Romantic History

Refashioned Maternity Top

2012-02-03T16:08:00.000-06:00

With February full upon us I must confess that I can foresee no interesting historic gowns in my near future. Oh there are plenty I want to make - a late 19-teens dress inspired by the film War Horse, a late 1830's style dress cut down from my blue 1860's dress, a new regency gown, my 18th century brown stripedy jacket (although I am despairing of getting that done before my bump gets too big). Stuff. But I have to focus on Blake's clothes for Shiloh 150 and so, no getting sidetracked!

But I did find time this afternoon to makeover one of David's shirts into a maternity top. I have a weakness for plaid button up shirts and this shirt was just too big for him. He is very tall and broad shouldered but he isn't really fat, so this 3XLT mans shirt was just sitting around, not getting used. Wow, there's a lotta fabric there.

I recently came across the wonderful site diymaternity. It's an amazing resource. I wish I had known about this stuff when I was pregnant with my other three. I used their shirred tunic top tutorial to create this shirt and I am really pleased with how it came out!

I pretty much followed the instructions given on the site, although I did change a few things. First, since the armholes on the shirt I was using were absolutely huge I narrowed the entire shirt, cut new armholes and then reattached the shortened, narrowed sleeves. I didn't have elastic thread to sew with so I used a flat piece of elastic instead and just stretched and sewed it to the area I was shirring.

I also added a shirred area to the back of the shirt, since the back was totally unfitted and kind of unflattering.

I also put in a triangular gore at each side seam from the hem to the underbust to give extra flare and room there.

It is one of the most comfortable shirts I have and I think I will be able to get at least a few months out of this before I need to make a larger one. Yay for roomy shirts that don't look like tents!

There are lots and lots of other cute tutorials on the diymaternity site, as well as some super cute patterns. I think I will have lots to work on in odd afternoons here and there for the next few months!

Love,

Sarah

Festival of Maidens ~ Feast and Dance

2012-02-01T10:49:00.001-06:00

For your enlightenment, David looks far, far more happy here than he really was about having to don his "fake reenacting" clothes to go to the festival. Once he was there he did end up having a good time, though.

The Festival of Maidens, held on campus at the University of Illinois, has been one I have wanted to attend for a while. Last year we were unfortunately unable to attend due to David's work schedule but this year the weekend of the festival happened to fall on a weekend had had off work. Since Christmas, this has been the event I have been looking forward to the most!

Me and Peter. We have been calling each other brother and sister for a while, but here we really *do* look uncannily alike. Which is weird since our parents look NOTHING alike!

The weekend was planned to be filled with tournaments, classes, talks and Saturday evening would culminate in a middle-eastern inspired feast and a dance. Of course, we did not arrive until almost 5 o clock in the evening on Saturday. It seems the more people you have to get ready to go somewhere and the more stops you have to make along the way, the later you will be.

Here is Petey-Boy in his new doublet. His refusal of hose and his claim that the brown leather boots we found him have the "arch in a weird place" resulted in a semi-historic-inspired look. But, that is who he is.

We had to: 1. Pick up Peter (David did this). 2. Get take out pizza for lunch (which David picked up on his way back from picking up Peter 3. Get pulled over by a police officer (unplanned, but fortunate no ticket was involved) 4. Get the two oldest packed and ready to go visit their grand-mama. 5. Pack everyone into the van and go 6. Stop at Grand-mama's to drop off children 7. Stop at the accountants to drop off our tax documents 8. Stop at Dollar General to get chap stick 9. Drive to our destination 10. Spend a half hour looking for a parking place and consequently walk several blocks to arrive at the hall. But, at last, we arrived.

Peter and another gentleman from our barony converse in front of the hall

We made it just in time for court and were able to witness the engagement of a beautiful lady to a dashingly handsome gentleman. I didn't get any photos during court since I was focusing on holding Malachi in my lap and watching all that went on. It was a beautiful ceremony and in such a gorgeous room - this place is really a wonderfully mood-setting location for anything and everything medieval!

After court, by the stairs, with Malachi. And yes. It is a very lame picture of both of us but it is the only one I have of the inside of the hall.

After court we walked to the church where the feast and dance were to be held. It was likewise a very appropriate and beautiful setting. My dear friend Jackie met us there and we spent the remainder of the evening in the pleasant company of her and her lovely mother, Joanne.

Malachi and his beloved Aunt Jackie!

David and Peter

Peter, Jackie, and I. Best buds forever!

Peter in a contemplative mood.

The light fixture above our table

A hungry, tired child who was prejudiced against the prospect of a middle eastern dinner. (i.e. if it ain't chicken or beef, it ain't food)

Yogurt cheese and hummus - which were, by the way, extremely good -

David spreads hummus on a piece of herbed flat bread

Malachi tentatively surveys the food on his plate.

Two of the lovely dancers who graced us with their performance

We were also graced with several sung tales from this highly skilled and inspiring gentleman. Photo courtesy of Jackie!

The musicians gear up for an evening of dance! It was such a blessing to have live, period style music! Photo courtesy of Jackie.

Malachi gave way to sleep half way through dinner. We folded up a woolen blanket and made him a small bed beneath a table and there he slept in peace and comfort for the remainder of the night.

Dancers! Photo courtesy of Jackie

And more dancers! Photo courtesy of Jackie

And yet more dancers. This dance was not even comparable to the last one we went to (the ill fated Civil War dance after Thanksgiving). It was a marvelous time.

Medieval Pink Linen Gown - It Is Finished

2012-01-29T20:42:00.000-06:00

It snowed in the night and although it was quite cold, David took some photos of my dress and yes. He let me use his sword. :) Alas. Is it right a married mother of soon-to-be four children can still feel happily silly and giddy when donning a new frock and playing with pretty things? I have photos to share later of the festival (we had a marvelous time and I felt like Cinderella going down the steps at midnight!) and for now, here are some of the dress. (I think the next thing I make from this period definitely will have to be shoes).

And what is this we see? Is that a baby bump? A very small one, perhaps?
People, I think we can safely say that this is no longer just a belly pooch.
There is a very small human creature in there! 12 weeks down, 28 to go. :)

Tippets! They don't go *quite* all the way to the ground but I am happy with how they came out.

The wool facing does a great job keeping the hem clean

Here you can (kinda) see how the tippets are a separate piece attached at the back of the arm.

Okay. David said I could show the photos with the sword ONLY IF I EXPLICITLY stated that this is NOT a medieval style sword but an 1850's medical officers dress sword and is used for "real" (i.e. non-SCA) reenacting. So. Here I state this.

Love,

Sarah

Sneak Peek - Sleeves!

2012-01-27T16:46:00.000-06:00

The dress is *almost* done. I have to whip the tippets into place on the sleeve bands and THEN the dress will be done. I decided to make the tippets totally separate so that if I need to, I can easily remove them if I just want to wear a short sleeve overgown without tippets hanging all over the place. I had to try it all on so I could position the tippets in the right place. I think I will go with them in this position:

I hope to get better pictures of the dress tomorrow, which is, of course, the day of the Festival. :) Maybe I can convince David to let me pose with his sword. . .

Love,
Sarah

A Very Big Hem and Making the Lacing Cord

2012-01-26T13:45:00.000-06:00

Since I have been working on the doublet and my dress at the same time it is taking a bit longer for the dress to finish itself up. Still, I am nearly done and the dress doesn't have to be worn, technically, until Saturday afternoon. So I am still making good time, right?

Today I finished the hem of the dress. The hem is quite large - I didn't measure it exactly but I think it falls around 200" or so at the hem. I am probably crazy but I decided to leave the skirt exactly as it came out after I sewed in the gores. This gives a slight train at the back and at the sides which looks very medieval, but unfortunately it not practical. Especially for outdoor wear!

To help protect the dragging, unfortunate hem I did not simply turn the hem under and sew it down. I cut a very long strip of wool flannel, on the straight of grain, about 2" wide. I sewed it to the hem right sides together, turned it to the inside and attached it with running stitches to the dress. The wool strip will take the majority of the wear and tear on the hem and once it gets ratty and worn I can easily remove it and replace it.

I also spent an hour braiding a new lacing cord for the eyelets. It is made of four strands of woolen yarn. Fingerloop braiding is more appropriate but that skill is yet elusive to me. I used the braiding instructions found here: Four Strand Round Braid

Now for the part I dreaded most. Making the sleeves! The making of them won't be so bad but it's the deciding on a style. I still don't know what to do! Loose sleeves or tippeted sleeves? Alas, alas.

Love,

Sarah

Red Linen Doublet - Progress

2012-01-25T16:20:00.000-06:00

So, Peter came over recently to be fitted for a doublet. Actually he just kinda slouched there while I pinned and fitted a few rectangles of fabric to get the pattern for his bodice. But his pain and suffering did not last long - draping bodices like this can be done in ten minutes. (and yes, I am using pillows since nothing else I have comes close to the shape of a male torso. . .forgive the weird shoulder sticky-out things.) ;)

Good Sir Peter has been bugging me for a while to make him a medieval "vest". It took much convincing but I finally persuaded him to let me make him a sleeveless doublet instead. He will be wearing it as outerwear, not under a gown like would have been done in period, but it was a compromise I was willing to make. I knew if I didn't make him a proper doublet he would have gone to Goodwill and tried to renovate a modern vest into something "medieval fantasy" ish. Or something along the lines of Robin Hood, Men In Tights, which he looks up to as a movie devoted to the most wonderful medieval costuming yet in creation.

I based the pattern off the plain doublet in The Medieval Tailor's Assistant. I was under the impression that earlier doublets (14th century) did not have a waist seam but I may be mistaken. I cut the shapes as so:

It is made of three layers - medium weight red linen for the outer layer, natural colored cotton (I think its cotton - Peter's mother donated it to the cause) for the lining and cotton corderoy for the interlining. It made up into a very structured, heavy, molded garment.

It laces up the front just like my medieval dresses do. (excuse the twine cord used for the pics; we will replace it with something more appropriate before Peter wears this!)

I still have to make a narrow band collar for the neckline, finish the armholes and hem the skirts. Then Peter will have his "vest" and be happy. It was a fun project.

Love,
Sarah

The Never Ending Eyelets of Doom

2012-01-24T08:29:00.000-06:00

Not quite never ending. But in the midst of the swimming, one feels like one is drowning. Drowning in eyelets.

All made quite the same way. Tiny dots 3/4" apart. Take small pointy object, insert into a dot and twist. Take knitting needle, insert into the hole made, and twist til the hole is nice and large. Whip stitch around edges. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Half are done. The other half will be done today and once I have made a new lacing cord I will be able to put the dress on and fit the sleeves. We are in the home stretch, people!

Love,
Sarah

Cotehardie Progress - Hand Finishing

2012-01-21T08:19:00.000-06:00

Once the main pieces of the dress were sewn together it was time to start the lengthy process of hand finishing. I'm still not done with all the hand finishing - there are a lot of seams! But all the bodice seams are now finished and about a quarter of the skirt seams. They are all finished in the same way, so I will share what I do. Just apply the process mentally to the yet-unfinished portion of the dress. ;)

For my pre-sewing machine-era historic dresses I prefer to use a straight machine stitch for seams that are not visible from the outside. For any stitches that will show on the outside of the dress I will use hand sewing. Alas. I am not a purist.

The first thing I did was attach facings to the center front opening of the dress. I carefully cut the center front edges of the dress to the curved shape I traced onto it, and then sewed 1.5" wide strips of linen to each side of the opening, right sides together. The strips are on the straight of grain, to help add stability to the center front opening. Since the curve of the front seam is not very dramatic, the straight strip of linen easily molded around the curves.

I then pressed the facing strips to the inside of the dress, turned under the raw edges of the facing strips and pinned them into place.

Using a small slip stitch I attached the facing to the lining of the dress. Below the lining, the stitches show on the outside of the dress. In this picture you can see how the front opening curves (I laid a piece of brown fabric beneath the opening so you can more easily see the shape).

I topstitched close to the edge of the opening with a running stitch to firm up the edge. Now the front opening is ready for eyelets!

To finish the neckline I could have sewed on another narrow facing strip and attached it the same way as I did for the front opening. However, I decided to just press under the hem about 1/2" all the way around the neckline. I then tucked the raw edge under and slip stitched the folded edge to the dress - through the lining and the outside layer. Here is how it looks from the inside:

And from the outside:

The inside seams of the dress are finished with felling. This creates a much stronger seam and also serves to stiffen the seam to prevent wrinkling - it almost acts as a kind of soft boning! Here you can see one of the bodice seams felled. The seam allowance is pressed to one side, the raw edge turned under, and the folded edge slip stitched down to secure it.

And one of the skirt seams:

Here are what felled seams look from the outside of the dress:

Love,
Sarah

Cotehardie Progress - Sewing the Main Dress

2012-01-20T09:20:00.000-06:00

Well, once the cutting of my dress was done I had to take a break. I hate cutting things out and it's a bit nerve wracking to lay out large pieces of fabric on the floor and try to work quickly before a dog or a cat or a boy comes in and tramps across the laid out cloth.

The fun part is actually sewing the dress together! To start with, I sewed the front half gores to each front panel.

Then the rest of the sewing was extremely straightforward. Just sewing the gores to the dress and stitching up the side seams and shoulder seams. Here you can see the gores sewed to each half of the dress. After this photo I sewed the side gores to the front panels and sewed the back to the front along the side seams and shoulder seams.

Then it was time to check for fit! Although I fitted the pattern for the torso before I cut into the linen, with these types of self-supporting dresses it's important to fit as you go, because the stretch properties of each fabric is different. I found the fit to be pretty good but I did have to tighten up the center front seam under the bust to get good bust support (it doesn't help I've already increased a cup size or so since getting pregnant) : / Instead of a straight-seam front opening for the dress, I found the support and shape to be MUCH better by curving the front opening. I pinned it along that curve to try it on, and here you can see the black line indicating where the curved seam will be located. I have read that for ladies who need more support this curved-front-seam method is better. For my wool kirtle I used the straight front seam method, which works pretty well but always gives a crease under the bust after a while because the fabric stretches and the boobs droop. It will be interesting to see the difference between the straight front seam method of fitting and this method of fitting after I wear this dress for a day or so. Maybe there won't be as many underbust wrinkles?

Because of the curved seam in the center front, I think I will probably do eyelets and a lacing cord for the front opening instead of buttons and buttonholes. I think I'd get better tension and a firmer fit with the lacing cord; plus that means I can wear this dress alone as working attire if need be, without the wool dress underneath it. Both the wool dress and this dress support and shape without the need for anything on underneath except the shift. Here you can see the side: (I am really happy with the drape of the skirt!)

And the back: (and yes, the center back seam is not exactly straight on my body - I didn't adjust it to be straight when I quickly pinned myself into it so the back line isn't straight and the front line isn't either! But that can easily be remedied when I put it on and can shift it around to lay properly instead of having to pin it)

And the front:

The skirt gores on this dress start higher up on the torso than on my wool dress. I find it more comfortable to move in but I do think next time I will make the skirt gores slightly lower to give a more streamlined shape over the hips. However, I do have a bit of "wiggle room" in the lower torso so that ought to be adequate for the growing baby bump and hopefully I won't have to adjust the dress to fit a new shape in a few months.

I'm contemplating an elbow length funnel type sleeve now instead of a tight short sleeve. It seems it would be more appropriate for this type of dress. Alas. I don't know what to do! But I have to finish all the seams before worrying about the sleeves. That should be at least six hours of work so I ought to have had plenty of time to decide on a sleeve style by then. ;)

Love,
Sarah

Cutting the Cotehardie

2012-01-19T14:50:00.000-06:00

Since I did not do any indepth posts about how I constructed my fitted underdress, focusing instead on the fitting of it, I decided to document my progress as I work on this dress. That way, in case I ever forget how I put things together I can go back and read what I did. (and that happens way too often with me!)

So in this post I will describe how I cut out dresses like this. I cut my kirtle in the same way as I am cutting this one although the skirt gores were narrower, making for a narrower finished hem on the dress.

So, to start out with, I had my 5 yards of washed and dried linen. It ended up about 58" wide so I decided to use full widths of the fabric to avoid waste. Instead of planning my fabric around my pattern, I plan my pattern around my fabric! First, I measured from my shoulder tip to the floor plus a few inches for play. That was the length of my front and back dress pieces. I measured my bodice pattern pieces (the part of the dress that is fitted to my body) across the widest part. The widest part on the front piece was about 10" and on the back about 12", so I cut the 4 panels (2 front, 2 back) 13" wide and 53" long. See:

To shape the upper body portion of the panels, I laid on my pattern pieces and cut around them. From the hips up, the panels are shaped to fit the body closely. From the hips down, everything is squared. Easy.

I cut lining for the bodice from a purple linen dress I had on hand. I decided to use this linen instead of the pale green since it is heavier and will take the strain of wear better. I will use the green for the lining that will show (in the sleeve). The dress is lined only to the hips, since from the hips down there is no strain of wear and the pink linen is heavy enough to drape nicely on its own.

Here is the back seam pinned together, ready to be sewn:

To add flare to the skirt, gores are inserted at center front, center back and each side. I made my gores by measuring from my hip to the floor, plus a few inches. I tore a full width of my linen to that length, and then another one. I had two panels approximately 42" long x 58" wide. Here is one panel:

To cut the gores, I folded each panel in half and pressed it flat, matching torn edges and selvedges. I cut from corner to corner diagonally across the fabric. This gave me two gores - one whole gore and two half gores, which are sewn together to make a whole gore.

I repeated this for the other panel, ending up with two whole gores and four half gores. I rounded off the bottom edges to make things even.

Here are the front pieces laid out with two half gores. Since the dress will open down the center front the seam down the middle of this gore is ideal. You can see how much width the gores will add to the dress skirts - quite a lot!

Here are the front pieces and the center gore and both side gores laid out on the bed. I think the skirt will hang very prettily in the finished dress!

Next up: sewing it all together!

