• 1845 Brown Dress, Finished at Last!!! •

This post may just be near the top of the list of my favorites for the whole year, so prepare yourself for an awful lot of photos.  ;)   After finishing a custom order and making a few skirts, I found myself in the mood for a nice, easy historical project!  Enter the 1845 brown dress, which I had started about a year and a half ago, and had the dress assembled except for attaching the bodice to the skirt.   I measured the bodice length of my blue floral 1860s dress and used it as a guide for this one, added piping, and sewed it together!  

Ever since I first started this dress, I wanted to get pictures of it in the winter, at a really nifty historical location.  Then this summer while at our county fair, I ended up going into this cute little cabin that they have on the fairgrounds, in which a lady was doing a loom presentation.  I knew right then that I had found my "nifty historical location," but still was unsure whether it would be accessible in the winter.  As it turns out, the drive into the fairgrounds was plowed, as was a path up to the cabin, but the snow around the cabin itself lay untouched and pristine.  With no people around (that deserves a definite hurrah!!!!!), it made for perfect pictures.  :D

My mom let me borrow her bonnet and cape, since hers are in burgundy tones rather than blue, like mine.  :)

When I originally got this fabric, I only had 6 yards.  Out of that I got the whole dress, including bias for all of the piping.  Since there was a shortage, I cut the skirt cross-wise on the fabric (one continuous piece), and it measures about 135" around.  Since I cut it that way, however, and was doing cartridge pleats which require a fold-over at the waist edge, I ended up making about a 3/8" seam at the hem when I sewed on the hem facing so that it would be long enough.  It may be a little bit shorter than your average 1840s dress, but apart from the historical correctness, or lack thereof, I really like the length!  Much easier to walk around in, and, well, it shows off my fabulous boots.  ;)

For the bodice, I used old faithful Simplicity 1818 (see other projects I've made from that pattern here), changing the front opening to a back one, and using Butterick 5831 for the sleeves, with a wide cuff.

I *love* piping!!  Not so much the sewing with it (hehe), but definitely the finished look of it.  Perhaps that is one of the benefits of creating a UFO an then finishing it; you forget all the painful details that went into it at first!  ;)

The cuffs close with hooks and eyes at the wrist. 

This is my first official garment featuring cartridge pleats!!!  In the past I have been highly skeptical of them, and just always pictured the dress coming apart the first time I wore it, but I'm beginning to think they might just be a safe option after all.  ;)  Since the skirt is not super full, the pleats don't look quite as full as they could, but I still absolutely love them.  Naturally, when I first started the dress, I used (ready for this?) plain cotton sewing thread to make the cartridge pleats.  Hehehe.  Only after I finished making them did I read that you MUST use button & craft thread or a suitable alternative. Proof of that was when I tried the skirt on for the first time and heard a very suspicious "snap."  Needless to say, I bought button & craft thread and proceeded to re-do my pleats.  ;)

Now for the best part of the whole outfit!!!!!!  The pelerine!!!!!!!!!  ;D

The bodice of the dress is not necessarily quite perfect for the 1840s; I need to do some more research, but for the great majority of the time, dresses of that period had fan-front bodices.  But since I started this before I knew much at all about the period, I can forget that just fine.  ;)

Ever since the start, I pictured making "one of those pelerine things" with ruched trim on it to go over this dress.  Well, after I finished my dress, I decided that it just needed that "pelerine thing" to make it complete, so whipped one up the day before we took these pictures.

This fabric went on clearance a few months back, so I was able to purchase some more for a pelerine.  I used the dress bodice pattern as a pattern for it, and just made it to the shape and length that I wanted.  It worked quite well, and I love how it looks.  :D

The ruched trim consists of 4 widths of fabric cut 3.25" wide, with the raw edges turned under .5", and gathered up with one basting line on each edge.  After pinning it on for ages and getting the sorest back of my life, it was ready to sew.  Since I was in a hurry, I just went ahead and machine-stitched the trim on.  The rest of the dress was machine-stitched on the inside, but all visible sewing was done by hand. 

The pelerine is lined with self-fabric, and so far has just been pinned together at the front neck edge.  Eventually I'll sew a hook and eye onto the neck edge, but for the time being I've had my fill of said occupation.  ;)

My "evening project" last week was sewing hooks and eyes onto this dress for the back opening and the cuffs.  

