Thursday, May 31, 2012

A "Threaded Bliss" postscript

Costume Close-up Jacket in Blue Chintz,
1775-1785

Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Finishing the look...continued...: When I wore this jacket for the first time during Grand Illumination weekend, I paired it with a blue/ivory changeable silk taffeta petticoat and a coordinating black and blue muff and matching hat.  To make it more suitable for springtime wear for our most recent trip to Colonial Williamsburg, I switched things up a bit by wearing an ivory silk taffeta petticoat instead.  The black and blue hat was exchanged for one covered in striped ivory silk gauze and embellished with lavender silk satin ribbons.  To add a little splash of color, I also swapped the pearl necklace for a coral one.  Those few little changes completely altered the mood of the outfit from the cold, crisp blues of winter to cheery, soft springtime pastels.  I can't make up my mind which ensemble I like better!

Colonial Williamsburg
Reading in the Governor's Palace gardens.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Colonial Williamsburg
Exploring the kitchen of the newly reconstructed armoury site.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Colonial Williamsburg
And just for fun...LIZARD!!!  EEEEWWWW!!!!
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day 2012

Old Wethersfield, CT Memorial Day 2012
Camp after public hours.  We were so busy during the day that
no one got any pictures until then!

Over the weekend, we joined our Rev War re-enacting group to present a special Memorial Day "encampment" program for the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield, CT.  Wethersfield is officially Connecticut's oldest town (founded in 1633), and is most famous for being the place where Washington and Rochambeau planned the Battle of Yorktown.  The house that served as Washington's headquarters during that time - the house that saw and heard the strategizing of those two brilliant military minds and where Washington slept while in town - is now part of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum and is open to the public.  Take a look at Ashley's post from last year's visit if you're interested in learning more about the museum and its incredible contributions to our nation's history.

Old Wethersfield, CT Memorial Day 2012
Ashley at the end of the day.

Our group contributed to the Memorial Day festivities by setting up a miniature encampment next to the museum.  A row of sleeping tents and our kitchen fly provided the backdrop for day-long demonstrations of military tactics, 18th century foodways, medical history, and period music.  Ashley and I offered a display and discussion of clothing during the 1770s and early 1780s. 

Old Wethersfield, CT Memorial Day 2012
Our fashion display next to the camp site.

Our display of fashions was intended to represent the wide variety of clothing types, styles, textiles, and accessories.  We included everything from a bedgown, jacket, and four different styles of gowns, to cloaks, hats, a muff and mitts, and supplemented it all with period prints and paintings to help illustrate how the different types of clothing and accessories functioned during the period.  Knowing very little about gentleman's fashions of the period, we enlisted the help of one of the gents of the regiment to help us cover that half of the discussion.  The kids delighted in seeing how they would have been dressed during the Revolution - especially the little girls, who got a kick out of imagining their brothers in long gowns with silk sashes!  We also thoroughly enjoyed meeting several blog readers who introduced themselves throughout the day.  Thank you for saying hello and it was lovely to meet you!

Old Wethersfield, CT Memorial Day 2012
I took the excuse of not have camp duties for the day
to get slightly more poshed up than usual!

Old Wethersfield, CT Memorial Day 2012
My new birthday pinball ring debuted with its new
pinball made of red silk velvet gifted from Ashley
especially for the purpose.

The gentleman of the unit also provided a rousing skirmish for the crowd of spectators as they fended off a couple of rogue Redcoats who dared to venture too near to camp, undoubtedly the visitors' favorite part of the day's program!

Old Wethersfield, CT Memorial Day 2012
The gentleman prepare to serve as impromptu honor
guard for an on-site wedding after our official program
had closed for the day.

We saw over 750 guests during the course of the day, many of whom were very enthusiastic to learn as much as they could about all of the different aspects of 18th century civilian and military life and took their time moving from one part of camp to another observing, listening, and asking thought-provoking questions.  The level of interest displayed by the many people we spoke with - families, children, and young and old individuals alike - was so impressive and inspiring to see.  Our entire group thoroughly enjoyed our fourth year doing this program and look forward to returning again next year!

Old Wethersfield, CT Memorial Day 2012
End-of-day chatter in camp before clean-up.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Silk and feathers and boots...oh my!

Colonial Williamsburg milliner's shop
A lovely array of silk gowns on display at the Margaret Hunter shop.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

I've heard from others who were there during that weekend that the Margaret Hunter milliner's shop at Colonial Williamsburg featured some special 1860s fashions to tie into CW's commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Williamsburg.  Silly us stopped in on Saturday (must have been before they laid those things out!) and on Monday (after they put them all away and went back to the 1770s), so we missed it!  Ah well.  It would have been a lot of fun to see the 1860s items and hear the comparison discussions that went on about the changes in fashion across the hundred years' span being represented, but even though we missed that part of the weekend, we still found lots of 18th century confections and pretties in the shop on which to feast our eyes and to satisfy our sewing souls.  Here's a collection of some of our favorites.