Love,
Sarah

Success in Dyeing - Pale Pink Achieved!

2012-01-16T14:32:00.000-06:00

Okay, I know posts about fabric and colors are getting old. It's kind of a cop out. I don't have anything interesting to post so - whoopee! - I'll post about dyeing. Or trimming ideas. Or style musings.

In my defense, though (and I did want to have this dress at least half way done by now) I have been working on the Great 1860's Steward-Dressing Project and finishing up the baby gown I started several weeks ago. In addition, I was taken violently ill on Saturday and so was not able to do any work this weekend. (never eat buttered movie-store popcorn and drink pepsi simultaneously, especially if you are feeling nauseous to begin with and are in the habit of unwillingly ejecting your meals - even healthy ones - shortly after consumption). I determined to not start on this project until the baby gown was finished and the first part of the stewards outfit done. The baby dress is finished, ironed and ready to be mailed tomorrow and I am about three hours away from finishing up the stewards shirts (square-cut, blue-checked cotton) so I do firmly intend to start my gown tomorrow and have it done by Saturday.

Last week I dyed my tan linen with wine colored dye and consequently turned it a bright fuschia pink. I was unhappy with the pink color so I decided to remove the dye and redye it a light gray. David brought me home some dye remover although he could not find gray dye anywhere. So on Friday, I thought that at least I could remove the dye so the fabric was prepared for taking gray dye whenever I found some. I filled the machine with hot water, agitated the dye remover, and plopped the 5 yards of fuschia linen inside it. I then was gone for about five hours to take my oldest son to a doctor appointment. When I got home, I lifted the lid and was shocked to see the color the linen had become. See:

A very light brownish-pink - exactly the color I had wanted in the first place. Not close to the color I wanted - not similar - no, but the EXACT color I had wanted!

It looks SO much better with the greenish-blue undress than the bright pink did. I like it just as much as I would have liked gray. Perhaps even better than gray, since this color seems to turn up a LOT in medieval images and I haven't found nearly as much evidence of gray, especially combined with the greenish-blue color of the underdress. From what I've been able to find, greenish-blue is a popular combo with this certain light pink color.

In other news, my lil baby boy is three years old today! He was such a red and squishy little fellow with dark blue eyes and black hair when he was born; the eyes lightened into a light blue-gray, the black hair fell out and blonde hair grew in its place. And here he is today.

Three years old! The baby of the family, but the bossiest, most opinionated and dare-devil member by far. Of all the children, he is the most like me.

And he's still not too sure about giving up his place as baby to make way for a new one. But no matter how old he gets and how many other babies will follow him, he will always be my special little boy and my own true love. We are pards.

Love,
Sarah

Cotehardie Progress - Trim Ideas

2012-01-12T13:55:00.001-06:00

I have been scouring the internet for images that show how a fitted gown may be trimmed - all to little avail. It is HARD to find any clear details on how these garments may have been trimmed. After deciding I wanted to put trim on my dress I started thinking about proper trimming materials, how trim would be applied and where it would be applied. I am so afraid to be putting my own modern tastes of what "looks right" into the place of what IS right!

I did find this image of dancers and looking at it, there is a lot of interesting detail that gives some good ideas of trim placement and scale.

This dress looks a lot like I want mine to look, with the sleeve tippets, lined with a contrasting color. There is a band of trim around the bottom of the hem - it looks like it may be fur?

These ladies are wearing light-colored gowns with dark trim around the neckline. They both appear to have some sort of (non matching) trim at the hem. It also looks like the lady on the left has put trim down the center front of her gown.

There are a lot of interesting details in this group of 4! The hairstyles (are these young unmarried ladies since they aren't wearing a headcovering?), the colors. Oddly enough the figure on the far left appears to have a non-matching top and bottom portion to her gown. The second-from-left figure looks to have a parti-colored garment, the second-from-right looks to have a plain, untrimmed gown and the one on the far left appears to be wearing a short sleeved overgown with tippits and a split skirt, showing the underdress at the sides, with the hem finished in a light colored trim (looks like it MAY be a pleated flounce?)

And this one depicts a short sleeved overgown with interesting trim placement on the bodice. It also appears to have an overgown with trim at the hem, but the hem of the overgown is shorter than that of the underdress.

So, I think I may be one step closer to deciding what kind of trim to put on my gown. Now I need to figure out WHAT to use for trim - strips of fabric? If so, what kind? Linen, wool, silk? Velvet? (too fancy??) Fur? (seems an odd combo with a linen gown though and I don't feel exactly comfortable wearing real fur - and fake fur looks kinda. . .fake. . .)

And Peter is coming over this weekend to be fitted for a plain, basic doublet. It will be interesting to make a more fitted male garment for the 14th century period. David currently prefers the loose skirts of his tunic. (odd, since he likes the fitted nature of his 1860's attire).

Love,

Sarah

Cotehardie Progress ~ Dyeing the Linen

2012-01-10T08:44:00.000-06:00

So, I decided to make a cotehardie. And for clarification, I don't know if cotehardie is a period-correct term for a fitted overgown, but, since it is the modern term that most people use when referring to this type of garment, I will use it, since everyone who reads this IS a modern person, like it or not! :P It will be fitted to the waist since my belly bulge is in my lower abdomen (and based on all my previous pregnancies my babies always carry quite low) and will close with buttons instead of lacing. The sleeves will be tight fitted short sleeves finished with a band of fabric and a faced band of fabric hanging from the back of the sleeve to above the dress hem (I'd love them to go ALL the way to the hem but will have to see if I have enough fabric for that).

If I am feeling adventurous, I will make it with lacing at the sides from hip to underbust. If not, I will just sew those seams as I regularly do and either make lacing holes for it later by facing the seam in that area and working eyelets, or I will just wear my sideless surcote over my fitted undergown (modernly called a kirtle) for our event in April. The sideless surcote has quite a bit of room below the waist.

The next step was dyeing the linen. I had good results when dyeing the wool for my underdress so I felt more confident as I filled the washer with hot water, added the salt and the dye (appx. 1 TB of "wine" RIT dye; it wasn't crimson as I had thought) and added the wet fabric. Before putting in the whole length of fabric I dyed a few samples, so I could get an idea of how long I needed to let the full length of fabric sit in the dyebath. Here you can see a few of the samples. The tan is the original fabric color; the pale pink is the tan after 5 minutes in the dye and the dark purply-pink is the fabric after 30 minutes in the dye. I was shocked at how vibrant the colors came out after only a few minutes.

I liked the middle sample (the pale pink) the best, so added the wet length of fabric and let it sit for 5 minutes. However, I didn't take into account the time it would take for the dye to leave the washing machine so the fabric ended up being in the dye for probably 8 minutes. As a result, it came out darker than I was wanting:

Here is the finished pink linen with the underdress (darker blue-green) and the pale green linen I plan to use for the lining. It's very. . .pink.

It caused me considerable troublesome thought yesterday. I did find a few examples of similarly colored vibrant pinkish-purple gowns in a few period images:

However, I never got to the point where I loved the color. : / And if I am going to put time into making something, I want to love it. I deserve to love it! The pink is pretty and cheerful, but just not ME. So, I had an awakening last night when I woke up around 2:30 a.m. and started thinking about the color. I will remove the dye and re-dye the linen a soft gray. With gray, I don't really care about the particular shade as long as it doesn't come out looking black. Gray is nice. I like gray. It's me. It should be easier to get a nice gray than a pale pink. And gray will look nice with the color of the underdress and the lining (you will be able to see the lining on the sleeves).

To dress it up a bit I may trim the sleeves, neckline and hem with dark brown. (I know, a boring color, but, alas, me). I think a really dark color for trim would accent the lines and make it look more festive.

So, farewell pink linen.

Love,
Sarah

Medieval Pin Keep ~ And Peter ~

2012-01-09T09:15:00.001-06:00

Our annual 12th Night party was held on Saturday night. David had to work for half of the day so we had a late start getting there. In fact, I wasn't even sure that we were going to be able to go. I was thwarted at every turn. I couldn't find anything we needed. The wrapping paper and tape for our contributions to the gift exchange. Judah's hood. All 3 pairs of little brown shoes and hose - nope. No where to be found. David's red lion appliqued bag. My plain wool bag. Still missing in mysterious circumstances.

I did finally find enough to get us clothed - although we looked a bit rumply, and the children had to wear modern shoes and pants beneath their tunics - and we packed into the van and made it just after court started. It is extremely embarrassing to go go into a room that is already filled with people who are trying to pay attention to one person who is speaking. Even more so when your eldest child is fidgeting and grabbing at your skirts and proclaiming to all who will hear, "I have to poop!"

We did end up having a nice time, though. A wonderful abundance of savory foods were spread and a fascinating array of desserts to finish off the evening stimulated the senses of all. My contribution was venison, stewed in broth with sage and onions and garlic, with tiny potatoes and finished off with a sprinkle of cardamom and a dash of red wine, as well as flat biscuit-like cakes of oat and honey. My favorite was the smoked beef one gentleman had been cooking for the previous six hours. . .smoked meat is heavenly!

I didn't get any pictures save one, of my right-side dinner companion, Mr. Peter. We all have seen more flattering photographs of this gentleman, but I shall post it anyway for the sake of interest.

These other pictures are ones I had David take right before we left home, because I wanted everyone to be able to see the beautiful gift I received last month. I never would have had the patience to make anything like this, so I am doubly grateful and honored to be the recipient of this beautiful pin keep. Isn't the workmanship amazing?!

I love how it looks with my dress; so much so I decided against wearing my surcote so the pin keep wouldn't be covered up underneath it! It is so very, very useful to hold pins. So much more so than keeping them in a bag or worse yet, pinned into the hem of my skirt where I would often get tiny pricks on my ankles when I walked.

I'm now planning a new surcote to wear for Festival of Maidens; I would like something a bit more cheery and festive than what I already have, although not too overboard, or done up, or fancified. I ended up getting 5 yards of medium-heavy tan linen. I know, I know, it ought to be wool but linen was half the price and, well, the compromise was worth it to me. ;) I really like how the plain tan looks with the kirtle but David is right, it would show dirt quickly and it is kind of "blah". I have a bottle of crimson dye so I am going to try to experiment today and see if I can manage a light dusky pink with a diluted bit of the dye, since the fabric is tan to begin with.

This is the look I absolutely ADORE. I'd love to make an overgown exactly like this.

Then I will need to decide if I want to do a very fitted "cotehardie" style dress, or a looser gown that will leave room for belly growth. I really would prefer a more fitted style but already my shape is changing due to Little One. After Maidens, I think there is only one more event we will be doing before the baby is born, and that will be in April when I will be a little over 20 weeks or so. So, I still shouldn't be THAT big then. Thinking about it now, I can always make the skirt start flaring out just under my ribs, instead of lower down the torso, to give room for baby. Or I could make the gown tight fitting and open up the seams at the sides with lacing if I find I need to, in April. At any rate, I want to do something with interesting sleeves.

Love,
Sarah

New Year Sewing Plans ~ A Rather Boring Post with No Pictures of Sewing Projects ~

2012-01-05T14:15:00.000-06:00

I was absolutely overwhelmed with the many congratulations and kinds words following our happy announcement last week. Thank you - I am happily dreaming of tiny clothes and little blankets, and a new warm bundle with downy hair, tiny clinging fingers and bright eyes to cuddle. I am purposely avoiding thought of inconsolable infant screams, explosive diaper excretions and less than two hours of sleep per night. I like to think happy thoughts. Although, of course, I do wish that I did not have to go through seven more months of pregnancy to get to the reality of a new baby in my arms. I don't really like being pregnant. Plus it throws quite a spin on what my costuming plans for this year would have been. However. It is a small sacrifice to pay for the very great joy of a new baby. August cannot come too soon! And I do know it will be here before I know it - probably before I'm really truly ready!

Look! Mary the Mother of Jesus portrayed as a pregnant medieval lady. The drape of medieval clothes makes even a baby bump look elegant and graceful. I love her pointy toe shoes peeking out from under her hem. :)

Since the arrival of the New Year I have not been sewing on any large projects. I have a wee linen medieval baby gown I am working on (and I hope to finish very soon) for a sweet new baby boy, born recently to the lovely Edyth Miller. It is the same style as Malachi's yellow wool gown and ought to fit the baby for quite a while. I love how sheerly practical and roomy medieval children's clothing is! I will have pics of it as soon as it is completed and safely sent on its way.

I have also been contemplating my ill-fated medieval shoes. It has been nearly a year since I made the pattern for my shoes and I have yet to actually make a finished set. I bought medium weight leather for the soles last fall but couldn't find any suitable lightweight leather for the uppers. After attempting (without success) to make David a new tobacco pouch lined with thin leather for Christmas, I decided that working with leather is very troublesome since thin leather has a tendency to grow and shrink and slip and slide every which way. I am now pondering the possibility of making a complete shoe out of stout woolen cloth, lined with linen or lightweight wool, and gluing a seperate leather sole to the bottom of the cloth shoe so it is functional for outdoor use. I know such a method is not period correct but I think it would give a better look than wearing modern shoes and would keep my feet warm and happy. Plus, strict authenticity in the SCA is not completely necessary. Our barony is very relaxed and laid back and as long as you make an attempt at period attire, you are good to go. :)

This weekend is our SCA 12th Night Party and at the end of the month is the Festival of Maidens. I am so excited about being able to attend this year! If I am diligent in sewing I would love to make a short sleeved overgown, the sleeves finished with streamers, to wear over my kirtle, like the blue one (second from right) below, only adapted for full length, of course. :)

I really have no need for a new medieval dress but it DOES get old wearing the same thing all the time. I just have no idea what a good color would be for a dress like this! EVERYONE wears dark, jewel tone colors, or red, or black. What would look good with a dusky green-blue underdress? A tan or mustard yellow? A lighter blue or gray? I like the color combination of the blue-green underdress in this picture, worn with what appears to be a pale pink or oatmeal colored overdress.

To yank my mind out of the medieval sea it is currently swimming in, I am about to embark on a rather intense sewing project that ought to keep me busy for the next month or so. A complete 1860's hospital stewards uniform, from shirts to frock coat to sack coat, all to be completed before the end of March for a dear friend of ours who just joined the 108th IL field hospital. I'm fairly sure such sewing will not be of that much interest to the majority of my readers, so I will try to sneak in a few pretty, frilly projects to keep up my feminine morale and to share here. :)

So, my Feminine Sewing Goal for the month of January is a cream-and-brown striped 1770's jacket, made like this one from Colonial Williamsburg:

I figure I better make it now before my belly gets too big to fit normal things over! I would like the petticoat to be green or blue. Then I will be all set for the trade faire in September. And it will be a good incentive for me to loose weight after Baby arrives.

Love,
Sarah

Linens For The New Year

2011-12-30T06:19:00.000-06:00

Having lately received word that we are to expect a houseguest next summer, only several weeks before the autumnal Colonial Trade Faire, and that this guest will of course want to accompany us to that interesting event, but, alas, has no suitable clothing, my spare time of late has been employed to ensure that this esteemed personage will have proper attire.

The work baskets and drawers have been emptied to turn up any spare bits of soft linen and I think that although the resultant garments are by no means fancy, the recipient, it is to be hoped, shall not mind their plainness at all.

No one has claimed to have seen this person, although rumour has reached us that we are to expect a person rather smaller than not, and with less than the common amount of hair. It has also been speculated that due to circumstances beyond their control, this person shall arrive in nothing but, alas, their own skin. It is only charitable that we should extend the hand of kindness and provide this poor creature with adequate clothing, food and a comfortable room of its own, to stay in as long as it should find itself in need of hospitality.

I flatter myself that the kind hand of Providence has smiled upon us and that our future shall be bright with this person numbered amongst our household. For all that Providence sends is for our benefit and good, and His blessings flow richly with each angel He sends among us, unawares.

Love,
Sarah

1840's Christmas Dress!

2011-12-26T17:19:00.000-06:00

Greetings one and all! I do hope you all had a very pleasant Christmas. We enjoyed the company of extended family on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and the little fellows were hit with a deluge of gifts that has left them with several meltdowns, a few mini-wars, but also many happy hours of play. I cannot step anywhere without coming across toy guns, foam darts from a nerf crossbow (and more foam darts from the toy pump shotgun), cars, tractors, trains and puzzles, cowboys and horses, construction site toys, crayons, coloring book pages and lots and lots of candy wrappers.

We had, as usual, far too much food. I think it will take us a week to eat all the leftovers as well as a week to get the house back in order. But the chaos is a happy and comfortable after-Christmas kind of chaos. It is fun to lounge about, eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate and not feeling like you have to get anything done.

I did put on my Christmas dress today and braved the frigid wind to take a few photos. I literally finished this dress the day before Christmas (sewing on the hooks) and finished the bonnet this afternoon. I am super happy with how this came out and although I have no idea where I will wear this, I am determined to hunt up at least one or two 40's-era events that I can attend next year so the dress can get some use. I'd even be ecstatic to find a semi-local Dickens fair that I could go to. So here, in no particular order, are a few of the pictures we got:

Or I could just wear it whenever the fancy strikes, as I have done in the past with other historic frocks, and leisurely do my grocery shopping in corded petti and plaid wool shawl. It is ridiculously fun to get shocked looks from people. It's even more fun to dress historic and go on a fun cemetery traipse and see cars slow down and stare as you soberly walk among the grave stones.

One week til the New Year! Have a fantastic remainder of 2011!

Love,
Sarah

2011-12-22T14:40:00.000-06:00

Here we are three days before Christmas! Three days. My goodness. How came it to be Christmas time already? Wasn't it just last month we were taking down our Christmas tree? Last week we were plucking luscious heirloom tomatoes from our green viney jungle of a garden (and speaking for myself, sweating ourselves to a sizzle in the kitchen canning the tomatoes with some sort of desperate heroicness)? Just yesterday we stuffed ourselves with a huge Thanksgiving feast?