There are something like 14 hooks and 14 eyes on the back of the dress, plus two of each on each sleeve, and the hooks had to be sewn on super neatly because they would show on the outside.  As a result, it took a dreadful amount of time to do each one, but it was quite definitely worth it.  :)  Can't even see them on there now!!

I think I might just move into this little cabin.  Perfect house for a historical seamstress to live in, right?  ;)

The sleeve seams, cuffs, side seams, shoulder seams and back seams are all piped, and the waist edge is piped with a double piping.  I have not yet tried piping a neckline yet, but need to for sure!

The hem of the dress is faced with a separate facing, as I stated earlier.  I used plain white muslin, and cut it to be a finished width of 12".

Back on with the cape!  :)  I am not sure yet if these mittens are quite period-correct, but they may just be.  I made them several years back, with no pattern!!!!!!!!  I have no idea how I did that, and even less idea how I managed to make two of them end up the same size, but I love them anyhow.  ;)

Beneath the dress are my 1860s underpinnings, with a total of four gathered (three of them also corded) petticoats.  They are sadly not starched at present, so aren't as fluffy as they could be, but still were decently fluffy.   And they provided a very nice barrier from the cold temperatures outside!!  The fun part was, unlike any time wearing historical garments in the past, I didn't get overheated one single time when wearing this outfit.  THAT is worth getting excited about.  ;D

The most necessary boot picture.  ;)  They are Renoirs from American Duchess, and I love them *SO* much.  So comfortable and durable, and downright beautiful.

And lastly, my attempt at a daguerreotype, which resulted in not much other than blurring out my face.  Oh well.  Perhaps that is a benefit, eh?  ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

• Civil War Series, Part III •

It is time for the final Civil War Series post, at long last!!!  ;) 

As you probably have gathered by now, we had the grandest time wearing our dresses and taking these photos, so be warned; there are quite a few of them.  There were just too many fun ones to leave out.  ;)  I hope you enjoy them!  

First off, however, is my mom's dress!  It is made in the same basic style as my dress, with only the slightest of variations.  Her fabric was purchased from Whittle's Fabrics as well, and is also an 1860s reproduction.  The color and pattern of the fabric suit her so well!!  :)

It was so fun to have a different location for each of our dresses to be photographed in, even though we were in a very small park area in town.  We'll definitely be going back there for pictures!

She used gorgeous pearl buttons for a false front effect.  We happened to have the perfect buttons for each of our dresses in the stash, which was a rare and exciting happening!  ;)

Her bonnet is also from Regency Austentation, decorated with beautiful silk taffeta from Ensembles of the Past.  I love how the colors of the silk match her dress so perfectly!!

Accenting the neckline is one of her grandma's many crocheted collars.  And speaking of crochet, Mom made her reticule from her own self-drafted pattern.  She is a regular trooper when it comes to crocheting, and is never satisfied until what she's making is just perfect.  I think she definitely succeeded in making it that way, don't you?  :)  It is made of cotton yarn and lined in cream-colored cotton fabric.

One simply must have watched the movie "Cranford" to fully appreciate this photo.........  ;)

Some of us elegantly fan ourselves, some of us  primly fix our bows, and some of us just twirl.  ;)  It is rather addictively fun in these dresses, I must admit.  

Civil War Series • Blue Floral Day Dress

Ah, posting again at last!!  It has been a very hectic couple of weeks, hence the unannounced absence.

Today's post is about my new Civil War dress!!  This dress was a lot of fun to make, start to finish.  The fabric was my favorite pretty much from the time I first saw it, and I still just love it.  We had a real time getting fabric for our dresses, however, since the first yardage we had picked out (coordinating pink and brown florals) ended up being sold out from under us.  Eventually though, I happened upon Whittle's Fabrics' website, and was very excited to look through what they had.  All of their fabrics are very reasonably priced, and most range from $5-7.50 per yard.  This blue fabric was $5 a yard, and is a very nice quality Windham 1860s reproduction.  When you need 8+ yards of fabric for a dress, a good deal like that is always appreciated!!  ;)

I went for a very simple but elegant day dress look, since I had neither the materials nor the knowledge to make a big, immense, trim-covered, fancy silk dress.

I used Simplicity 1818 for a basic bodice pattern, but did quite a bit of altering.  I had read someplace that raising the armscye (and altering the underarm of the sleeve accordingly) on Civil War dresses helped vastly with the fit, and being able to raise your arms more easily.  That was definitely something I wanted to try, since my other 1860s-ish dress is very restricting in that area.  It really worked with this blue dress, and I will definitely be doing it again!  I also changed the center front opening to be a center back opening, changed the neckline, bodice length, and fitted it.