Colonial Williamsburg milliner's shop
The "Spruce Sportsman" feathered hat, which can't help but make you smile.

Colonial Williamsburg milliner's shop
A pair of handmade green leather ladies riding boots, displayed alongside the
jacket of a ladies habit (right) and some additional  "Spruce Sportsman" items.

Colonial Williamsburg milliner's shop
A reproduction of a chintz banyan in the collection of Colonial
Williamsburg.  Oh, how I adore this fabric.  I wonder what it would take
to persuade CW to release it as part of their cotton fabric line next year...:-)

Colonial Williamsburg milliner's shop
The tailor's work table with a silk coat in progress.

Colonial Williamsburg milliner's shop
Silk, glorious silk...

Colonial Williamsburg milliner's shop
A detail of the sleeve ruffles on a cross-barred silk gown.  *sigh*

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A "Threaded Bliss" postscript

As many of you know, our Threaded Bliss series shares the construction details and final products of our sewing projects.  We typically end each installment with a "Finishing the Look" section, which summarizes the accessories used to complete each outfit according to the demands of its specific historic period and the station in life/persona we intend it to represent.  We all know how fun - and satisfying! - it is to make an old outfit "new" again with different accessories, so we thought it would be only fitting to update previous Threaded Bliss posts with postscripts to their original "Finishing the Look" sections whenever we "discover" a totally new look out of an old garment.  So here goes the first one...

The Costume Close-up Jacket, 1775-1785
(aka The Wetherburn Jacket)

Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Finishing the look...continued...: For its initial wearings, Ashley wore the Wetherburn jacket paired with a brick red linen petticoat, red coral beads, and a hat trimmed with red satin ribbon to match.  On our most recent trip to Colonial Williamsburg, however, she completely changed the color palate.  Here, a teal linen petticoat picks up the blueish hue in the print of the jacket.  A teal silk satin-trimmed straw hat (originally paired with her DAR cotton print gown) is substituted for the original red-beribboned hat.  Completing the ensemble is a white self-checked linen neck handkerchief, worn tucked in front and hanging down in the back.  As in the earlier photos in the previous post, the ensemble is worn over a linen shift, fully-boned stays, a linen underpetticoat, and a bum roll.

Colonial Williamsburg
We fondly call this the "Girl at Well" pose, after the name of one of our
mother's Spode late-18th-century reproduction plates.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Colonial Williamsburg
Enjoying the springtime gardens of CW.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Colonial Williamsburg
And just for fun...napping on Palace Green after a long, hot day!
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Monday, May 21, 2012

Threaded Bliss

A Blue Silk Bonnet, early 1860s

Yellow cotton voile dress, c1860
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012.

This was my first attempt at wire-and-buckram millinery (apart from the brim of my 18th-century bonnet, which I don't count because it wasn't very complicated!), and I couldn't be more pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. I finished the bonnet before I finished the dress and Ashley loved it so much, she started just randomly wearing it around the house with her modern clothes. I wish I had gotten a picture of that...:-)

The pattern: Timely Tresses's Eliza Coretta early 1860s bonnet.  When I first started laying things out and reading the instructions, it seemed a bit complicated, but once I got started, everything went together surprisingly easily.  I highly recommend the pattern!

Construction process: A
s with the dress in the previous "Threaded Bliss" installment, because I used a pattern, I can't go into very specific construction details, but I'll give a quick overview of how things went together both beneath and above the silk.

blue silk bonnet, early 1860s
The piped edge of the tip.

Everything on the bonnet - including the form beneath - is sewn by hand.  The bonnet shape is formed of wire and buckram, with a blocked tip inserted into the back.  The form is then covered in silk from back tip (the edge of which is piped, like many original bonnets), to the crown, to the brim.  After the top is decorated, the interior is lined and then the front inside of the brim is trimmed and the ties sewn on.

The curtain (bavolet), like most in the period, is lined with cotton netting to help keep it clean from the oils of the hair and to help give it a bit of structure as it falls down the back of the neck.  It is pleated and topstitched on the outside, though bavolets were also just as frequently attached "inside-out" and then flipped so that no stitching would be visible on the exterior.

blue silk bonnet, early 1860s
Top-stitched bavolet.