One of my favorite pictures from this summer. Malachi enjoying a mud puddle after a heavy summer rain.

I truly don't know how the time went by so fast. Everyone tells me to enjoy life now because the older you get, the faster it goes by. I am twenty five now. It's scary to think the next twenty five years may pass as quickly as these last ones have.

But, we are ready for Christmas. David picked up the last item we needed to complete our Christmas table just today. A lovely, enormous, smoked Amish ham. The trick will be abstaining from slicing off tiny pieces of it "just for a little taste" before we sit down to our Christmas dinner. Unlike the Cratchitt's, we have opted out of having a goose this year - they are just SO fatty - although David is particularly set on having a real steamed pudding with a little alcohol-fueled flame around it as the grand finale.

After my last post, my interest in the 1840's clothing I have been working on went out with a grand snuff. I have tried to work more on my bonnet. I truly have. But I see myself so much in the behavior my five year old son has been exhibiting when we sit down to our schoolbooks lately. When he knows he needs to concentrate on something, he seems to find and cling to something - anything! - else to avoid the question at hand. Do we have to study how a spider web is made? He wants to know how birds make nests. What about how water turns into snow? He wants to know what its like inside a volcano.

And so it is with me. Whenever I have sat down to work on my bonnet my mind leaps up with a fury of different ideas. 14th century cotes. Ideas for a new gown for the Jane Austen festival next summer. A sudden desire to make tobacco pouches. A passionate obsession with the cut of Edwardian era skirts. Reading. A lot. I just finished Jane Eyre and a biography of Charles Dickens. And when I read, I don't eat. I don't sleep. I don't sew.

I have at least cut out the cover. I ran the shirring rows and tacked it to the frame. I trimmed the edges to match the frame and bound the edges in bias strips of the silk. (thanks to Elizabeth Aldrige for this scrumptious silk - I was ecstatic to realize that there was plenty left over to cover my bonnet after laying out the pattern pieces for the waistcoat it is intended for). I covered the tip of the bonnet. So all it really needs now is a curtain, a lining and facing and some ties. Maybe a few flowers inside the brim at cheek level.

I think I will take a break from sewing though until the New Year begins and just try to finish the bonnet and enjoy the rest of the holiday season without any stress or deadlines for getting things done. Jan. 7th starts off our costumed events with an SCA 12th Night Party and I have the most amazing, gorgeous new accessory to complete my outfit. I will have pics of it after our event, but in the meantime you can read about it and see photos of it here: Edyth Miller

Have a wonderful Christmas dearies!

Love,

Sarah

1840's Bonnet

2011-12-16T16:16:00.000-06:00

Well, David's 1840's outfit is NOT going to be done by Christmas. I did try. I made his trousers this week like I wanted to but it seemed every single thing I attempted to do with those trousers, whether it was threading a needle, winding a bobbin or cutting out a pattern piece, I had to do over at least once. It seems I am Cursed in the 1840's. So anyway, the trousers are done but I am not going to tempt fate and rush myself getting a waistcoat and tailcoat done before next weekend. I want these to be very nice, and if by rushing I will end up with a less than satisfactory product, well, it's not worth it. So he is just going to wear his black frock suit and be 1850's. I won't feel "right" being in a different decade, fashion wise, than he but as he told me, most people won't know the difference anyway.

So I have been working on my 1840's bonnet instead. It is coming along annoyingly slow. Like I did with my dress, I stop after every stitch I take, it seems, and recheck something. After studying the plates, paintings, portraits and original bonnets I could find online I cut the basic shape out of paper and then cut it in buckram, and reinforced the edges with wire and added a layer of cotton batting to soften the buckram form before I put the silk on it.

I was happy with it at first. I liked the shape and thought it was representative of the 40's. (I am definitely no milliner). But then I began to wonder about the shape of face edge. It seemed to me that the area of the brim that goes over the face juts out farther at cheek level than it does above my head. I didn't know if that was correct or not.

I pieced in a little piece of buckram at the top of the bonnet, to see if that gave a better shape. One where the jutting-out-over-the-face factor was about the same at cheek level and forehead level.

I don't know if it really makes much difference, or if it matters at all. I feel like my nerves are tensioned way high and I wish I could just relax. It's just a stupid bonnet. But still, I want it to look right. I don't know. I keep waiting and thinking but if I don't just cover the darn thing and call it good I won't have any bonnet to wear with my dress on Christmas!

In the meanwhile we are crazy busy getting ready for Christmas. We have been cooking, decorating, making gingerbread houses, working on secret homemade gifts, eating way too many sweets and staying up late at night watching movies.

We were going to get a family photo taken for Christmas this year (a professional one!) but decided that, after all, the $10 fee with the coupon was just not worth it. The horrors of our last attempt at a professional family photo loomed up before us and we knew the procedure would be painful rather than pleasant. So once more we decided to take our own instead. I took some of the boys today so we can get them printed and sent to grandparents. Here are my three little men:

They are growing up quite handsomely, I do think. It's hard to believe they are not babies anymore.

Love,
Sarah

1840's Dress Progress - The Light At The End of the Tunnel

2011-12-11T15:02:00.000-06:00

The sleeves are in, the skirt is gauged and whipped on and all that remains to do is hemming the skirt and adding hooks and eyes for the back closure.

It is almost done. And I have two weeks until Christmas! I am feeling very virtuous and prepared.

I had six yards of fabric to work with and I figured that would be plenty. After ripping my skirt panels, however, I was frustrated to find I had a very small amount of fabric left to make my sleeves. I had my heart set on slim fitting bias cut sleeves but it wasn't possible to lay out the sleeve pattern on the fabric and have them fit without piecing the sleeves. I ended up using the sleeve pattern from the 1839-1845 dress from Patterns of Fashion 1, which is cut with a curve at the elbow. The way I had to lay the pattern out, I ended up with sleeves that are straight grain on the top and biasy below the elbow. It's not exactly what I wanted, but it worked. The sleeves are each pieced in five places. I was barely able to scrape out enough fabric to match the stripey pattern for piecing on the visible part of the sleeve. The stripes do NOT match on the underside of the sleeve but if I restrain myself from waving my arms about in the air no one will ever know of the mis-matched pattern there.

From the tiniest bits of scraps left over I was able to eek out enough bias strips for piping for the sleeves. Every seam on the bodice and the long seams and hem on the sleeves are piped. The skirts come to just above my toes and the bodice fits. Very snugly. But it fits.

Of course, now that I have *two whole weeks left* I am diving in to making David an 1840's outfit to wear on Christmas too. Fall front trousers, a shawl collar waistcoat and a tailcoat. I think he will look very handsome in the 40's. I know hardly anything about mens 1840's wear but the best way to learn is to just do it, right?

Love,

Sarah

1840's Dress Progress - Kinda

2011-12-08T12:44:00.000-06:00

So far this week I have spent a little time each day working on the bodice of the 1840's dress. And I am still not done with the bodice. For me, who used to be able to whip up a complete 1860's dress in a day, piping, hand finishing and all, this is discouraging.

It seems at every turn I have to re-evaluate something, recheck something, do some more research. Maybe it's because I'm so unsure of myself. This is a new fashion era for me and I lack confidence to go boldly ahead and cut and sew. The 1840's has created a Meek and Mincing Sarah Jane.

For one thing, the fitting method completely took over my mind these past few days. The way the material between the neckline and waist was treated caused me a great deal of frustration. How to get that tidy, neat fit? (and I am deliberately excluding fan-fronts from my mind since those are a whole different style - the look I want is the molded, tidy, wrinkle-free rigid torso look).

It seemed there were two ways of doing this. One way fitted the bodice with darts and another way fitted the bodice with princess seams. I found evidence of both methods used in the 40's. So, okay.

But then, there was variation among those options. You could fit a bodice with 1 dart on each side, like the 1837-1841 morning dress on page 65 in Patterns of Fashion 1, or you could fit a bodice with two darts to each side, like this one:

You could fit a bodice with princess seams. The first image I found that showed clear princess seams was the right-center dress in this plate, which shows princess seams going from the neckline to the waist. I posted this one last week.

Then a few highly respected costumers suggested to me the Jean Hunnisett patterns for 1840's bodices as excellent starting points. The pattern for a princess seam bodice from the patterns in this book calls for princess seams going from the front armscye to the waist. I decided to go with that. Here you can see my first mock up, with the pins indicating where the new seam line will be.

Then I came across this picture which clearly shows a bodice fitted with princess seams that go from the shoulder seam to the waist (this is the same style as my gray ballgown bodice; the pattern for which I am using as a base for the 40's dress).

Another interesting thing about the above picture is that there is no center seam in the bodice, and it doesn't appear as though the front seams are piped!

And I thought piping was ALWAYS used on 40's dresses!

Then I looked more at my inspiration dress image and realized with a jolt that yes, it looks like this bodice is also fitted with princess seams that go from the shoulder to the waist! Look at how the stripey pattern gets chopped off as it nears the shoulder. . .it definitely looks like there is a seam there.

And this late 30's dress from Costume in Detail has the same kind of princess seams (and just the beginning of a pointed front bodice!)

But at this point I had already cut out my bodice with the princess seams going from armscye to waist.

Grrr. Frustrating. I have spent the last few days wondering if what I have chosen to do with my dress will even be remotely 40's-ish. . .because every time I think I know something, something new pops up and throws my theories into the water. This is why we "never say never" in historic costuming, right?

So that is why my bodice has been coming along slowly. At least with the sleeves and skirt I know pretty much exactly what I am going to do. A tight, bias cut sleeve and a plain old rectangular construction gauged and faced skirt. Easy, right? We'll see.

Here is my mock up of the 1860's ball gown pattern. This is 60's in style, so I knew I'd have to modify it a little for a 40's look. Going off the Jean Hunnisett pattern as a guide, I cut a new seamline that went from the armscye to the waist. I also trimmed down the neckline a bit. I only did one mock up of the bodice, since it seemed to work pretty well just as it was. There are wrinkles in the mock up along the seams but I think that was mostly due to the cheapy poly/cotton thin fabric I was using for a mock up. The semi-finished bodice doesn't wrinkle up much at all on me.

Here is the first try on of the bodice in the fabric I'm using. Not too bad, but I did change a few things. The black lines (sorry they are hard to see!) on the viewers left indicate where I made some changes. First, I cut down the neckline to get more of a horizontal line from shoulder to shoulder. I also trimmed the front armscye since it was cutting into my arm and making a wrinkle under the armpit. I also refined the curve of the front point so it would match, more or less, the bias stripes on the center front. I wish now I had only cut down the sides of the neckline, not the center. : /

I also had to redo the back almost completely. . .for some reason the upper back was WAY too wide and the neckline way too gappy. I don't know why since I used the same pattern for my ballgown and it came out fine. Weird. I cut down the straps on the back bodice and that snugged the armscye up too much, so I had to recut the back armscye. I cut my side back pieces on the bias at first but it looked funky so I ended up ripping them out and recutting and sewing side back pieces on the straight.

Then as I sewed and tried on, and sewed and tried on, the bodice seemed to significantly shrink in size. This alarmed me and the only reason I can think of for this is the fact that all the piped seams are very thick and heavy. Grading the seams and even pressing them open didn't seem to help much. They just take up more surface space so I have less room to fit my body into. Tightening up the stays a tad helped, but I am going to have VERY little overlap at the back opening by the time all is said and done!

I think the main bodice is finally done, though. I piped the waistline this morning. I still need to pipe the armscye and make and set in the sleeves but after that, it appears to be smooth sailing.

And here is a picture of the extra material draped up on the petticoats, so I can get an idea of how the bodice will look once the skirt is made and attached.

Love,

Sarah

1840's Undergarments and ~ New Dishes ~ !

2011-12-05T14:11:00.000-06:00

Woo hoo! 1840's undergarments are DONE!

And isn't this cup and saucer adorable? I have always wanted some like this but we have a plain brown stoneware set that works perfectly well for our humble living. However, we went to Goodwill yesterday (I was looking for a slinky 30's-ish looking evening gown) and David came across these lovely dishes while I desperately tried to wiggle into a sea-foam green stretchy slinky dress with a draped front and huge rhinestone brooch. We came home with the dishes, but not the dress. (it revealed every bump and wrinkle. Definitely not for the post-baby, jiggly flesh type of body). Only $8 for 8 cups and saucers, a large serving bowl and a divided bowl. I just love them. So pretty.

I finished my corded petticoat over the weekend and whipped up a new bum pad last night. This bum pad is made from the pattern included with the 1850's dress in Simplicity 3727. It's bigger than my last bum pad, since the shape of it goes around the hips so you get side fullness as well as back fullness. It's made from a cut down cotton sheet and I DID get to sew this sheet material on the machine. ; )

I found it fascinating how the layers interact with each other to give the final shape, so here are probably more pictures than you want to see, but it shows how each item is necessary for the final look and how the corded petticoat REALLY helps give the right shape while eliminating all but one plain petticoat.

As you remember, I decided to wear my regency long stays for this dress instead of my 1860's corset. The 1860's corset gives a curvier shape with a curvy, lower bustline. The stays give more of a straight, upright look to the torso and I loosened the laces holding the straps so the bust can sit a *tad* lower than it does for my regency gowns. I know it's not perfect for the 40's, but it works and it saves me the time and trouble of making a new corset for a dress I will probably only wear a few times. I'm also using my regency shift as I think it is more accurate for the early 40's than my Civil War era chemises. Here is the look with just one plain petticoat. As you can see it is pretty limp and straight looking, even though the petticoat by itself has a lot of body and is fairly stiff.

Next we add the bum pad. Poof! Instant Big Butt.

Nice hip fullness from the front. There is a definite "spring" of the skirts from the waist, instead of a droopy look.

Here is the corded petticoat! (excuse the fact I look like some sort of female Mr. Tumnus with my ear sticking out of my hair). I cannot say how happy I am with how this came out. The size is just right for me and I am so pleased with the shape and support it gives. And this is with no starch; nothing. This is just how it came out after the cord was sewn in. I'm glad because I hate starching things and it takes sooooo long to do.

Here is the final shape with the bum pad, the corded petticoat and the plain petticoat. From the back.

From the side.

And from the front. I think we're ready to move on to the dress now!

Love,

Sarah

The Corded Petticoat, A Pre-Hoop Skirt Support

2011-12-02T11:25:00.000-06:00

The cage, or hooped skirt came into fashionable popularity in the late 1850's. However, the full skirted silhouette was popular for several decades before then. Here is a good example of the skirt silhouette I am going for. A nice domed skirt shape with lots of hip fullness and a definite back thrust with a relatively flat front.

Pre-hoop women achieved the lofty skirts by wearing multiple petticoats, that could be plain, tucked, flounced, quilted or corded and very probably heavily starched. For me, this presents the problem of multiple waistbands all at the same point on my waist, making it look much larger and thicker. WAIST BULK! Sigh. And what will all those waistbands do to the nice flat pointed front of the bodice? I don't want to have to wear all the petticoats I have with my 1840's dress, so I hope to eliminate the need for a few of them by making a new corded petticoat. I'm hoping a corded petticoat, with one or two plain petticoats on top of that, will be sufficient.

The corded petticoat of the mid-19th century came in several styles. One style is the lightweight petticoat skirt with dozens and dozens of rows of small, light cording woven in to the fabric itself. For this style, you could purchase the fabric with the cording already woven in. To replicate this style today, unless you can find some corded fabric to use, the modern seamstress must sew these thin cords in one by one. A famous costumers example can be found HERE.

Another style is the corded petti with thicker cords sewn in. These cords are less numerous than the cording found on the tiny-cord style of petticoat. This example is approximately from the 1840's. A lady could make this style at home, then and now, by sewing cords into tucks in a plain petticoat.

Back when I started reenacting a corded petticoat was the superly-awesome-authentic thing to have. Since then, research has showed that after the advent of The Hoop, the corded petticoat faded in oblivion and were not commonly worn by the time of the Civil War. But that wasn't the prevailing thought away back then. So I made two corded petticoats. One with tiny cords and one with thicker cords.

Here we see the 18-year old Sarah Jane of 2004 with her very first corded petticoat. This one was made 90" around the hem and featured 8 rows of thick cord. It folded in on itself somewhat, and was slightly heavy, but it did give a nice pouf to my skirts. In this picture I am wearing (if I can remember correctly) the corded petticoat with only one plain petticoat over that. And that is my handsome Dad, and my first attempts at men's clothing of the 1860's. :)

Here is the pregnant-with-Malachi Sarah Jane of 2008 (I didn't know I was pregnant yet though!) wearing her second version of the corded petticoat. This one had many more rows of tiny cotton crochet yarn instead of the larger thick rope-like cord. This petticoat was always kind of blah, for me. It did help the skirts stand out a little. But not as much as the other corded petti. I got just as much loft wearing an extra plain petticoat.

I ended up giving one of my corded pettis to a friend. I sold the other one when I found out it wasn't accurate to my impression.

But now, I find myself with a legitimate use for a corded petticoat. For this one, I am going with the thicker cords. I am using a tightly woven 100% cotton sheet for the petticoat itself and cotton clothesline for the cords. I think the cord is actually a poly inner strand covered with the braided cotton cord. But I honestly don't care about the little bit of un-seen poly. It is stiff and tightly braided and works like a dream. The cord is about 1/4" in diameter. The petticoat will have 16 rows.

What totally stinketh about this particular petticoat are the facts that 1) The fabric is VERY tightly woven and 2) my mother in law's sewing machine, which I am currently using, doesn't have a zip foot attachment and so I have to sew all these rows in by hand. It is painful. So far I have 8 rows of cording sewn in. 8 more to go. I hope my fingers aren't raw and bleeding by then.

I also am making this petticoat much narrower than my previous attempts. My last ones have been about 90" around the hem but that width just seemed to collapse in on itself. This one is only 75" around the hem. It will come to mid calf and already, with just the 8 rows sewn in, I can see that this is going to keep it's shape very well, even without starch. No folding, no creasing. It is almost like a mini hoop skirt. :)

So, with this and a new bum pad I hope my skirts will look right. Then it will be on to the dress!

