice and water. While the recipe suggests the addition of rum, I have rarely used it when making this. Having tried it both ways, though, I can say the rum does make it better! This recipe makes enough to share with a friend. We usually triple or quadruple it for all of us! And yes, it was just as good today in late February as it is in the hot muggy summer.

Love, Sarah

Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #3 - Cornpone

This challenge was challenging! The theme was history detective and the instructions read thus:

 "For this challenge, you get to be the detective! Either use clues from multiple recipes to make a composite recipe, or choose a very vague recipe and investigate how it was made."

I found it difficult to choose something to investigate. I don't have a lot of time to devote to research right now and wrack my brain as I might, the only things I could remember having read or heard about in the past that I never really knew how were made were foodstuffs talked about in favorite childhood literature.

Although I read quite a lot of books as a child, the ones I read over and over were the Anne of Green Gables series and Laura Ingalls Wilders' Little House on the Prairie. As a child I loved reading about food. How it was prepared, what it looked like, how it tasted, how it was served. I thought about Anne's unfortunate cake-baking experience, her likewise result with ruby-red raspberry cordial, and the monkey-face cookies her children enjoyed in Anne of Ingleside. I thrilled with delight reading about butchering time in Little  House in the Big Woods, the lovely cottage cheese balls with onion that Ma prepared in the hot summer  before Mary went to college in Little Town on the Prairie and the exciting dessert of soda crackers and canned peaches made with findings at the surveyors house in By The Shores of Silver Lake. 

Ahhh. I love food. :) 

So ANYWAY. Yes. I thought I should choose something I had always been curious about for this fortnights challenge. What could I do that would satisfy a long held curiosity and also be applicable to the 1860's/Civil War theme I want to do this year? Well, what could be a more early-American staple than infamous salt pork and cornpone? 

In the Little House books, salt pork is often described as being fried and served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I don't have the book in front of me now to quote it, but if my memory serves me correctly, cornpone played a heroic part in helping Pa escape from a pack of wolves. 

Cornpone is also referenced many times in relation to the diet of Civil War soldiers. While being described fairly frequently, the exact making of this interesting basic dish is often left to the imagination. 

"One of our tired forage trains had gone into park near us, and the teamsters offered to share their supper with us. They had corn "pone", some salt pork, and for a rarity some newly arrived coffee. We sat on the corn stalks around the fire with an iron camp-kettle in the midst containing the black coffee which we dipped out with battered tin cups, and we held in our hands pieces of the corn-pone and slices of fried pork, congratulating each other on the unexpected luxury of our supper." 

~ Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, Volume 2 

by Jacob Cox

"At dark he brought us a sack of corn pone, some meat and baked sweet potatoes, and with instructions as the country and descriptions of plantations and friends farther north, started us on our way rejoicing, for his provender had found us very hungry, weak, and much discouraged."

~Civil War Reflections

by Harvey S.  Hogue, Company G, 115th Regiment, Ohio Infantry

Original extant nuggets of cornpone from Andersonville Prison, from the Minnesota Historical Society

This link takes one to a source for a late 1850's article on making salted pork: The New England Farmer; Salted Pork

It seems salted pork of the period was pork that was put into a brine. I have seen a few references which seem to indicate dry curing was also done, but the meat was not smoked. Soaking would remove much of the saltiness to make the prepared product more palatable. For my own experiment with cornpone, I cheated and used store bought salt pork from my little town grocery. I don't know how this compares with period salt pork, but it gave me enough fat to make the pone, which is mainly what I wanted to do.

My salt pork was mostly fat with a thin streak of meat. A period article describes the salt pork of the army to be a "clear fat" so mine fails that description, obviously. 

Once I had a good amount of fat in the skillet, I mixed a few spoonfuls of it with cornmeal and a little hot water to make the pones. Period sources list different ingredients for making corn pone, but it seems the basics are water and cornmeal. I tried to think of how Laura Ingalls mother might have made it, or how a soldier may easily have made it with drippings left in the pan. 

So, a mix of cornmeal, fat and water. This did not make a malleable mass as required, so I added a little rye flour to attempt to hold the balls of dough together better. After a lot of squeezing and molding I was finally successful in forming a half dozen cakes. 

These I fried in the leftover fat, til golden brown. 

Malachi tasted them for me. I gave him some dark molasses to dip them in, if he wanted. He was a good sport and ate one with the molasses, but the rest he had with honey. He said the honey was better. 

The outside was crisp and golden and the inside kind of dense and crumbly. I'd eat them again!

I doubt this meal would be very kind to the digestive system if eaten frequently but it was fun to try it and even more fun to share the experience with my son (who was home from school today with a cough and sore throat) who now has a little bit better an idea of what he may have sometimes eaten as a young boy in mid-19th century America. 

Yet Another Petticoat Post

Yeah, I know, I know. Another undergarment post? Really? Well, yes. It's what I am working on right now and as unexciting as these garments can be, I have to get them out of the way before any outer garments will look right. It's all about the foundation! Without the proper underthings nothing that is visible in the final outfit will look right. I'm getting kinda sick of white sewing but I'm nearing the end of it. In fact, if I have time tomorrow, I can get started on this months Historical Sew Monthly challenge. (A yellow and black plaid dress! And a purple print dress!)

Benjamins petticoat is very much like Anne's, except shorter. It's all of 13" long and has 4 tucks and a wide hem. Although I could let the tucks out as he gets taller I don't think I will, since once he outgrows it Rose will be large enough to fit it.

The older boys were very accustomed to wearing petticoats and gowns by the time they were Benjamins age. He, however, has not experienced going to as many living histories or reenactments and the feel of wearing a dress throws him off a little. It is so funny to see the slightly confused look on his face when he's in skirts.

After a few minutes, though, he was off running around and getting into things as usual! He is a very naughty boy sometimes and very quiet about what he does. His intelligence amazes me - he is extremely cunning. More so than his brothers seemed to be at his age; but then, he has four older siblings to learn from and the older boys did not have that.

Anne's old stays work quite well for him although if he grows much larger around the middle I won't be able to button them shut. I'm  hoping he will at least still fit into them for an event in May; after that, I can make new for him if need be.

 I think for his dress I will go with a short yoke and pleated lower bodice, with a bias band on the skirt for trim. Short sleeves, I think. I haven't decided for sure yet. It's fun to have a little guy in dresses again!

Love,
Sarah