The flowers are made of paper and arranged on the left side of the headpiece, asymmetrical trimmings being the most popular in the early 1860s.  A big bow of wide ivory moire ribbon helps balance the look a bit on the opposite side of the headpiece.

blue silk bonnet, early 1860s
A view of the top of the bonnet.

The interior of the bonnet's brim is decorated with very fine cotton netting and a small bunch of yellow flowers that bring the yellows from the back of the brim to the front.

blue silk bonnet, early 1860s
Fine cotton netting and a small bunch of flowers decorate the
inside of the brim to frame the face.

Yellow cotton voile dress, c1860
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012.

The bonnet ties with two sets of ties.  The wider ivory moire ribbon, with the lovely big bow it makes when tied under the chin, is purely decorative.  Hiding beneath it, sewn to the inside of the bonnet's points, is a set of utility ties of ivory silk satin.  These are the functional ties that take all of the tension and help hold the bonnet on the head.

The fabric: A dark royal blue silk taffeta.  The bonnet is trimmed with wide ivory moire ribbon and paper flowers.  The utility ties are ivory silk satin.

Yellow cotton voile dress, c1860
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Springtime Frolicks in Colonial Williamsburg

During our recent trip to Colonial Williamsburg for the 150th Commemoration of the Battle of Williamsburg, we were glad to have some time to enjoy some 18th century fun as well. As always, we were excited to spend time with good friends who were also visiting, and we welcomed the chance to say hello to our CW friends, but there never seems to be enough time to do everything we want to do.  One of the other highlights of the long weekend was that we heard some great lines for our "Visitors Say the Darndest Things" list.  My favorite from this trip being a quote from a mother to her daughter as she urged her to put away her cell phone to get into the 18th century spirit: "They didn't have cell phones back then!  They probably didn't even have telephones!"

Colonial Williamsburg
Gardens in bloom at the Governor's Palace.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

We arrived Thursday evening just in time to grab some dinner, pick up our tickets, and run over to the Kimball Theatre for a performance of The Walking Statue, or The Devil in the Wine Cellar. Once again, the theatrical cast provided an extraordinary performance full of humor and fun. How can you not enjoy an 18th century play?  The audience also performed quite well, providing boisterous "Huzzah!"s and many well-timed "Encore!"s.

On Friday, we enjoyed the warm weather, strolling on the shady sidewalks to do some shopping. You know Rebecca couldn’t resist the opportunity to buy more fabric! And I couldn’t resist the opportunity to visit with Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Barker in the St. George Tucker House! As always, the room was full and we all engaged in a wonderful confab.  That afternoon, we paid a visit to the recently reconstructed blacksmith and armoury buildings.  In the kitchen, we learned about the simple meals that would have been prepared for the large number of men working in an armoury business like the one portrayed here.  Outside, the beehive oven was taking care of some delicious bread!  The main building of the site was very crowded at the time, so we took a quick glance in.  After following the progress of this project, it was neat to see it completed and to look for all of the different aspects that I learned about through the reconstruction blog.

Colonial Williamsburg
The Anderson Armoury site with the kitchen (left) and main building.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Colonial Williamsburg
Anderson Armoury Kitchen
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Colonial Williamsburg
Using the beehive oven at the Anderson Armoury site.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Colonial Williamsburg
Blacksmiths work inside the newly reconstructed Anderson Armoury.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Friday evening was one of my "main events" for this visit.  Wolf by the Ear: Thomas Jefferson and the Pursuit of Freedom was a special program being presented in conjunction with this weekend's Civil War themed events.  I believe it was originally produced for a performance at the Chautauqua Institution and am not sure if there are plans to repeat it at CW in the future.  The program takes place in 1820 and opens with Mr. Jefferson anxiously waiting to hear if Missouri will be brought into the union as a slave or free state.  As he reflects on such defining moments in history, the audience watches his reminiscences play out.  We heard Patrick Henry and Edmund Randolph debate about ratifying the Constitution, and also listened to the thoughts of Henry Clay.  Jean Jacque Dessalines, leader of the Haitian Revolution also spoke, rallying his troops towards freedom.  In the end, as history will tell us, Missouri was admitted as a slave state, dividing the union further.  The story of this critical decision was told with such passion, not just through the words of these founding fathers, but also through the talents of these very talented interpreters.  It was an immensely moving performance and I have to admit that I was in tears as everyone joined in singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic at the end.