Love,

Sarah

1840's Inspiration

2011-11-30T16:14:00.000-06:00

I just came across this dress today and it is almost exactly what I want! And oh, the fabric is to die for. Gorgeousness!

It looks like the front bodice is cut on the bias with one dart on each side. The skirt looks like it is gathered to a round waist with the front bodice point floating over it. The way the sleeves are cut, it would be easy to make an upper sleeve with a detachable lower sleeve like the 1841-43 wool dress on page 175 of Costume in Detail. I do want to make a tight skinny sleeve though, with maybe a bias ruffle or two part way down the arm.

I did find this image today on the Truly Victorian website. It shows a 40's dress (although it looks like an evening dress) with princess seams on the front - no darts - which would be easier for me to fit since I already have a pattern just like this.

Right now my dilemma is my skirt supports. How does one get a long flat pointed waist to look right over full gathered round petticoats? I am trying to decide if I need to make a few new petticoats on V yoke waistbands or just work with what I have already.
Love,
Sarah

Christmas Dress - 1840's?

2011-11-29T16:06:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the overwhelming encouragement you all sent me after my last post - wow. I feel somewhat silly for venting like that, but on the other hand, I don't think I need to be ashamed of my feelings either, since feelings are real and true. Like one of you so truly said, you can change your mind, but you can't change your feelings.

Anyway, I appreciate it. You are all awesome.

So, since Thanksgiving is officially over and there is less than four weeks until Christmas, I am starting to think about my Christmas dress. Last year I made a late 1850's basque bodice to go with my silk skirt, but this year I think I am going to go for something totally different. At least, different for me. Taking a hint from Lauren at The Lady of Portland House, I'm going to try out a dress from a decade I've never done before, the 1840's.

Reason? I love, love, love Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol and we just finished watching, our annual after-Thanksgiving tradition, the movie version with Patrick Stewart (I love him) and so. I am inspired.

The engagingly begrudgeful Mr. Scrooge

The 1840's fascinate me as the start of the Victorian era. I like the silhouette from this decade very much and the bonnets and hair are just gorgeous.

1841

David also loves the men's clothing from this era. He told me he is looking forward to being old enough to portray a Mexican War veteran at Civil War reenactments and he wishes that there was some group around here that did 1840's. He loves the military uniforms, the civilian clothes and the facial hair of these interesting years. He loves the history. He was very happy when I told him I was thinking of making an 1840's dress sometime soon. He told me he thinks I should go for something from 1846 but I think I will go just a wee bit earlier.

I just love this dress. Maybe not the large collar, but I like the clean simple lines of the skirt and bodice.

The pattern for a basic bodice from the 40's looks simple enough and not that different from 1860's styles. I plan to modify my basic 1860's bodice pattern by making it back closing, with a pointed front and a wide neckline, with the front bodice cut in two pieces and fitted with one or two darts on each side. In fact, I think my basic ballgown pattern would work as a starting point for an 1840's dress bodice. It already has all the features except the front is fitted with princess seams instead of darts.

dresses 1840-1845

I'm heavily inspired by these two dresses from Patterns of Fashion 1 and Costume in Detail. I plan on using undergarments I already have. My petticoats I use for 60's stuff will work just fine, as will my chemises and drawers, stockings and shoes, and I'm using my long stays for the corset since it gives a similar look to 40's corsets with a rigid front busk and gusseted cups.

The fabric I am using has been sitting on my shelf for a few years. I don't know if it is totally period correct but since I'm not wearing it to any living history event I don't really care if it is 100% correct or not. I got this fabric initially to make an 1860's wrapper from but then I found out that stripes that have printed designs ON the stripes are not appropriate for the 60's. Disappointment. But I think it will look nice made into a 40's style. I love striped prints for styles that can be cut on the bias. Bias cut stripes are just amazing things, I think. :) Yummmmm. Bias bits on the dress. A bias bodice. If I can squeeze it out of the 6 yards I have to work with, a bias flounce on the skirt. Bias piping for ALL the bodice seams. I think I am going to be in love!

Don't you just love holiday dresses? :) Do any of you have any special frocks you are working on for the Christmas season?

Love,
Sarah

A Rant. Yes. A Rant.

2011-11-26T11:44:00.002-06:00

I try to avoid negative postings on my blog. It has been a while, I think, since I have complained very greatly about any one subject, at least publically on this blog. Because who wants to read negative posts? Negative posts often serve no useful purpose and just make the poster look like an emotionally insecure, whiney, self-centered brat and to create tension between one group or individual versus another. No matter what we may differ in, we all deserve respect and courtesy.

David and Becky share reminiscing in the dressing-room

But I suppose I will risk sounding like an emotionally insecure, whiney, self-centered brat. And so here commences my Negative Post.

Some of the dancers - the lovely Lady April and her husband are to the left

I hate reenacting the 1860's.

I think I may have said *that* before. For the past few years, the 1860's has lost its allure. I have put up with it, with varying degrees of frustration. Sometimes I will actually get inspired and be excited about making a new 1860's dress, or accessory and sometimes I will have a good time at an event and be tricked into thinking I like Civil War reenacting again. But soon the glow fades - the reality hits that I did not actually enjoy the *event* itself, but rather my good time was purely based on the friends who were there with me and who made it interesting by their presence and conversation.

New headdress!

Early this year I was ready to throw the towel in and call it quits. I told David he could reenact since he loves it, but I didn't want to do 1860's events anymore. I would stick with the SCA and the regency era. I would fully support him in his Civil War reenacting endeavors but I would not actually go the events myself. Then I met Laura. She burst onto the scene like a ray of sunshine piercing dark clouds. She was new to reenacting and full of positive energy about it. Her enthusiasm was contagious. She had three kids, nearly the same age as my own. She inspired me. I got excited about the possibilities of reenacting with Laura. While our kids played, we could do different activities to represent the side of the wives and mothers of the Civil War era. Sewing, reading, making bandages, tending the children. I decided to give 1860's reenacting another shot.

Laura, my forever friend - gone but not forgotten - :)

And I suppose I can say I had a positive 1860's reenacting experience this summer. But if I did, it was purely because Laura was there. It was not because the events themselves were great. Because they were mostly very lame.

The lovely Becky smiles at her charming reflection in the dressing-room mirror

Then Laura moved away. My dislike for reenacting reared its ugly head again and grew into a full blown detestation. I was ready to call it quits again. I was so, so tired and so, so sick of putting so much effort into my impression. Time spent researching, sewing, hunting out in antique stores. Time spent getting excited. Time spent forming expectations. Not to mention the sheer amount of physical work that goes into sewing, cleaning, mending, packing everything for 5 people. Time spent meal planning, looking for recipes, getting the vehicle loaded with our gear, driving to an event, setting up.

Peter - Blockade Runner -

All for - what? Sitting there. Staring at a campfire. Trying to keep the children from messing with the medical tools or jumping on the cots in the hospital tent. (WHY are we even close enough to the hospital tent for the children to have the opportunity to DO that? Children should NOT be a part of a field hospital!) Walking around counting the hours until Sunday afternoon when we can tear down, go home, exhausted. . .unpack everything, clean everything, mend it, put it away.

Our Very Own Doctor and Mrs. K with the indisputably dashing McGregor, unit mascot and highest ranking officer

Then Blake and Becky burst upon the scene. Friends of Davids from his highschool days, we had lost touch over the years. This fall we got back together again to visit and catch up and we discovered that they have a huge interest in reenacting themselves and want to start reenacting with us. So, once more, I found myself excited by the possibilities of reenacting with Blake and Becky.

Mr. and Mrs. W

They are so eager to start. Our last "event" of the year was to be a ball at the GAR hall the day after Thanksgiving. It's always a fun time of dancing and socialization, laughter and whirling music and soft lights. A nice way to kick off the holiday season. We assured them that it was okay they had never been to a ball before because the dances are usually always called - the callers go through the steps so newer dancers know how to perform before the actual dance starts. Last year was super fun and there were so many people who came in from the street and who had a wonderful time learning the dances. After all, the whole point of the Yule ball is to have open houses so people can come in off the street and see what different businesses/organizations are about and to be invited to buy/join/attend.

Blake and Becky were eager to try dancing out and they drove up to our house several times the past few weeks, despite them living quite a distance away, so we could try on loaner clothes they can wear until we get proper clothes made for them. They put so much effort into getting ready and looking the part. Yesterday, they came up to our house and we headed over to the ball together.

New 108th IL Hospital Steward, currently going as Confederate Spy

It was awful.

Hospital Steward and Mrs. W and Captain and Mrs. M.

We showed up and went in. Becky and I went downstairs so I could fix her hair which had come loose and we headed upstairs, where the dancing had already started. We stood and watched for a few minutes and the dance ended. Immediately anther one started up. No one looked at us, no one said anything to us, no one invited us to join in. Everyone there we knew. We had seen them before, talked with them before, danced with them before. But it seemed they did not want us there.

Blake and Becky observe the dancers

Blake and Becky stood by the walls, watching. I asked David to find out what was going on. If any dances would be called. He found it hard to get an answer from anybody, but at last one lady told him that no, they had decided to not call the dances because there was "too many people" last year and it was too inconvenient to do that. He told her Blake and Becky were new and had come out on purpose to learn some dances but she just shrugged and said "sorry" and flounced away.

My handsome Captain

When he told me, I was angry. Not for myself, but for the fact Blake and Becky had been shafted. No one had bothered to tell us the dances were NOT going to be called. People from our own unit who KNEW this never bothered to let us know. If we had known that, we would have not bothered coming. Or maybe no one knew. Maybe it was something decided last minute. Who knows. But it was really terribly rude.

The radiant Lady April and Her Husband

To be fair, there WERE several couples who were genuinely wonderful and considerate. A lady I met at the SCA event "Fields of Cloth and Gold" was there with her husband and it was great visiting with them. She is gorgeous in any era!

A timelessly classic beauty!

A lady I have sewn for quite a bit the past year or so was there with her husband, and she was happy to see me and talk with me. Another older couple took Blake and Becky under their guidance and helped them through three dances, despite the fact that when they did so a few other people gave them dirty looks and one person even loudly hissed "but they don't know the dances!" when Blake and Becky joined the dance circle. And this despite the fact that the dance they were about to learn was one of the easiest dances to pick up on, the Circle Waltz. They treated Blake and Becky like they were too stupid to learn any of the dances. Blake and Becky actually picked up on them extremely fast and danced very well.

The patty-cake polka

From the majority of the people I felt a hostile attitude. They seemed annoyed that we were there. Some people (okay it was mostly the ladies I felt this from - all the gentlemen I talked to were courteous and respectful) came up to me and cheerfully said hello and then later I would catch the same people glaring at me from across the room. When I met their gaze, they'd immediately turn their back. I felt like we were being whispered about and I honestly have no idea why. In earlier times I would have been crushed and would have gone downstairs to the privacy of the ladies room and cried but now I just was angry - angry because seriously these people have *no reason whatsoever* to treat me and my husband and my friends like this. In earlier times I would have thought they didn't like me and I looked wrong or something but I feel confident enough now to know for sure that there was nothing wrong in our appearance, nothing wrong in our conversation and behavior and nothing wrong with our dancing, either.

Peter and I in the painful thrust of mortification - okay, right, we were just being silly but still. It was nicer outside than in.

We eventually left and hung around outside the hall, since the night was warm. We decided to walk around downtown and visit the other sites that were hosting Christmas celebrations. We had a much, much better time at other places. It seemed everyone bent over backwards to accommodate us and make us feel welcome. The GAR hall seemed to close people out. It was not inviting in the least. They seemed to put forth an attitude of "we are so wonderful to watch dance. We know it's such a pleasure for others to watch us dance. Therefore, we aren't going to take the trouble to teach the dances to anyone (including the audience who come in from the street) because you can all just watch us and see how awesome we are."

The Captain at Riverside Community Church, built 1903

After seeing entertaining performances and being served free appetizers, desserts and drinks at another place I was still unpacified. On the drive home I was still ticked off. On the drive to my moms house to pick up my kids I was still ticked off. After Blake and Becky went home and we went to bed I was still ticked off and talked with David about it until the wee hours of the morning. I figured I'd feel calmer about it this morning but I don't. I'm still majorly ticked off.

Aw, David is holding Mr. Lincoln's hand. Or we could alternately title this "The Division and Reunion". We have the North, we have Mr. Lincoln, we have The South. It was because of Mr. Lincoln (one could argue) that the war was initiated and lasted so long. But it was also because of his legacy that the south was reunited with the north after his death. Which, unfortunately, was horrific because congress didn't like President Johnson's "too lenient" views on southern citizenship. . .but I shall refrain from too much commentary. . .

I hate cliques in any groups. It's intolerable in reenacting groups. I guess that is why I like the SCA. Everyone is supposed to adhere to a standard of chivalry and treat all with the same respect. Last night I felt that we weren't accepted because:

One of the veteran dancers who helped Blake and Becky learn several dances

1. The "ball" seems for the most part a competition between women as to how much lace and ruffles they have

2. It seems you have to be part of a clique to be an accepted part of the group

3. You can only be part of a clique if you think you are better than someone else and stand around in a tight knot and gossip about people

4. If you sew your own clothes, and they look halfway decent, then people think you are a snob. If you sew your own clothes and they are a correct style and you look somewhat accurate in your impression then people think you are a snob.

At home before the Ball

And yes, this sounds ridiculous to type out but really it is TRUE! It's like people think you are bragging because you make something that looks nice and if they ask, you tell them you made it, and they are like "oh". I often get semi-snide remarks from women I see at reenactments or dances that go something like "Oh! I see you have been busy. Another new dress." then they smile with barely-veiled dislike and say "It's so pretty!" I have found the only way to successfully change someone's prejudice in this regard is to say something like "yes, it cost me $10 for the fabric. I was so glad, because I couldn't afford a new dress otherwise! I'm so glad I can sew because there would be no way I could reenact if I had to pay someone else to make my gowns. Your dress is so nice! Where did you get it or who did you have make it for you?"

I am so UTTERLY SICK AND TIRED of this. It has just gotten worse with time, I think. I am so disillusioned with reenacting right now. I love putting on my ball gown and dressing up for a fun evening of dancing but if the dances are all going to be like this, I never want to go to one again. It's just so not worth it.

At least Blake and Becky said they had fun. I'm glad they did. I hope they did. And I did have one great moment last night. I got to meet one of my television heroes, Jim Wilhelm from the PBS show "Illinois Adventure". It was quite a thrill! :D

Mr. Wilhelm and I :)

As for me, the next ball I want to go to is the Jane Austen ball at the JA fest next summer. I don't know if I'll ever wear my 1860's ballgown again. Right now, I just can't see that happening. At least not for a long, long time.

Sarah

If you dare to desire, you can see the rest of the pics from the evening HERE: Yule ball 2011

More Winter Hoods

2011-11-23T21:01:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! My accomplishments for today include seven pounds of fudge, three pies, a huge cheesecake, cranberry jelly and - my own personal pride and joy - a cheeseball. I have never made a cheeseball before but I knew I needed to have one tomorrow for an appetizer. A cheese ball just seemed to be The Thing to Make. This one came out yummy. Cream cheese, bacon, green onions, parmesan cheese and mayo all packed into a tidy globe and now sitting under plastic in the fridge, awaiting the arrival of our guests tomorrow afternoon.

I have not had much time to sew this week and even if I did, I honestly have no idea what I would be working on. I'm a little burned out. The making of simple felt ornaments with the little boys seems good enough for me at the moment. Besides, my mother in laws sewing machine, which I am currently borrowing since mine needs to be fixed, has been frustratingly difficult lately. The stitches vary in size even within the same inch of stitching so most of what I sew has to be done by hand due to that. . .uneven machine stitching just looks lame.

I have, however, found time to squeeze in a few more winter hoods from the pattern I spoke of in my last post. Two, to be specific. Both in wool.

The pattern really makes up nicely in wool. The blue hood is made of wool broadcloth left over from David's new frock coat and is super cozy and warm. I doubt very much that any chilling breeze will find it's way through THIS hood. I love working with wool broadcloth. Yum. It's even better than silk.

I don't have ties on it in this picture, but they are brown taffeta and there is a brown taffeta bow at the back

Since the broadcloth is fairly stiff on it's own I only used one layer of batting between the wool and the lining. I hand quilted it in simple straight lines based on a suggested quilting diagram included in the hood pattern.

To make it more wintery in feel I cut a strip of fur from an old coat a lady in our reenacting unit gave to me last year. It is very fluffy and at first I thought rather ridiculous looking but it has grown on me since. I plan to make a matching muff, hopefully before our ball on Friday night.

The green hood is made from a thrifted wool skirt. $2 for good quality hunter green 100% wool? I like that.

It is intended for the lovely Becky, who is joining our unit, along with her husband who will be hospital steward. She did *not* want fur on hers, so I left it very plain. If she wants to, she can trim it to her own tastes later. Right now I just have a strip of dark red taffeta pinned on to show how the ties will look. The finished ties will be the same material, just longer and a tad thinner. This hood is also made with only one layer of batting between the wool and the lining, which is a fun red and green print on cream.

Hopefully our heads will be warm on Friday! Every lady needs a warm hood to wear while scurrying up a cold and windy city street to the hall where a dance is held. Last year I nearly froze my bum off since all I had to keep me warm was a black velvet cape. I came to the conclusion capes are completely useless. This year I will be prepared with my wool paletot, wool scarf, leather gloves, wool hood and (hopefully) muff. Never again will I be cold like I was last year!!!!

Now let's watch it be sixty degrees so we all can laugh at my futile preparations. . .