Jen's tutorial for applying hook-and-eye tape (yes, I cheated there) was very helpful!  It was quite easy to sew on, and was miles easier than sewing on bunches of fiddly hooks and eyes.

The seams (curved back seams, shoulders, waist, and sleeve) are piped, and as with Sarah's dress, the bodice is sewn to the skirt in the space between the piping and the bodice.  

And although the inside seams are machine-stitched and finished with serging, all stitching visible to the outside was done by hand.

I *really* wanted to have a basket to carry with me at the reenactment, so I went hunting for them everywhere.  After missing the first Ebay auction on one basket, I found another one identical to the first and was able to purchase it.  Although it cost more than I would have liked ($26 or so), it is a very nice basket, brand new, and apparently a very good basket brand (Nantucket). 

My bonnet is from Regency Austentation on Etsy, and as always, I was so pleased with my purchase from Laura!  The bonnet is very nice quality, and such a fun shape!

I wanted to do something along the lines of this bonnet from The Met, with a pleated bavolet (aka "curtain," when one can't remember said appropriate term....), and simple ties over the top.

I ordered some silk taffeta from Sara of Ensembles of the Past.  It was exactly what I was looking for; a tiny check, period-appropriate silk taffeta, and in the perfect colors!!  My bavolet didn't come out quite as I had envisioned, but I'm still pretty happy with it.

Paired with my dress, naturally, are my favorite American Duchess Renoirs.  Those boots never cease to amaze me; they are more comfortable than bedroom slippers, whether you are walking around the house, through the grocery store (that's a whole different story in and of itself), or trudging around at a reenactment all day.  They are AMAZING, and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a gorgeous, comfortable CW boot.

As for the skirt underpinnings, I wore a gathered, corded, ruffle-hemmed under-petticoat, a hoop ($30 on Ebay, and not the greatest quality, but still pretty decent for the price) with an extra ruffle at the hem for added length, and a pleated over-petticoat with a 12" hem facing to help prevent the "lampshade" effect. 

This crocheted collar is one that my great-grandma made, so it was quite special to be able to pair it with my dress!  The brooch was from an antique shop in Minnesota a few years back.  I always wanted to wear it with a historical dress!  :)

The sleeves are from Butterick 5831, made exactly as the pattern, but gathered onto a wider cuff.  The puffiness is quite fun, but I also can't wait to try a more fitted sleeve on my next dress. 

The skirt is made of 4 widths of fabric (about 176" around, total), pleated down to 30".  The centers front and back are simply box pleated, while the sides are double-inverted-box-pleated, or some such.  ;)  A better description would be "whatever it took to get it down to the right measurement."  :) The hem is faced with about 10" of muslin.  Thanks to all the extra ruffles and hem facings, there wasn't a hint of "lampshade-ing," even with immense wind at the reenactment.

:)  And lastly, a fun photo of Sarah and I.  The three of us had such a time taking these photos, proof of which being the fact that we used up all 380-some pictures on the memory card.  :)  So I'm afraid you're doomed to a couple more Civil War posts; hopefully you're enjoying reading them as much as I am recalling our adventures!!

Sarah had heard or read a saying somewhere that stated the fact that if just one person puts on historical clothing and goes out in public, they make a scene.  If two people do, everyone says "Oh, look at those fruitcakes/nutjobs!"  But then, when three people wear it, it turns into an event, and people actually think it's neat.

We really put that theory to the test on the day that we took these photos, and it turned out to be quite true!!  When my mom and I go out in our historical clothing, we most definitely do get the "fruitcake" and "nutjob" looks and scowls, but with there being three of us, we got positive comments, looks of amazement, and friendly questions about our clothing.  

Never fear, Mom and I are still going to wear our historical clothing, but it was just amazing to witness the difference in peoples' attitudes.  ;)

There was one rather hilarious (or alarming) encounter I had, however, when the three of us stopped at the grocery store whilst wearing these dresses.  An average-height lady pulled me aside and was asking about my dress, in a very nice way, and then proceeded to ask, in all seriousness, if "I was really that tall, or did I have stilts on?"  I proceeded to show her a stilt-free limb as proof of my height, but it was still quite hilarious.  :D  

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I'll be back next week with another installment, so stay tuned!  :)  Thanks for stopping by!!