Colonial Williamsburg
Mr. Jefferson discusses some issues in the early years of the United States.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

We were able to catch a few scenes of Revolutionary City over the course of our stay.  Saturday's scenes were chosen from the usual Rev City repertoire to compliment the Civil War weekend.  Although the events were based on those of the late 18th century, the topics and issues were still relevant to the time leading up to the Civil War.  "Promises of Freedom," the scene depicting Dunmore's Proclamation, touched on the hardships and uncertainty that slaves faced on the eve of the Revolution.  George Washington and Thomas Jefferson spoke in front of Raleigh Tavern about some difficulties in the early republic and the threat of disunion.  Just before Saturday's Rev City, some dark clouds started to hover over the historic area.  We didn't want to miss anything though, so we grabbed our umbrellas and hoped for the best.  When Washington and Jefferson had completed their speeches, they stepped off the stage to engage in an informal question and answer session, and although the raindrops were starting to fall, I didn't want to miss it.  We all huddled under our umbrellas to listen until the presidents (and all of us listeners!) were thoroughly soaked through.

Colonial Williamsburg
President Washington announces he will not run for a third term.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

I stayed on Monday afternoon to see some more Rev City and to catch the opportunity to say hello to an old friend.  If you have not heard, CW has revamped their daytime program once again and I believe it will debut on June 18th.  When Revolutionary City was first integrated into the CW interpretive programs, I was a little apprehensive to see stages and microphones all over the historic area and I felt that the scenes were too scripted.  Over the years, as I've observed visitors absorbing the history lessons through the Rev City scenes, I've come to appreciate it as a great teaching and learning tool.  After all, how do you overcome the challenges of reaching such a large group of visitors, who all come with different backgrounds and assumptions, within the length of their stay and over such a large geographical area?  (In case you don't know, historic interpretation fascinates me.  I can go on and on sharing my thoughts on effective interpretation... perhaps that will be another topic for another day.)  As I understand it, the new program will still have "scenes," but they will be dispersed throughout the day and will encompass more of the historic area.  Each day will represent a specific day in history, so whether you are talking to the blacksmith or Mrs. Randolph, everyone will be "living" the same "day," discussing the same issue or events at hand.  This method sounds similar to the pre-Rev City days, so I am very excited to see this new interpretation in action!

Colonial Williamsburg 
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

During our visit, we also enjoyed an afternoon musical program at Raleigh Tavern, as well as a brief dance lesson.  We also met with Edith Cumbo in a walking tour called "Her Enduring Spirit."  If you have never seen this program, I highly recommend looking for it the next time you visit CW.  Ms. Cumbo was a free African American resident of Williamsburg.  Her stories are fascinating and told with such spirit!  We also stopped in at the Governor's Palace kitchen on Saturday to take a peek at the process of brewing beer in the 18th century.  And, finally, we spent some time examining Richard Newsham's fire engine at the DeWitt Wallace, which was accompanied by a display about fire fighting in the 18th century; it was a very interesting piece of history that is rarely heard about.

For some additional photos from this visit to Colonial Williamsburg, please take a look at our flickr set.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Threaded Bliss

A Sheer Yellow Cotton Dress of the Early 1860s

P1010869
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012.

This is our very first venture into recreating the costumes of the mid-nineteenth century and we're having a splendid time exploring the new fashions and silhouettes and researching how to recreate them.  This first dress was completed in time for last weekend's commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Williamsburg.

The pattern: As this was my first experience with an 1860s garment, I elected to begin with a pattern - the Peachtree Mercantile dress - which reproduces an original in the collection of the Atlanta History Center.  The sheer number of mid-century patterns currently available was a little overwhelming at first, but after some research into cuts and styles, and after reading about the experiences other seamstresses have had with many of the patterns, I selected this one because it includes what can easily be called a "crash course" in mid-century construction technique, with meticulous and clear instructions that aid in the production of a genuine reproduction piece. In the end, I couldn't have been more pleased with the pattern, and adamantly recommend it.

Yellow cotton voile dress, c1860
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012.

Inspirations: The original dress is made in a semi-sheer, light-weight printed cotton.  Ashely knew she wanted something appropriate for wear in summer heat (further Civil War events are in the works!), so she began her image inspiration search with sheer dresses, which were extremely popular in the first half of the 1860s.  These are some of our favorites that led us to select this particular pattern and Ashley's choice to make it using a sheer cotton voile.

An 1860s sheer cotton gown from the private collection of K. Krewer.
Image linked from The Graceful Lady.

Sheer dresses were lined in a variety of ways. Those with round jewel necklines could have a "full" or "high" lining which extended from the waist to the neck, or a "half" lining that left the shoulders mostly bare and replicated the look of a low-cut evening bodice. V-necked sheer dresses typically used this "half" lining or one that was even more minimal, being just a partial lining that helped support the armscye and side-seam areas only. The Peachtree/Atlanta dress features this last style of lining, but Ashley really likes the look of the low neckline beneath the sheer, as seen in the portrait below, so we used that cut for the petticoat body (corset cover) that she wore underneath to prevent her corset from showing through the sheer cotton.