Love,
Sarah

Mid-19th Century Quilted Bonnet

2011-11-17T14:46:00.000-06:00

I recently was lucky enough to purchase one of Anna Worden Baursmith's pattern for a quilted winter hood. I have been coveting one of her hoods since she started making and selling them earlier this fall, but not having a ton of spare cash lying around, I figured that having one of these hoods was just a dream. But! To cater to her seamstress admirers, she also put out a pattern for her hoods and I snatched one up.

I just finished my first hood from this pattern and I am really very happy with how it came out. It's nice being able to use a pattern and not have to alter it or toss the instructions and make it up on your own. Plus the booklet that comes with the pattern is jam packed with helpful tips, observations, research and documentation.

This hood is shaped more like a fashion bonnet. The past hoods I have made have all been very sunbonnet-like, so it was nice to have a change from that with this pattern. Both styles are correct for the era, but I think this one has a more restrained and formal appearance than ones that are based on a sunbonnet style. It would be lovely to wear for period church services, I daresay even weddings or funerals, shopping, visiting and even Christmas caroling.

I made mine from a pair of silk dress slacks I got at the thrift shop. It was part of a silk pantsuit I got for a few dollars. I am not a fan of the pantsuit look (at least on myself) but the jacket was very cute, and I saved the pants to cut up and use for a project like this. It's actually a really nice silk. It is lined with white cotton sateen and interlined with 2 layers of cotton batting and all hand quilted. It was a little difficult (and painful at times) to quilt the silk since it is so tightly woven the needle would not easily slip into the fabric, but at last the job was done although some of the lines came out a bit crookedy.

I like it. Despite the fact that no wool was used, it really is nice and light and warm. It will be my awesome go-to bonnet for any event that will be taking place in less than 65 degrees.

I did make one little alteration to the pattern. Made up exactly as the pattern said, the neck was a little loose on me. So I made a small box pleat at the center back edge of the tip. It took in the neckline just the little bit I needed.

I have a huge lime green silk shirt that I think I will try to make another one in. What I will do with a lime green bonnet I have no idea. But I think it will look awesome, especially if I can find a little bit of fur to trim it in.

Love,
Sarah

Metamora Courthouse Demo for Veterans Day

2011-11-14T09:36:00.000-06:00

It was a pleasant day yesterday for the 108th demonstration at the courthouse. November surprised with a brief lull from the cold and blustery days we have been experiencing and though the day was windy, it was sunny and warm.

Judah found out that his beloved grandma was coming to our house to watch Malachi and he decided that he, too, would rather stay with her than go to the demonstration. David and I found ourselves alone with our oldest son for perhaps the first time in several years! Judah willingly shared his new tunic with his brother, so David looked festive and patriotic in his red, white and blue ensemble.

There was a memorial wall for fallen Illinois veterans in the side yard, displays and refreshments downstairs, and upstairs there were several talks over the course of the afternoon, touching on such subjects as Victorian mourning customs, the war of 1812, and the 1860's Navy. I was nervous about talking about women's fashions of the 1860's in front of an audience but all in all I got through it without fainting or forgetting what I wanted to say. I think it went all right!

David set up his display of tools and medicines on the west side of the old courtroom. It all looked very well, but he was exceedingly nervous because the table he is sitting at in this photo is one that is documented that Abraham Lincoln actually used - in fact, there is a space cut out of the apron at the back of the table so Mr. Lincoln's knees would fit beneath it!

David, being of nearly exactly the same height as Mr. Lincoln, found this arrangement very comfortable and convenient. He still was a little awed, though, to be sitting at and using a table that Mr. Lincoln used so many years ago.

Not the least of many pleasantries of the day was seeing Major Ron and my own dear Captain in their new coats. Here they pause from their duties in the evening for a quick photo.

And it was also nice to see Bill in the navy uniform I made for him last year. That was a very fun uniform to create and he does look very dashing in it.

The 108th had a good turnout. We even recruited a new member! David's good friend, in the role of hospital steward, and his good friend's good wife will hopefully be joining us for many events in the future. We still don't know what Peter really is though. I don't think Peter himself really knows. He has played in the role of hospital attendant but his real joy is sheer socializing. . .he can talk about almost anything to almost anyone. I think he should be permanently arranged in the role of visiting civilian, don't you think?

He and I can be way too silly though. David looks upon our capers with a tolerant, indulgent sigh. When shall we grow up? Not as long as there are silly things to do and generous fence-posts on which to place a camera with a timer, and resultant pictures to laugh over despite the fact they may be blurry and dim. ;)

This is the one (bit blurry and dim!) picture I got of the dress I wore. I am wearing my regency stays with it since I used my other corset for the demonstration. Much to my surprise, this dress actually fits me much better with the stays than with the corset. This fact intrigues me greatly so I think an experimentation with a gusseted corset cut down from the regency stays pattern will be in order for the winter. I love my gray linen corset but I do think the bust line it gives is a little too low, and the breasts are splayed so far apart in that corset, it's hard to fit over it.

And that is the last of our living histories or demonstrations until next year, except for the ball at the GAR hall the day after Thanksgiving!

Love,
Sarah

A Bigger Tunic for Judah

2011-11-11T16:43:00.000-06:00

This Sunday I our 1860's medical reenacting unit has been invited to a demonstration at a local historic site. I was asked to give a talk on ladies 1860's fashions - a first for me! - and have been busy getting things together for that. However, one other important thing was a new tunic for Judah. After our last reenactment I was mortified to see how short and skimpy his clothes looked. He has grown a lot over the summer.

The back bodice is pieced about 2" above the waistband, all the way across

The pattern I use for the boys tunics has been one that has morphed into existence from the first little bodice pattern I drafted for David's first baby gown, nearly five years ago:

Little boys DID wear pink! :D

As the boys got bigger, I just added length and width as needed. ;) This week, we sized up the 4T pattern for their tunics into a 5T. To do that, I just had Judah put on his old tunics and marked where he needed width and length added and how much! No rocket science here.

Playing with the wheel on the horse Daddy made him

To test out the new pattern I cut down a thrifted shirt. It was a plain, button up style shirt I got during one of those infamous fill-a-bag-for-$1 sales. Due to the size of the shirt (medium) and the size of Judah, I had to end up piecing some of the tunic. It is pieced in five spots, which makes me feel kind of chintzy and cheap. : / But, it works, he has a tunic, and piecing is a period correct practice!

I used some blue cotton twill tape for simple trim. Judah agreed to pose for a few pictures, although after a few minutes he grew weary of the pursuit.

The waist is a little low, but that is on purpose, as I hope he gets a lot of wear out of this. It seems my boys do a lot more growing lengthwise than widthwise. The sleeves are slightly belled open sleeves that he can wear as is in the summer and with a white undershirt / bodice / waist in the cooler months.

Love,
Sarah

Good-Bye, Coat!

2011-11-09T07:47:00.000-06:00

For the last month or so my half of the office has been companionably inhabited by an 1860's federal officers frock coat, as well as an 1860's federal officers shell jacket. In various stages of completion, they had become a fixture of sorts in my sewing space. Kind of like headless, silent, saintly spirits of inspiration. Ghosts from the past. While I worked on my 1930's bra, they quietly watched over me. While I made my 1780's dress in a hectic flurry of activity, their patient presence wafted perfumes of quietude into the fray of shears, thread, and tiny bobbins winding furiously on my machine. They have become - friends.

A shell jacket fit for a Major! ;)

This morning, however, their places are empty. David's frock coat has been locked up in his "reenacting closet" where he keeps his uniforms and accessories and the shell jacket has gone to its long awaited home with Major Ron. Both coats will make their debut this weekend and I have fond hopes of getting a photograph of David and Ron together, wearing them.

Two of fourteen buttons and buttonholes on the front of Major Ron's shell jacket

It is kind of bittersweet to come to the end of an interesting sewing project. I may gripe about making frock coats. I hate putting in tail pockets. The quilting - especially the quilting I did on these coats - takes forever. There are so many aspects of 1860's tailoring that are just not easy. But underneath my annoyance, I think I really enjoy the challenges. I think as I get through each one and see the project come together, bit by bit, I get a costumers high.

The quilting David convinced me to attempt in his new frock coat, and which, of course, Major Ron's needed as well

So, good-bye coats! I will miss your pleasant visage when I look up from whatever project I am currently obsessing over but I look forward to seeing you both in use, in the field, during the parade, in the ball-room, on two very fine looking gentlemen of my acquaintance.

An in-progress shot of David's coat, from about a month ago

Love,
Sarah

Pink 1920's Dress ~ Finished

2011-11-04T13:41:00.000-05:00

I finally finished the renovated linen dress. It ended up taking me a lot longer to finish than if I had just started from scratch and used new material, but, hey, it was kind of fun figuring out how to transform the linen dress and some pink fabric into a 20's style.

Last time I posted, my dress had the side panels attached for a fuller skirt:

However, the bodice hung rather loosely and unattractively so I took in the bodice. First I removed the sleeves, then raise the whole dress at the shoulders. Then I took in the side seams of the bodice so it fit me better.Then I added a band of the pink gauze to the original cap sleeves on the dress, and a slightly flared band below that, of scraps left from the pink linen when I cut the sides off the skirt.

After that, my dilemma was deciding how to finish off the dress. Originally I was going to go with a scarf-type trim, like this: (which I must mention I still really like. . .I really liked the drapiness of it)

But my children kept thinking that the scarf-type trim was a kind of tail they could yank and pull on. Plus it gave a very unflattering silhouette from the side.

Next I tried a V-shaped piece of the gauze. I kind of liked how that looked, so I decided to go with that.

Since pink does not go very well with my hennaed hair color, I thought a contrasting color would help soften the transition from the pink dress to my reddish hair. This cream colored antique lace from Natalie was just right, and I had just exactly enough to sew a few rows across the V shaped area on the front bodice.

The belt tabs were. . .boring. From any distance at all, they melted into the skirt and you could not even tell they were there. I was very sick yesterday so spent the afternoon curled up in David's bathrobe, in bed and chain stitched in cream colored thread all around the belt tabs to help them stand out more. I also made covered buttons by covering metal washers with the pink gauze, and sewed them to the belt tabs to make them look more belt-like. :)

I am really pleased with how the dress finished up. It's definitely *pink* but sometimes a pink dress is the perfect dress to wear!

I am loving this style for everyday use since it is *so* comfortable. No zippers. No buttons. No hooks. No fitted bands. Nothing. It just slips on over the head and hangs there. The skirt is a perfect, practical everyday length and the fullness is just right for comfortably moving.

I tried to put my hair up in a different way by simulating a short cut look. I think I like a tightly-pulled back chignon better.

Love,
Sarah

1920's Trim Possibilities

2011-11-01T08:45:00.000-05:00

Happy 1st of November! (can it BE November already??) This morning David woke up and the first thing he sleepily mumbled to me was "Happy All Saints Day". After he got that all-important greeting off his chest, he seemed much relieved. So I pass on his greeting to you all: Happy All Saints Day!

Did any of you do anything fun last night? I never celebrated Halloween growing up but last year we did take the boys out trick or treating. David grew up with that tradition and I thought we could try it. The boys had fun last year and had even more fun this year despite the chill. They covered about twice as much ground as they did last year - even Malachi - and came home with their pumpkin buckets stuffed with fun-size Snicker bars, packets of Skittles and M & M's, toosie pops and that dreadful nightmarish creation of "Fun Dip" sticks, in packets,with chemically-looking colored sugar to dip them into.

Last night I finished sewing down the other belt tab and sewed up the hem. So structurally the dress is done and I just need to decide on how to finish it. I was browsing through my collected images of 1920's dresses and found a few possibilities.

Note: I have NO idea where I saved all these pictures from so if there is a picture posted that violates a copyright, please let me know and I will remove it asap!

First up is this one. The neckline is wide and scooped yet is finished with a big floppy collar. I like how it makes the dress more "dressy" than a plain unfinished neckline.

Then there is this one. I like how it looks but am afraid that with my renovated dress, it would just scream "1980's!". I remember collars like this being popular when I was a little girl in the late 80's, early 90's. I want my dress to definitely be more reminiscent of the 1920's than the 1980's (which can be tricky, because some of the style details WERE very similar in those two decades!)

This one has a V-shaped detail at the neckline AND a collar.

These three dresses from 1923 are just gorgeous. Love them! I especially like the one in the middle. I like the sleeve style a lot (a different, lighter fabric for the lower sleeve, which would work well with my cotton gauze fabric) and I love the hat. Oh yes. I LOVE the hat. I think I could easily make the bodice/sleeves on my dress look similar to this one.

This one has a center front panel on the bodice that contrasts with the rest of the dress. And a sash at the waistline. I like it. Maybe I could do rows of trim simulating a center front panel on the bodice?

THIS dress is just perfectly gorgeous. I can't describe it. It's perfect. I do plan on making a repro of this one but for now, I am liking the little tucks at the neckline.

This one also appears to have tucks at the neckline that go down into tucks at the waist. So I think my idea of taking in the neckline with a few little tucks will be okay.

This dress is from later in the 20's but also have a V shape contrast area on the front bodice. I am assuming this is because of the little coat that matches the skirt, and the skirt is attached to a plain bodice. However, the look is pretty, and slimming too which is a nice thing in dresses like these which make you look all the same width from shoulder to hem! Unless you are naturally straight and slender I think trim is VERY important to get the right visual effect.

Now I must be off and vigilant in my guarding of the candy-buckets. Or else my children will be running on a sugar high for an indefinite period of time. And that would not be good.

Love,
Sarah

Renovated Thrift Shop Dress to 1920's Dress

2011-10-31T17:37:00.000-05:00

A few months ago I got a few bags of clothes from the thrift store during their annual fill-a-bag-for-$1 day. I got this pink dress because it is 100% linen and at the time, I figured I'd cut it up to use for linings or something for medieval, 18th century or regency stuff. However, I never used it and it has been sitting on a shelf in my sewing room since then.

A few weeks ago I was wondering what the heck to do with it when I realized I had some pink cotton gauzey fabric that was a very similar color. The fabric had also been sitting unused on my shelf for quite some time. I then had the idea to combine the two to make a 1920's style dress.

I haven't had a chance to start work on my idea until this afternoon. But today I finally took scissors to the dress and began sewing it up.

To start with, I measured from my shoulder down to where I wanted the low waist to be. For early 20's, this is not extremely low. I decided to go with 19"-20" for my length, so I pinned a row of pins across the dress to mark the low waistline:

Then I measured a center panel 12" in width, from the waist of the dress down to the hem:

Then I cut out the sides following my pinned lines:

I then cut two rectangular panels of the gauze that measured the length of the dress from the waistline to the bottom hem. This was 33". I used a full width of my fabric which is about 40" wide, for each side.

I sewed the panels to the long edges of the dress, leaving the top (waist edge) free. I then pleated the top edge of the side skirt panels to match the waist of the dress:

To keep everything tidy, I basted the edges to a piece of hem lace:

And then covered the hem lace with a faux tab belt, stitched down to cover everything.

So far, I have only sewed down one side of the faux belt. The other side is just pinned. I also pinned up the hem to just above the ankle and tried it on the see how it is looking so far. I think this is going to work!

The dress is still obviously very rough. Since this was a generic "medium" size dress it does not fit my body very well. The neckline is too wide so I plan to bring it in a little bit by making a few tiny tucks that release just above the bust. I plan to add to the sleeves to bring them down to just above the elbow, and possibly add a V shaped faux insert at the neckline so the bodice doesn't look so plain. Or maybe a collar. :) I still don't know yet!

I'll keep you posted!

Love,
Sarah

Testing Time

2011-10-27T09:49:00.000-05:00

Next month is my very favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving and everything that goes along with it. When I was little Thanksgiving meant wonderful food, family and a desperate house-cleaning spree before the relatives came over. And lots and lots of leftovers.

David and I have been hosting Thanksgiving at our house for the past five years or so. I have come to love the rituals of getting ready. The decisions to make about the menu. The decorating. The getting down and cleaning of the glass punch bowl and the little cups that go with it. Making my Gramie's fudge recipe, which *she* always made on Thanksgiving. Cranberry bread. Homemade gravy. The blissful feeling of a wonderful holiday leading into a wonderful pre-Christmas season!

We always have several dishes that stay the same no matter what. Yet we allow ourselves room for experimentation so that each year there are new things to try. Alongside the plate of peanut-butter stuffed dates rolled in powdered sugar, a dish I have helped prepare since I can remember, there will be something new to try.

In the current issue of Bon Appetit (thanks so much to Amy for her generous gift of a subscription!) there are some really fabulous looking recipes for Thanksgiving. One was this bread pudding, which I put together yesterday and baked last night. Because, of course, it always very important to test your recipes to make sure they are good enough to serve on Thanksgiving. ;)

We had it for breakfast this morning and wow. It's good.

A soft fluffy mound of egg-cream-butter-and-sugar soaked white bread, baked into custardy goodness, flavored with vanilla and bourbon (I used brandy)? Check. A to-die-for velvety smooth butterscotch-bourbon sauce to drizzle over the top? Check. A new dessert to add to the standard pecan and pumpkin pies on the sweets table at Thanksgiving? I think so.

I swear I could eat the entire 13 x 9 dish of this all by myself.

But being a mom, I have to set a good example for my kiddos and share with them. We all enjoyed a bowful and there is half of the dish left to eat later. If David is lucky, there will even be some left for him when he gets home from work. ;)

If you want a killer recipe for bread pudding, definitely check out the current issue of Bon Appetit! I did make some changes to the recipe - omitting the poppy seeds and pecans, because I don't have any on hand, and adding vanilla for flavoring - oh - and omitting the corn syrup in the sauce recipe and substituting homemade sugar syrup instead, but it's good. Very good.

Love,
Sarah

Wool Quilt

2011-10-25T08:30:00.000-05:00

Last week I cut all my wool scraps into big chunky 6" squares and sewed them all together for a quilt top for David.

He is heading out to Shiloh in early spring with his commanding officer, Major Ron. They will share a small tent and take the barest of necessities. I am worried about his being warm enough so I thought a wool quilt would help me use up my scraps and help David stay cozy during the frosty spring nights. Of course, now that he will have a heavy wool quilt to tote along the weather will be warm and lovely and he won't have need of it! Don't things always work out that way?

Beyond the mindless stitching of endless straight seams, I have been taking a break from sewing anything complicated. So far this week I have been working on arranging the boys bedroom for winter, since any painting that had to be done had to be done while it was warm enough to air the room out with the windows open. This past weekend was perfect for that, so I did my painting then. (Note: I really must paint the BACK of their bedroom door! Didn't notice that scrawl mark on the door til looking at this photo!)

I touched up the green paint on the walls, which had suffered severely from kicks from six little feet, often shod in heavy winter boots (are my boys the only boys who like to wear winter boots all year round?) and also from artistic endeavors rendered directly onto the walls with crayons, permanent markers stolen craftily from the desk in the office, chalk and ball point pens. The ball point pen marks were the worst to cover up. Ugh. Those marks show through ANYTHING! I was lucky to find a little can of matching paint in the basement so all those marks are now covered up, the holes have been filled and painted over and everything looks neat and fresh once more.

The older two boys have shared a bunkbed the past year and a half. David, who slept on the top, recently peeled paint and plaster off the ceiling. It looked very bad and dust kept sifting down from the spot he ruined. I had to paint the ceiling but lacked proper paint for that and as I currently have no extra money to buy new paint, I decided to use the leftover blue paint from our kitchen. The ceiling was duly painted. The boys craved white clouds, so I used some leftover cabinet paint to brush on some white fluffy clouds. I was afraid it would look cartoonish but in all honesty, I am pretty happy with how it came out! It gives the room a very airy, serene feel. And yes, that is a dinosaur hanging helplessly from the pull cord on their fan.

The bunk beds came apart, due to the aforementioned reason of the damaged ceiling, as well as the fact the boys have recently been enjoying wrestling matches on the top bunk and using their bed as a fortress out of which they reenact the battle of Helms Deep from Lord of the Rings. Too many times Malachi was a casualty on the Orc side of things and fell from his position of nearly scaling the fortress onto the unforgiving carpeted surface below him. David and Judah now have, what they term, "regular beds".

It was hard to fit three twin size beds into a modest sized bedroom. We have four bedrooms all together but the boys refused any notion of putting one or two of them into a different room. I had to remove their dresser to make everything fit, but now it all works very nicely, I think. David has been enjoying his bed by the sunny southern windows. Here he is reading his science book for school this year, from Sonlight Pre-K 4/5. He adores it!

The boys have grand ideas of having various airplanes and birds hang from the ceiling. I haven't got around to doing that yet, but we did make a quilted sun yesterday to hang in the east corner of their room. They sorted through my scraps to find several fabrics in orange, yellow and red and they helped me sew it all together.

More floor space is taken up now, but the room actually seems bigger and brighter without the high heavy bunkbed in their, which inevitably blocked a window or two.

Next up - getting more coffee to warm me up on this chilly morning!

Love,
Sarah

Duchie Award!

2011-10-21T18:30:00.001-05:00

Beth at V is for Vintage recently passed on the Duchie Award to my blog. Beth, thank you so much! I am honored and flattered to receive this from you!

The rules for receiving the Duchie Award are as follows:

“When you receive a Duchie Award, post on your blog (in any order):

Five things you love about historical costuming/wearing vintage clothing
Three (or more) blogs to pass the Duchie Award onto
A link back to the blog who awarded you the Duchie”

Five Things I Love About Historical Costuming:

1. I am never out of fashion!

I hardly ever pay attention to current fashions. And when I do happen to notice them, I usually don't like them. And if I do like them, it is usually because they are vintage-inspired or remind me of a historic era of fashion. Like tops with empire waists remind me of regency era fashion, and gored skirts remind me of Edwardian era fashion. When I dress historically or vintage style I can never be labeled as behind the times, fashion wise, since I just so totally far removed from it anyway! ;)

2. There are so many styles to choose from!

I hate going to a store, when I do purchase modern clothes, and finding everything looking almost the same. There are usually less than half a dozen different styles and just a few selections of colors. (keep in mind I shop for modern clothes at inexpensive places like Wal Mart or Target or Kohls). Sometimes the style suits my body and sometimes it doesn't. I love being able to sew my own clothes and have the ability to pick and choose what styles work best for *me*, regardless of whether they are in fashion or not! I have made clothes from the 14th century up to styles of the hippie era and I love them all. I love having the freedom to choose what works for me.

3. It never gets boring.

Ever. Really. I mean, having the last few thousand years of fashion to look into? It's not something that you are going to learn all about in a year, or even ten years, or a lifetime. There is simply *so much* to learn. And when I finish learning about one aspect, for the time being, I can go on to a different aspect. Corestry. Materials. Methods. Trims. Hairstyles. Makeup. Fitting. You name it, it's out there to research.

4. It gives me a creative outlet

Being a stay at home wife and a homeschooling mom I can see how I could easily fall into a terribly dull routine of waking up, showering, making meals, cleaning the house and schooling my children, only to go to sleep to wake up and do the same thing over again. I make sure I have at least an hour or so every afternoon to sit down and do something to further my favorite hobby! Whether it is research, drafting, draping, cutting or sewing or trimming or taking pictures of a finished item, having some time to do this each day really makes me relax and regroup. I can hit my housework with a much better attitude since I have had time to do something enjoyable and inspiring.

5. It makes me feel pretty

This is probably a silly reason, but making and wearing historical clothes that fit and flatter my figure does make me feel pretty. ;) And that is a feeling I hardly ever get from wearing modern clothes. It's amazing how much more empowered you feel to tackle the world when you are confident in your appearance. I think this reason is actually one of the first reasons why I started getting interested in historic fashion. I felt so beautiful when I put on my first hoop-skirted dress back as a young teen. I loved that feeling, and have been hooked on historic fashion ever since.

Three Blogs to Pass This Award Onto:

I am not sure how many of my fellow bloggers have already received this as I have seen this award floating around quite often lately. So if you have already received this, I apologize! My three picks are:

Anna Worden's Blog ~ Anna is an *amazing* lady who never ceases to astound and inspire me with her beautiful reproductions of mid-19th century fashion and accessories, plus the sheer amount of research she puts together and shares with her readers on her fantastic blog. My recent favorites on her site are her gorgeous 1860's style winter hoods. They are to die for, and can be purchased from her Etsy shop,HERE.

Stitches of the Past ~ Brooke is a beautiful young woman who has been inspiring me with her sewing skills the past few years. She makes lovely reproductions of 1860's clothes, plus other eras/vintage styles for herself and her sisters and I love seeing everything new she makes!

The Compleatly Dressed Anachronist ~ This is a new favorite blog of mine that I discovered a few months ago while researching medieval smocked aprons. The amount of research in this blog is amazing and the Lady Edyth's reproductions of medieval styles are so lovely. Her babies are absolutely darling, as well!

Thanks again Beth for this award! It was so fun to receive it!

Love,

Sarah

Princeton Civil War Reenactment ~ The Last Huzzah

2011-10-18T16:51:00.000-05:00

The last huzzah for the Civil War reenacting season. We could not have asked for a nicer weekend.

October surprised us with one last weekend of Indian Summer.

It was a very small event this year. I think a total of six or seven units were present. Very different from previous years but very nice, in its own way. It was quieter. Calmer. More peaceful.

David has, by now, reached some level of status in the medical reenacting community. He rubs shoulders with the elite and veteran surgeons and is respected in all ways. He was in his element talking with the other surgeons, sharing research, ideas and practical advice.

I am so proud of how much he has thrown himself into this impression. Back when we were married, six years ago, he was a staunch Confederate artilleryman and declared he would never don blue. Well, he has. :) And he has found his own little niche where he fits just perfectly. He is so good at what he does.

The boys were delighted to be out. They ran hither and thither, collecting sticks, rocks and acorns aplenty. Since their clothes did not have pockets, they used me as a collection receptacle. I came home with my reticule completely stuffed with various natural things.

I didn't realize how much the boys have grown over this summer. Judah just barely was able to fit into his tunic and trousers. Of all the boys, he has grown the most this summer and he will most certainly need all new clothes for next season.

David still fits into his clothes width-wise, but not height wise. He is such a skinny fellow but he has grown tall, and his wrists and ankles look gangly since trouser hems and sleeves fall short of the mark!

Malachi wore this little button suit that I made for his older brothers several years ago. Yes! He has now been breeched. :D He just barely fit into it but I was glad he got a chance to wear it. He looked so cute, in my completely biased opinion, and very grown up.

I wore my sheer bodice and swiss waist since the day was so warm. I was secretly hoping it would be cold enough for me to wear my red wool paletot that I made earlier this year and haven't had a chance to wear yet! Alas. My secret hopes were in vain.

To be completely honest, I felt rather sad at this event since my dear friend Laura recently moved out of state and I felt her absence very keenly. I will admit I indulged in some self-pity and walked the lovely tree-carpeted paths quoting melancholy poetry to myself and feeling very brave and heroic as I put on a smiling face to the world lest anyone suspect my sad misfortunes of soul.

I just feel more and more out of place as David settles more into his role as assistant surgeon. We both research together and share information to make our impressions better. The more I do this the more I see that there really is no excuse for David to bring me and the children with him. The more I feel absolutely sure that my presence in a field hospital is absolutely NOT excusable, no matter how "family friendly" our unit may be. I don't like setting up our tent alongside the "hospital tent" as if surgeons just happily drug along their families wherever they went and had their wives and children conveniently encamped with them, where just outside my tent threshold I can behold piles of fake amputated limbs and a vast array of medical tools. It just would not have happened that way. I am really not sure where I fit in or even if I fit in at all in the mainstream reenacting community. I feel like I am holding David back from improving his impression. I ruin it just by being there. I wish I had a group of like minded females who would be willing to have their own, separate, civilian area and an impression completely removed from the lame one of "visiting" their husbands while they are in the field.

At least I had my little boys to keep me company - it is impossible to indulge in self pity very much when they are so active and so busy and require so much effort to keep up with!

And it really is a very delightful thing to have such a handsome husband. It makes the battle ever so much more interesting to watch.

The boys were thrilled with the horses.

All in all it was a lovely event and a very good meal was provided in the evening. A nice way to wrap up Civil War reeancting for this year. For more pictures, you can see my album here: Shadows of the Blue and Gray.

Love,
Sarah

Vintage Style Underwear ~ Part 2

2011-10-14T15:45:00.000-05:00

The bra is done. I got bored with it yesterday so finished it up quickly before I was tempted to shove it to the bottom of my sewing drawer and forget about it.

It came out better than I thought it would. I really do like it but it's just so darn ugly. ;P I wish I had used prettier fabric. Or a different color. I forgot how much I hate white bras. But I bet I can dye this one if I want to. And now that I know how easy bras are to make, I can whip up a new one whenever I feel like it in whatever fabric I want.

I sewed the binding on:

And added the hooks:

And added the straps last.

It gives a nice shape under my dresses and tops. It is so different from my modern t-shirt bras or the stretch sports bras I usually wear. It lifts and defines each breast into a kind of cone shape, but it actually makes them appear smaller than my modern bras do - which in my case, is a good thing.

Making a bra really forced me to evaluate my body. That can be scary but now I have been reinforced strongly in my theory that I am really very terribly short waisted, and that a higher bustline like the one my new bra gives is actually better for my shape than modern bras that give a lower, fuller, more rounded line. There is not much space between my underbust and my waist so any hanging boob flesh that obscures my mid-section just makes me look top heavy and fat all over. : / Did you know that when I wear a soft molded cup t shirt bra there is literally ***1 and 1/2 inches*** between the bottom of my bust and my actual waist???

For comparison, here is a picture of a plain sweater I like to wear. This picture is with my "best" modern bra, that is, the one that I feel is most flattering to me. It gives a pretty good lift, but a very rounded shape.

And here is the same sweater with the bra I just finished making. Definitely more pointy in shape, and my midriff area is more visible and less curvy. I doubt I will wear this bra with this sweater, though, since there is too much nipple effect going on. :P (forgive my horrible hair).

But I do like the vintagey silhouette it gives. It seems trimmer, tidier, more put-together. I am so pleased with how it works underneath this white blouse.

I got this blouse, and the silk/linen stripey skirt this summer at a fill-a-bag-for-$1 day at the thrift store. I love this blouse, but with my modern bra, the pleated midriff section sat across the bottom of my boobs. And then the waistband of the skirt was just below that. It was ugly and horrific and dumpy. To make it work I had to pull down the blouse so the midriff section settled at the proper place, but then I had excessive boob crack issues from the neckline. Now, I don't need to tug or pull anything into place, and the midriff section sits where it is supposed to sit. And because the midriff band isn't straining to encompass boob flesh, the side zipper zips up easily and I don't feel like I'm trying to squeeze into something that is too small for me. And yeah, I gotta loose my belly pooch. ;) No, I am NOT pregnant.

Now I need to finish up my undergarments and make a real vintage style dress to go over my new bra! I'm thinking something fun and twirly and totally girly from the 1940's would be just the right thing!

Love,
Sarah

Vintage Style Underwear ~ Part 1

2011-10-12T13:04:00.001-05:00

After making my 1920's dress, I began to wonder what women in the 20's wore *under* their dresses. What did they wear by way of underwear? I began looking into it and by some chance or reason came across an old etsy listing for a 1930s era pattern for undergarments.

The pattern was sold, but I was inspired by the pictures of the pattern envelope. Women made homemade underwear in the 30's! I have made corsets, but never a bra, so felt like I could use an interesting challenge. My hope is that this set will work for any 30's, 40's, or 50's styles I might make. It doesn't seem like underwear has changed all that much since the advent of the bra.

Lacking pattern pieces, I did what I normally do and wrapped a strip of fabric around my body and pinned and cut and pulled and tucked until I had something that fit and that resembled a bra. I carefully cut it apart and made my first pattern from that. I went through another mock up, and refined the fit a bit more and then ended up with my final pattern pieces here:

I did go with a two piece cup instead of a one piece cup fitted with a dart. I simply could not get a one piece cup with a dart to fit my shape very well and the two piece works much better. I felt safe choosing this style since this original 30's bra from etsy shows what looks like a horizontal seam across each cup.

I cut my pieces from medium weight white linen. I know the material isn't fancy or pretty, but I have a horror of working with slinky, silky, flimsy fabrics and I'm going for plain and practical. No one will ever see what I wear beneath my dresses except for my husband and any interested, likewise obsessed-with-foundation-garments costumers out there, who read this post and who find this kind of thing intriguing. ; ) Here you can see the cups being sewn together. One is pinned and has been sewn, and the other has been sewn, pressed, and topstitched.

Here are both cups finished and sewn together in the center. I finished all the seams by zig zagging the raw edges of the seam allowance and pressing them open. I topstitched them down for the smoothest line on the outside.

Another view of the cups. You can see how pointy the cups are. It is a soft point instead of a hard one (this is definitely not a "bullet bra"!) but it gives a nice, uplifted, perky shape that has not been part of my life since I gave birth to and nursed three babies. The bottom of the cups kind of act like a corset in that the bottom cup is responsible for the uplift and support. The top of the cup makes sure the girls stay where they are supposed to and don't bounce out and away!

Then I added the back pieces, sewn to the sides.

Here the back is pinned shut.

Next I need to finish the back and add the hook and eyes. After that I will need to bind the edges and add the straps and decide if I want to pretty these up in someway, with the addition of lace or ribbon or other such feminine dainties.

Love,

Sarah

The Pastoral Symphony Farm Blog

2011-10-06T14:48:00.000-05:00

The blog mistress of Pastoral Symphony Farm has requested me to invite her readers to follow her at her new blog, A Quiet and Peaceable Life. Please update your favorites list accordingly!

~ Sarah

1920's Style Hat

2011-10-06T14:09:00.000-05:00

Because every girl needs a new hat, right? I made do with a green felt, rather shapeless hat last weekend, not having time to make a new hat before our outing, but this week I set to work making a proper one.

And here is an original 1920's quilted hat. I loved coming across this one since it looked easy to reproduce. I love the colors and the fun quilting pattern. I also love the wide brim. The brim on my version didn't come out as wide or flared, but I will definitely try this shape for a summer time hat. I would love to make one in off white and blue. From what I've read, wider brims like this one were more popular in the early 20's and the smaller, closer fitting cloches came into popularity in the mid 20's. I think I am definitely more of a wide-brim type of girl. The helmet head look just doesn't do it for me, you know?

I looked around for 1920's hat patterns, but, alas, found almost nothing. I decided to use this bucket hat pattern from Simplicity and adapt it for my project.

I didn't really alter it that much. The only thing I did was to shorten the crown by about 1.5" and shape the brim so it was wider at the sides than at the front or back. The outside is made of quilted black cotton sateen and the lining is of brown taffeta. I kind of like how the lining side looks right side out. ;)

For decoration, I tied a loose swirly bow with a silky purple scarf and pinned it to one side.

I found that I definitely need bright red lipstick to be able to wear this hat with any confidence. It is too bold and dramatic to wear without red lipstick. Believe me. It just doesn't look right.

And here is the back. From the back the shape almost reminds of me of regency era bonnets.

Love,
Sarah

The Last Taste of Summer

2011-10-05T14:49:00.000-05:00

A few nights ago we had our first frost. We were unprepared for it, and the night before we hurried out into the dusk and David picked what vegetables he could find that were still lingering there. Some of the tomatoes we will let ripen on their own; the rest we will slice and flour and fry for our favorite summer delicacy, fried green tomatoes.

It is hard to believe summer is winding down. Even though the frost we had seemed a freakish thing (it is now pushing 80 degrees once more!) there is no denying that the combines are out and cutting the corn and beans (much to the delight of the boys), the plants are turning brown and the leaves are changing colors. David cut down all his indian corn a few weeks ago. The corn didn't produce terribly well, but we got about a dozen ears that were full and pretty. The stalks are lovely too, a deep purple-red. We have hung the ears in a corner of the dining room to finish drying out.

The pumpkins did remarkably well. Last year we grew a variety that turned out too large and stringey to use for consumption. This year we tried a smaller sized variety and I was very pleased with it. Our pumpkins all came in during July, and this is the very last one. I wish I had a hundred more. They are so delicious.

Speaking of delicious - I made these little cream cheese crescent rolls this morning and the recipe is definitely on my top recipe list now! They are so flaky and not too sweet, just perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.

Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls ~

8 oz. softened butter
8 oz. softened cream cheese
2 TB sugar
3/4 - 1 c. white flour

Cream the butter and cream cheese together in a bowl. Add the sugar, and then sift over the flour, stirring to make a soft dough. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

Divide the dough into two equal sections. Working with one section at a time, roll into an appx. 10" round. Sprinkle with half of the below mixture:

3/4 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Slice round into 16 equal triangles. Roll each triangle up into a crescent roll. Repeat with other half of dough, for a total of 32 crescent rolls.

Place rolls on ungreased baking sheets and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Love,
Sarah

Quick N' Easy 1920's Dress

2011-10-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

Last week, I was going through my copy of Costume in Detail for the umpteenth time and while stopping to look at the dress on p. 357, the cream lace and net afternoon dress, c. 1922-1923, a line drawing of a dress style from a Butterick pattern envelope struck me, with just how plain and simple and comfortable it looked, so I decided to make one for myself. Now, I have never been a real fan of 1920's style but I liked how the skirt is longer here, and the waist is not so low. Less extreme than what you think of when you think of the 1920's.

I draped the bodice pattern directly on my body and the back is exactly the same as the front, with the neckline in the front being cut a tad lower than in the back. The skirt is two 45" wide panels of fabric sewn together and pleated at the hips. The sleeves are 3/4 length and cut so they bell out at the hem.

The fabric was some of that wonderful $1.50 "mystery" fabric that Wal Mart offers. :P I got a few yards of it earlier this year since I liked the plaid so much, but I could not discern the fiber content no matter how I tried. I am pretty sure it is some sort of cotton blend. It is a woven, but is still stretchy, and quite thick and heavy and drapey. I am not sure what all is in it. The bodice is lined with plain brown cotton.

To add some visual interest I sewed on strips of off white cotton down the front and used the same fabric to bind the neckline and sleeve hems and for a tie belt. It was a super easy and quick project and was fun to wear this weekend. Here are some pictures of the finished dress.

At Springdale Cemetery. David and I spent Saturday afternoon lounging about in the city while the boys stayed with their grandma, to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. We stopped here and spent a while looking for the grave of my great-grandpa. I found my great-great grandparents and then David finally spotted great-grandpa, here.

He was born in 1919 and died in 1941, when my grandfather was just a baby. It was very emotional for me to see his grave and read his name and feel a connection to him by being there. He was younger than I am now when he died, leaving behind a young wife and an infant son.

I couldn't help but wonder how my great-grandma felt when she was suddenly bereft of her husband. How did she go on? I can't imagine having that happen to me! Yet, she did go on, and married again and had three daughters - my lovely aunties - and created exquisite, daintily stitched quilts and curtains and rugs for my dollhouse when I was a little girl and when she passed on, I was given many of her sewing and crafting items, some of which I still have and treasure. She was an amazing woman.

My orange cream soda. ;) It was very good. Quite the best soda I've ever had!

I am really happy with how my dress came out! It is not weird enough to look terribly out of place in modern life and it does not require any special undergarments (no corsets!) and this material, whatever it is, is fantastic as it does not wrinkle. At all. Yeah.

I love the shoes I found to go with the dress. Goodwill, $4.99. They aren't *exactly* like proper 1920s shoes as the curve upwards is more drastic than the more gently curved 1920's style but still, they have the general right look and they are super comfortable to wear.

Love,
Sarah

The Fields of Cloth and Gold Medieval Event

2011-09-30T09:11:00.000-05:00

I never had a chance to post photos from our medieval event a few weeks ago since immediately following that event I was plunged into preparing for our 18th century event. So, here are the pictures from the Fields of Cloth and Gold. We had a wonderful time, as always, with this group of people! And yes, Malachi is wearing his hood backwards.

Pausing now to consider this fact as I go through these pictures again, I realize more fully how lucky we are to have connections with people who are like us. There is a brotherhood and sisterhood among those who take up historic crafts and historic pasttimes. There is a passion that drives people to don heavy fighting gear and sweat their bums off, behind people who spend hours, months, years, researching and recreating some era of history.

When I tell most people that my hobby is historic fashion I get blank uncomprehending looks, a nervous, quizzical laugh, or (in the case of people who have known me for a long time) a sigh and a rolling of the eyes. "OH. You're still into THAT?" How fun it is to be with others who will discuss the benefit of different fibers for various garments, seam finishes, share new exciting bits of research and talk at length upon the time it took to create a dagged edge for the hem of a woolen hood. It is nice to belong.

Just as with the Colonial Trade Faire in my last post, this event was also held in a perfect location. Camp Wokonda is an old boy scout camp. When I was younger, my dad brought us out here several times, as he had been a young boyscout here back in the 1970's and the place held a lot of memories for him. It is far away from the town or city, heavily wooded with hills and gullies, and for the event the barony had rented out "the valley", a flat spot between two large hills complete with rustic buildings housing bathrooms, small cabins to sleep in at night and a large dining hall and kitchen. A leaf carpeted path led from one area to the next.

Back further in the woods the path led to the fighting arena, where the boys where enthralled with watching the combat.

I have never seen them sit so still for so long.

Of course, the natural consequence of their viewing led to their own mock fights in the woods, with sticks they found by the side of the path.

There were a few other children present, and the boys enjoyed playing with them in front of the dining hall.

David naturally was drawn to the large smokers which were cooking the meat for the feast, to be held later that night. Legs of lamb and beef were pouring forth their fragrant smells, while the menfolk discussed the delicate balancing of flavor achieved through the proper seasonings and methods employed in preparing the meat for cooking.

This young man, in his teens, was so friendly and helpful in keeping an eye on the children. The boys adored him.

This lady practiced juggling on the sloping lawn, much to the delight of the children.

Here two ladies persue the fabrics offered by one of the merchants. This particular merchant had some very nice fabrics for very good prices. The best was the 100% red wool flannel - $6/yard. I mean, $6/yard! That is an insane price.

Here several people make their way to the bardic competition that was held at the old boyscout pow wow site. I fell in love with the clothing of the lady and gentleman you see on the right. I was able to talk to her later and she told me their impression is 1590's Italian. I loved her choice of colors and fabrics. I have never been drawn to 16th century styles as they always seemed too busy and too gaudy for my tastes, but I am rethinking my opinion now!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the event! Little David found a big stump that he climbed up with amazing agility. Perched on top, with his stick and his hood pulled up he looked half-elvish, half-Dunedain.

I made their sleeveless surcotes the week before the event. I am so glad they had them as it was chilly, especially as night fell. I made them with basic rectangular construction with some shaping for the shoulders and armscyes. After much thought (it took me forever to decide to use a plaid wool since finding images of plaid cotes from this period was difficult!) I made them parti-colored, so each quarter of the cote contrasts with the pieces next to it. I used a black wool flannel and a very slightly lighterweight plaid wool for the cotes.

Malachi got a blue linen cote, since his dress is a heavier yellow wool flannel anyhow and he did not really need any extra warmth and I wanted something I could pop in the washer if need be since he is still messy when he eats.

David and I, with our signature "kiss" picture. ;)

Later in the evening we headed down to the creek, only to find it was all dried up. David became enflamed with desire to follow the dry creek bed so we all hiked down into it, (getting covered with cockaburrs in the process) and we found all sorts of interesting things while we were down there. David here is pausing before a large cliff that sloped down into the creek bed.

When we finally crawled back up out of the creek bed and headed back to the dining hall we found dinner nearly ready to be served. We set out our "feast gear", as our bowls, plates, eating utensils and cups are so termed, and David invited several of the fighters to sit with us so we had interesting dinner partners.

The boys did not eat much as they were too excited to sit still and spent most of their time running around with the other children. They missed out! We were served cheese-ale-and-bacon soup, roast leg of lamb with apple and nut salad and roast beef and leeks-and-onions. To top off the evening, one of our dining partners shared some of his homemade mead with us and an assortment of decadent desserts were laid out at the end for the enjoyment of the gathered company.

Fun times.
Love,
Sarah

Jubilee Colonial Trade Fair

2011-09-27T12:51:00.001-05:00

Thanks so much for the kind words about my 1780's dress! I was truly happy to get a chance to make one, and the event I wore it to did not fail my expectations. It was one of the best events I have ever been to.

This was the 6th year for the annual Colonial Trade Fair at Jubilee. From talking to people at the event, it appears that this is the only event like this in the central Illinois area. Some people I talked to journeyed from hours, even states, away to attend. We were lucky that we live only about a half hour from the park where the event is held. Here are David and Judah and I right before we left home:

It was a slightly chilly, slightly cloudy, windy morning. However, by the time we arrived at the park the skies had cleared and it turned out to be a perfect autumn day.

Right away people came up and introduced themselves. I have never been made to feel more at home by any reenactment group I have ever been acquainted with.

I loved the location, tucked away in a hidden field at the wild and beautiful Jubilee state park. Gold and brown grasses, touched with crimson here and there, the bright blue sky and serene clouds, the trees just starting to turn from their summer green to gold. It was absolutely quiet with no city sounds or sights or smells.

Tucked away in a little hollow in the woods, down a short path, was the Indian Village.

It was my favorite feature of the event. I was fascinated by the dome shaped wigwams, layered thick with handwoven mats and canvases.

One lady was drying pumpkin rings and roasting venison over a small fire. David asked her where she got her spit roaster and she told him how many beaver pelts she had to trade with the French to obtain it. (6)

There was even a deer hanging in a tree nearby, that an Englishman had traded to her earlier in the day.

This beautiful lady was demonstrating the weaving of the thick mats that covered the wigwams. She explained to us that this was a process that women would have started in July and continued til it was too cold to make more.

She talked about the process, and about how the mats were used. The wigwam is covered in three layers of mats. Each winter, the outer layer of mat moves closer to the inside, so the most weather-beaten set of mats are always the inner-most layer. After that, the mats become sleeping mats and once they are too worn even for that, they make good fire starters.

There was a rope strung between trees that displayed the Indians beautiful fur pelts, used for trade.

And a lovely display of grains, vegetables and seeds with hand written labels.

Outside of the woods atop a grassy knoll was Ford Todd, where the British were encamped. David fell into conversation with the artillery officer right away, who was very kind and showed us many interesting things.

He invited us to sit with him in his camp, and Malachi made himself right at home. He is not a bit shy.

While we visited the British, the boys ran and played in the fields near the edge of the woods.

Judah found a feather. It was scraggly and dirty, but he thought it was beautiful.

There was a skirmish that broke out right in front of our eyes! Before we knew what was happening the French and the Indians and longhunters were shooting at the British and Scottish.

Our dear artillery officer silently got his mortar into action and contributed some frightening BOOMS to the scenario.

Here one of the handsomely kilted Scotsmen fires his pistol.

Sadly, one of the soldiers had to be killed by firing squad later, due to him carrying some suspicious information that, it seems, he was going to turn over to the enemy.

We wandered out to the general encampment area after that. Malachi took over my basket and demanded to carry it everywhere.

He came across this gentleman, who portrayed a voyager and described the history of this area of the Illinois river. He and Malachi became very fast friends.

Malachi came to know him as "the nice cookie man" because he passed round a bag of crunchy oatmeal cookies that the boys ate and loved.

Here is a couple we met towards the end of the day, who, it turns out, live just up the road from us! Talk about a small world!

The lady makes beautiful reproduction jewelry and David bought me this pretty pair of earrings as a surprise gift. I was delighted and shall wear these often, not just for reenactments!

And to sum it up, here are my kiddos and their quick-and-dirty 18th century outfits:

David - he wore his yellow twill 1860's short trousers. I sewed twill tape ties to the side to tighten up the fit around his knees, but I think that was unncessary. Since then, I have read that little boys could wear breeches that were loose at the hem, or drawn up with a drawstring. Oh well. Better informed for next time! He wore his linen 14th century shift and the one new item I made for him was his black wool overshirt/smock. It is square cut with a simple slit for the opening and is based on the smock descriptions in Everyday Dress or Rural America 1783-1800. His hat is a green wool felt hat we got for $1 at the thrift store and I pinned it up at the side with a patriotic rosette.

Judah - he wore the same as David, but his hat was the quilted linen hat I made for my 1860s soldiers box that I pinned up into a quickie tricorn style. He wore red wool knitted stockings that I had had made for him a few years ago for reenacting. I was lucky they still fit him! Just barely, but they fit. ;)

Malachi - I did not have ANY time to make Malachi anything new or else I would have made the 18th century childs dress in Costume in Detail for him. He wore his linen medieval shift and his regency drawstring gown and I shut my eyes and hoped for the best. No one seemed to mind his fashion was a little forward for the 1780's and he certainly enjoyed himself fully. I think a wide sash may have helped the look somewhat but I am relieved we at least all had something to wear when I had to throw all this together within a 5 day period! And I was glad he got to wear his regency gown again. It looks so adorable on him and I know by next year it will be too small for him.

And here is my handsome hubby. :) He wore his breeches, shirt and waistcoat from his regency ensemble since there really is not a great deal of difference between 1780's breeches/waistcoats/shirts and 1800's breeches/waistcoats/shirts. His tail coat would have been somewhat too fashion forward though, so we had to make him a new coat. I contemplated making him a quick wool frock coat but realized that I really would not have time for that to do it properly. So we decided on a fringed linen hunting shirt. These were worn by many of the men at the event so David did not feel out of place. I only got one row of fringe on the coat instead of the 2 rows I wanted to do, but I simply ran out of time. We sewed up his straw hat into a tricorn style and he was all set. I love this color brown on him. I think he is so cute. ;)

We really can't wait until next year and plan on making this event a regular one for us. We had to skip out on a Civil War event we usually do to go to this one, but we all agreed, it was worth it! :D

Love,
Sarah

1780's Printed Cotton Gown.

2011-09-25T11:58:00.000-05:00

We have been planning to go to the Jubilee Colonial Trade Fair for a while, but it wasn't until Monday we decided that we were going to dress up for it instead of just wearing our modern clothes. So, after years and years and years of thinking about making an 18th century dress, I finally did it. We had a marvelous time at the fair and I will have pictures to share of the event but in the meantime, here are a few of my finished dress.

We decided to go for a 1780's look since the years being portrayed at the fair spanned 1750-1790. Since I didn't have much time to make clothes for us, I wanted David to be able to use the breeches and shirt and waistcoat he already has; the ones he wore to the Jane Austen festival this past summer. I have always liked the 1780's so it wasn't very hard for me to decide on the 1780's. :)

The dress is a simple round gown, with a 2 piece back and a front bodice that wraps around to the meet the curved back seams. I have always thought these dresses would be hard to fit, but I was surprised to find it wasn't hard at all. The pattern for the dress I draped over my stays. As the day wore on, I did find that I started to get a few wrinkles across the abdomen. I think it is because I was wearing my full-gathered 1860's petticoats underneath this dress which made the abdomen protrude in the front a bit instead of lying flat. If I had flatter-fronted petticoats, I think the dress would not have wrinkled as much. The dress closes with pins.

I love the long, fitted sleeves of this decade so much. I drafted the sleeve based on a diagram in Everyday Dress of Rural America: 1783-1800 by Meredith Wright and fine tuned the fit with a few mock ups. The way the sleeve is cut puts the lower arm on the bias so you can get a really tight fit on the arm that is still comfortable to wear. The back of the sleeve is very tall to fit into the very cut-away armscye on the back bodice. This gives a ton of flexibility in movement and is very comfortable to wear.

The skirt is 3 rectangular panels of fabric pleated to fit. The gown has a drop or apron front to the skirt, and the bodice closes over that. The skirt is longer in the back than in the front. I hemmed the dress to be just above the floor but found that it was really too long when I wore it whilst walking through grassy fields. On hard, level surfaces the length is okay.

I didn't have any time at all to make any fun accessories for the dress so had to make do with repurposed items from the other eras I do. I wore my cotton voile kerchief tucked into the neckline and refashioned my 1860's neck bow to wear pinned on the bodice. I tied a black ribbon on my neck earlier in the day but found it distracting so took it off after a while. I used my new paisley wool shawl from Aldridge Clothiers. I wasn't sure if paisley shawls were worn in the 1780's but some quick google searches turned up statements that paisley shawls were popular fashion accessories from 1780-1870 so I decided to use it and I'm glad I did, as it was chilly! I wore my 1860's bum pad under the dress. I think next time I would like to make a larger bum pad that curves around onto the hips to give more side fullness to the skirts. I basted some white cotton lace to the ends of the sleeves. I don't know if the lace is correct (I'm guessing it's too "chunky" and square) but it gave a nice visual look from a little distance. I love touches of white on an otherwise, plain, dark dress. :)

My one grave embarassment of the day was my hair. :( I was too ambitious, I suppose, and attempted to do my hair in a poufy frizzy, curly "hedgehog" style following an online tutorial. However, although the style looked nice after I finished it, it almost immediately began deflating and flopping and my curls went from tight to loose and I just looked disheveled and unkempt by the time the day was over. : / I was *so* mortified. Next time I will definitely go for a different hairstyle and will make a proper cap to cover up my head.

All in all it was a hugely fun experience and I am a total fan of 1780's styles! I can't wait for opportunities to wear this dress again!

Love,

Sarah

J.P. Ryan 18th Century Strapless Stays

2011-09-20T16:30:00.000-05:00

I found myself in nearly immediate need of a new set of 18th century stays. I furiously started cutting and sewing last night, after supper, and this afternoon finished these pink linen stays that I hope will suffice for our outing this weekend.

Since I was crunched for time, I whipped them up in the same manner of construction I use when making 1860's corsets. There are three layers; an outer layer of pink cotton (cut down from a skirt from Goodwill), an inner layer of white cotton sateen and a lining of canvas ticking. I ought to have used the canvas ticking for the inner layer, but oh well. The binding is of bias cut white cotton sateen. They are boned with zip ties.

These are made exactly to the J.P. Ryan pattern, with no changes whatsoever to the pattern pieces. I did make a mock up last night and pinned it together in the back. The length seemed fine, but it was a little big (I like a big gap in the back) but I figured that with 3 layers of fabric and boning in the final version, it would be a little smaller than the mock up anyway.

The finished version seems to fit. . .okay. . .but it is really not flattering in the least. It makes my waist bigger and my bust smaller. Is this really the look that I am going for? The pattern did say that this was a working garment, made for flexibility of movement and that the waist measure when wearing the stays will probably be larger than the waist measure without the stays. But it doesn't give at tidy trim waist and support the bosom in a high rounded shape like I am used to. In fact it seems to smush the bosom together for a monoboob effect. I am so used to gussets or shaped seams creating "cups" for the bust this is very strange to me and I don't know if I am doing something wrong, or if this is just the way it is supposed to be. Any 18th century experts have any advice or opinions?

On to draping the dress. . .hmmm. . .thinking about it now that I see these photos, I wonder if making a few more eyelets towards the bottom of the stays will help draw the waist in more, and make my bust feel more supported, since the stays would be pushing up off the hips more so then they are doing now?

Sarah

~ Plummy Medieval Sweet ~

2011-09-16T14:00:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow evening at Fields of Cloth and Gold there will be a dessert potluck. Although any kind of dessert is welcomed, I decided to try to find a somewhat authentic dish to bring. This is my take on a period 14th century recipe for "Chireseye"; only I, finding cherries no longer in season, substituted fresh farmers-market plums instead.

I found the recipe at the fantastic resource, Gode Cookery. This particular recipe called for simple ingredients that I had on hand, except for, of course, the cherries. The original instructions call for preparing this dish during the Feast of St. John the Baptist, which was in late June - cherry season! Since we are now into the latter parts of September plums are just finishing up their season so are readily available.

I pitted and chopped three plums and cooked them in a tiny bit of water and a sprinkling of sugar over low heat until the fruit was soft enough to mash. I mashed it as best I could with a potato masher and then stirred in a little bit of butter and a splash of red wine. I didn't have any homemade white bread on hand so crumbled up 8 slices of cheapy Wal-Mart-brand white sandwich bread and stirred that in too. I added a tiny bit more sugar and cooked it all over low heat for just a minute or two. Then I poured it into a buttered bowl and baked it at 350 for about an hour. The unbaked mixture was thick and gloopy but since I won't be serving this until tomorrow evening, I figured that baking the mixture was a better way of preserving it. Who wants to eat thick, cold, gloopy plum pudding? It baked into the consistency of bread pudding, with a crust on top and still a bit gloopy on the bottom. However, the bottom is protected by the crust on top. I finished it off by "strewing thereon sugar". The boys ate the scrapings left in the bowl and fought over the spoon. It's amazing how just a few simple ingredients can become something so tasty!

What is even more amazing is making a recipe that is over five hundred years old. It is a connection to the past that hits me even more that sewing period clothing. It's awesome. :) Speaking of period clothing though, I finished refitting my kirtle yesterday and here it is with the new apron and coif.

I like it much better in this version. The issues I had with the old version are almost completely gone (wrinkling along the torso and at the back; pulling at the neckline, too-poufy sleeves, plus the whole lack of support for the bosom that got worse as I lost weight.) I can't wait to wear it tomorrow!

Love,
Sarah

Judah Turns Four

2011-09-14T15:49:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday, little man. Four years ago I was made a mother for a second time when you were put into my arms, a squalling, red-faced, fat little bundle. Daddy and I named you Judah, because Judah means Praise and we were so happy that God had given you to us. Your older brother, David, was 11 months old and was curious about you, your tiny clenched fingers and curled up toes. Later, he became your best friend.

The Newborn Judah!

As you got bigger you always had a smile on your face. You were always cheerful and perfectly content with your life. Food and toys and snuggle time were all you required for perfect satisfaction.

3 months!

When you were not-quite-one, your new accomplishment was proudly declaring to anyone who would listen, "I, Judah."

11 months!

You grew into an obsession with cars and tractors and airplanes and trains that you are still holding fast to. Back then you liked them because they could move on the floor. Now you set up intricate convoys and make appropriate sound effects for all motor vehicles. Each kind has their own sound, and you can make them all.

13 months! On the train at Wildlife Prairie Park!

You loved moving to our little country home. You loved helping with anything Mommy and Daddy did. You loved performing your little chores, taking care of your animals and helping with everything from cooking to weeding to putting laundry in the dryer.

2 Years old! Loving the country life. :)

You began to look so tall and so boyish. Somehow, someway, the rolls of baby fat disappeared from your little cheeks and wrists and your face lengthened and matured. Still, your smile was the same. The eyes were the same, with the same long, long black eyelashes. You grew. You laughed. You ran. You learned to kick balls, look for bugs, and climb trees.

3 Years old!

Now you are four. You are in your last year before you start kindergarten and tonight you will start AWANA clubs at the church Mommy went to when she was a little girl. You have learned your memory verses and can recite them perfectly for your teacher. You are a pride and joy and make Mommy and Daddy so very happy. We love you, little son. Happy fourth birthday!

4 Years old! At Jubilee

Paternoster Beads

2011-09-12T15:05:00.000-05:00

I just like the word "paternoster". I don't know why. I like the way it sounds. So, although I am not sure if the stranded beaded devices we made today are period-correctly referred to as "rosaries" or "paternosters" I like the word paternoster. I think technically the paternoster beads are the big beads that divide the smaller ones, but, I have heard of the whole kit and kaboodle referred to as paternosters too, so, for what it is worth, that's what we will go with until further research shows us otherwise.

So today the boys made their paternosters. No, we are not Catholic in modern life but in the 14th century, in the area we are portraying that we live, being Catholic was the Christian religion. If you were not Catholic, you were not a Christian, speaking in broad general terms. Even people on the lower class end of things had their rosaries and little children could also carry ones made of inexpensive materials.

In the SCA the area of religion is treated very cautiously. Officially, religious ceremonies are not a part of the SCA due to desire for tolerance and peace among the members, who may have diverse and clashing faiths. Respect and honor for each person is key. However, historically religious symbols are okay in some cases to use as part of your personal appearance, as long as you do not publically use them to put down or offend another person or to appear holier-than-thou. Rosaries are allowed, no matter what your modern-day faith may be, as long as you treat them with respect and reverence as being religious symbols that another may hold very dear. So, you would not wear one as a bracelet or necklace (according to an SCA handbook I read, at least, as there are historic images documenting the practice of wearing rosaries as necklaces or bracelets) or in other non-reverent ways, for instance. Historically they were worn looped over a belt or held in the hands or pinned to ones clothing with a brooch.

We made these to be worn over a belt. They were a very fun afternoon project to work on with the boys. Not only did they make something very beautiful and useful, they also practiced sorting and counting skills and pattern making skills. (10 small beads, 1 large bead, etc.)

We used wooden beads. We got a big package of them at Jo Anns for a few dollars and they came in three colors; black, brown and off white. The boys sorted them so they each got their own color and the big rectangular wooden beads were used as the paternoster beads. I made sure to pick beads that had large holes so the boys would be able to thread them onto the linen cord with ease.

Malachi began making his, but soon tired of it so I had to finish his for him.

After the beads were threaded onto the cord, we tied off the ends and attached a cross pendant at one end, and a tassel at the other. Judah wanted to use some teal colored wool yarn for his tassel. He held loop the yarn to make the tassel. I think it came out to puffy looking but he is very pleased with it, which I suppose is all that matters! David wanted to use yellow cotton embroidery floss for his tassel. Cotton is not very period correct, but when this tassel begins to look frowsy we can replace it with something more suitable.

The older two boys kept theirs in a strand, but for Malachi I tied his into a loop. For his pendant I used a metal washer and a small cross charm from an old necklace.

I think they came out very prettily indeed. There are 40 small beads on each one. The ones I am making for David and I will have 50 small beads, made of white wood, interspersed with fake red coral beads made from glass (which is a period technique for less affluent people!) We each have a much larger cross to attach to the ends of ours. I think they will be very pretty too.

Some links I found helpful:

Larsdatters - Rosaries and Paternosters
A Trio of Paternosters - Catholic Devotional Beads of the Middle Ages - (PDF file)
The Medieval Rosary (PDF file)

Love,
Sarah

Medieval Simple Linen Coif

2011-09-05T13:55:00.000-05:00

Another handsewn project finished. This little coif was inspired by the infamous coif of St. Birgitta, which you can read about (and find links to tutorials/others interpretations of) at this link: Medieval Silkwork - Women's Caps.

Mine is a very simple and plain version made of the same linen as my apron. The cap is constructed of two identical halves, that fit the head closely and form a pouch for the hair at the nape of the neck. In the link above you can find links to drawings of the pattern shape. I achieved my pattern through draping and am happy with how the finished cap fits.

The two halves are sewn to a band that goes around the face. The lower edge of the seam on the back of the cap is left open for a few inches , then the lower edges pleated/gathered and sewed to the band.

The band forms a loop which goes around the head twice. This makes the cap very secure. The halves are joined with a very simple herringbone stitch which makes a nice decorative pattern on the otherwise very plain cap.

This cap can be worn as is, or used as a base to which to pin a veil. I don't think it is the most flattering head covering but it is still very cute and I am quite happy with how it came out. :) And it's such a simple cut, it would be easy to get away with wearing a cap like this in modern life if desired!

Love,
Sarah

Medieval Smocked Apron

2011-09-04T11:04:00.000-05:00

With our next medieval event (see below post) coming up soon, I am working on a few accessories to help round out our outfits and give a more finished, complete look to our overall impressions. The impression we are shooting for is roughly later 14th century laboring class. In idealistic imaginings upon the subject, I rather picture our family as working tenants on a small manor in rural England. We live in a small but relatively comfortable home, cultivate fields for both ourselves and our landlord and keep a few animals for livestock. We are not beggars but not wealthy, either.

Anyway, whatever the case may be, the fact is, clothing for medieval reenacting can be expensive, even if you sew it yourself. The reason? The materials are expensive! Wool is the ideal choice for tunics, cotes, kirtles, cloaks, what-have-you, and linen is used for undergarments and possibly as linings. (I have found only one example of an actual linen tunic/cote/thing and the vastly common fabric used seems to have been wool). Silk - well, I don't use silk very often. All three of those fabrics these days are very expensive. When you take into consideration that things ought to be at least partially, if not fully lined, your costs can be doubled.

So, that being said, a new outfit for each of us is really out of the question right now. I have found pure linen and wool skirts at Goodwill for a few dollars each so I think I can make each of the boys a sleeveless surcote to add a more finished look. For myself, I am making a few accessory items that I hope will add interest to my plain and ubiquitous greenish-blue wool gown. ;)

The project I have been working on is a white linen smocked apron. From the first event we ever went to I knew I needed an apron, and one of my favorite blogs, Medieval Silkworks, recently posted about a smocked apron. I read some tutorials and did some research and looked at others interpretations of this useful, pretty accessory and began my own version.

I used some white linen I got earlier this year from Fabric-store.com. Going off of another persons interpretation of the apron, I cut a rectangle of linen appx. 27" x 24" (the long edge being the top). I cartridge pleated the top of the apron and smocked it using a honeycomb stitch. Here is a photo of the apron-in-progress, showing the rows of the honeycomb smocking:

The end result was *way* too small. : / I about cried when I saw how little the apron smocked up to be. It was too short and way too narrow at the top. I was determined to not be defeated by it, though, so pieced on extra fabric at the sides and an extra bit at the bottom, too, to widen and lengthen the apron. I then smocked the extensions to match the original smocking. That problem was solved. Another problem was a drawn thread I had drawn out of the linen to mark a cutting line. It ran above the bottom edge of the original piece of linen I used for the apron. It looked ugly so I embroidered a chain stitch along the line, using threads I pulled out of the linen fabric. Now it looks intentional. :)

After finishing the seams, hemming the apron all round and sewing it to a waistband with long ties, here it is!

I washed it after it was completed to remove the markings for the smocking and it dried very stiff. So excuse any stiffness in the photo. I know after it is used and washed multiple times it will become much softer. I sewed this completely by hand and was jarred whilst working on it to feel such a connection to the project. It took a little longer than machine sewing, but all in all it was only the work of three evenings. I like knowing that I have a project made in the period correct way. Maybe more completely handsewn items will be in my future. I would be daunted by something big and meant to take a lot of stress, but for smaller things, it is very pleasant. :)

Love,
Sarah

Fields of Cloth and Gold

2011-09-02T08:12:00.001-05:00

A small announcement for our next SCA event! If you live in or near central Illinois you are invited to come to the Fields of Cloth and Gold Tournament and Feast, September 16th, 17th, and 18th at Camp Wakonda in Chillicothe, IL.

Cost is $20 for adults, $5 for children ages 12-17, free for children 11 and under. This includes your camping fee and breakfast, lunch and feast on Saturday. The link to the Barony of Illiton's webpage for this event is here: The Fields of Cloth and Gold

Having personally been to Camp Wakonda several memorable times in the past, I am fully aware of just how appropriate this lovely, wooded, rural setting is for an event like this. I am *very* excited about going and camping for our first overnight SCA event and hope to see many of you there! I'm working on getting a few new things made to help round our our wardrobes before then. The image above gives a hint of my current project, which is nearly finished. ;)

For a brief history of the *real* Fields of Cloth of Gold, see this link: Fields of Cloth of Gold

Love,
Sarah

Honey Oat Griddlecakes

2011-08-30T10:02:00.001-05:00

One of the boys favorite breakfast items is pancakes. I cannot complain. My own very favorite breakfast food was pancakes when I was a little girl. Growing up, my family adored pancakes. We would have them for breakfast and sometimes for supper, too. With or without eggs or sausage or bacon, pancakes were a staple in our household. What is not to love? They are light, fluffy, with delicious brown crispy edges, soaked with the flavors of melting butter and maple syrup and they are cheap to produce by the dozens.

My husband is not very fond of pancakes. He calls them "Chick Food". By which term he means, I have found, after much speculation and questioning, an item that is not deep fried or consisting largely of meat. He scorns the lowly Pancake as being merely filler food. At first I resented such accusations and clung to my precious pancakes despite the sighs and complaints that would inevitably issue forth from David's mouth whenever we sat down to a pancake breakfast or supper. Now, after learning more about nutrition and proper eating, I realize that, well, he is right. Your typical made-with-white-flour pancake is NOT very good for you at all.

But I still like to eat them from time to time. And the boys adore pancakes. So we often have them, although I typically will eat only one or two with a little organic peanut butter, and a few eggs on the side for a protein boost.

Here is the recipe we use. They are yummy with applesauce and cinnamon, although the boys mostly prefer the un-healthy option of butter and syrup. And if any are left over, the boys love them as a snack later in the day, folded around a filling of peanut butter and a few banana slices.

3 TB oil or melted butter (the melted butter tastes a million times better!)

1 egg

1 and 1/4 c. warm milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 TB honey

3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. flour

3/4 c. oats (we use old fashioned oats)

Mix oil (or melted butter), egg milk, vanilla and honey in large bowl. In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients, then add to the wet. Mix til flour is just incorporated - batter will definitely still be lumpy! Cook over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked all the way through. Makes appx. 12 medium size pancakes.

Enough for three small boys for breakfast and, depending on their appetite, with three pancakes left over for a mid-afternoon snack.

Annual Autumnal Blog Yard Sale! Pt. 2

2011-08-29T15:03:00.001-05:00

Wow, thank you all so much for the fantastic responses I've received from my last post. You all are amazing! I am truly flattered that so many of you like my clothing. Fellow historic-style enthusiasts are the best. :)

I have unearthed several more items:

1. Pink Printed Cotton 1820's Dress. This dress is made with a combination of machine and hand sewing. All stitching visible from the outside has been done by hand. The bodice is gathered at the waist over a darted to fit lining and the center front closes with hooks and eyes. The skirt opens at the side for a dogleg closure. Full leg-o-mutton style sleeves with a placket at the wrist that can be worn hooked shut or open and pushed up for working. The skirt is made of three 45" panels and the hem is finished with a hem facing. Worn only a few times. Like the 1830's dress in the last post, this dress also has several spots that I believe came from grease splatters (why grease splatters?) The spots have faded with being soaked in biz, but still show up a bit as a slightly yellowish area on the fabric. It is not that noticeable, but they are there. $25

2 SOLD. Brown Cotton 1940's Style Dress. This dress is made from a semi sheer gauzy cotton material. Made in a 1940's style from my own pattern. It has gathers below the bust, a fitted midriff and a lightly gathered skirt that comes to just below the knee. Short sleeves with gathered caps. I adore this dress but it is too big for me now. Worn only a few times. $25

3. 1860's Style Winter Hood. From my own pattern, representative of hoods of the mid-19th century. The outer layer is a wool or wool blend fabric (thrifted, so unsure of absolute fiber content) in a gray and red and brown plaid. Interlined with wool and lined with white silk with brim quilting in red cotton thread. Worn for two seasons but the color clashes with my current hennaed hair color. Warm and light. :) $15

I'm starting go through my 1860's thing, so they there may be a post with several of those gowns at some point in the future. If there is anything in particular you are interested in, let me know. Almost all of my gowns no longer fit me as I want them to, with the exception of my swiss waist/sheer bodice/silk skirt and my new blue cotton gown. : / I'm still trying to decide if I really want to part with any of them or if I want to try to remake them. I know I will just make new ones anyway, so these really do need to go. :(

Thanks!