An 1860 American portrait from the El Paso Museum of Art.

Construction details: Because I used a pattern for this project, which I don't normally do, I can't go into as great an amount of detail as is typical of "Threaded Bliss" because the pattern directions are, of course, copyrighted.   I will, however, give a brief overview of how this dress is put together, and of some of the interesting little features it has that helps make it so drastically different from our well-loved and much-familiar 18th-century clothes.

In keeping with the original, this dress is entirely hand sewn.  It has a gathered (or "O") bodice, with the fullness concentrated in tiny gathers along the center front and center back, and along the shoulders. 

Yellow cotton voile dress, c1860
A detail view of the back waistband, showing the bodice gathering
concentrated at center back, and the tiny gauging that
controls the fullness of the skirt.

The only fastenings on the bodice are four sets of hooks and eyes on the waistband.  The dress, like the original, closes off-center, a slight variation on the "standard" dog-leg closure, but still very efficient in preventing gaps as the skirt falls from the center front.

Yellow cotton voile dress, c1860
The modified dog-leg closure that replicates the original.  You can also see
the excess fabric from the shaping of the skirt hanging down inside.

The armscyes of the dropped shoulders are piped, as is typical of the majority of dresses dating from this period.

Yellow cotton voile dress, c1860
Piping finishes the armscye.

As I mentioned above, the dress has only the most minimal of linings; white cotton supports the armscyes and side seams, as well as the waistband, but other than that, the dress is simply a single layer of voile.

Yellow cotton voile dress, c1860
The partial lining of the bodice.

If you're interested in exploring construction details in more depth, check out this original 1865 sheer bodice on Katherine's site.  With the exception of the neckline and center-front closures, the construction is nearly idential to our dress and the Peachtree/Altanta original, from the reinforced shoulder seams to the angle of the shoulders/sleeves, to the concentration of the pleats to the piping around the armscyes to the partial lining.

Because the Peachtree/Atlanta dress only has a partial lining, with just the armscyes and side seams lined, a corset cover (known as a petticoat body/bodice) must be worn underneath to keep the corset from showing through the very sheer voile. I used this 1862 pattern from Peterson's to create one, and if Ashley did not have the neckerchief on covering her shoulders, the neckline of the lining would look just like the one in the 1860 inspiration portrait above.

The bishop sleeves have a row of gathering stitches along the sleeve cap to help control their fullness.  At the bottoms, they are gathered into a band and then finished with a horseshoe cuff that folds up and over to conceal the wristband.  The sleeve bands fasten with two sets of hooks and thread eyes.

Yellow cotton voile dress, c1860
The top of the sleeves have a single row of gathering stitches
to help control their fullness.

Yellow cotton voile dress, c1860
The sleeves are finished with a band and cuff.  Here, the cuff
is folded down to reveal the band...

Yellow cotton voile dress, c1860
...that is concealed by the cuff when it is turned up to be worn properly.

As in eighteenth-century gown skirt and petticoat construction, the hem of the dress is on the straight grain.  All adjustments in skirt length necessary to accommodate the shape of the cage crinoline are made at the waist; excess fabric is not cut, but instead folded in so that the pleats at the top of the skirt actually contain two layers of fabric.  The hem - a 3" deep one common for this period - is made only of folded self-fabric.  While gowns of more opaque fabric tended to be faced (and sometimes bound) at the hemline with another textile and/or tape to help protect the hem from wear, sheer dresses tended to use only a simple folded hem.

The fabric: A delightfully sheer cotton voile in "sunshine" yellow.  The gown is only lined around the armscyes and side seams, in a plain-weave white cotton.

Finishing the look: This dress, like the original, has no fasteners other than at the waistband.  This means it must be pinned closed at the V-neck, either over a chemisette or a neck handkerchief.  Ashley recently purchased a gorgeous green vintage floral cameo brooch that proved to be the perfect match in color and size for just this purpose.  The pin secures dress and handkerchief at once.

P1010891
A vintage floral cameo secures the front of the bodice closed
over a white cotton neck handkerchief.

Because of the extreme sheerness of the fabric of the unlined skirt, the dress is worn over an underpetticoat of medium-weight cotton, which also helps obscure the lines of the cage crinoline from showing through the outermost skirt layer.  A red corset of cotton sateen (more on this to come soon!), worn over a cotton batiste chemise and drawers provide the requisite underclothing to support the dress, to lend it the proper early-1860s silhouette, and to help keep it clean from body oils.

A pair of Robert Land Balmoral boots and antique silver and amber earrings complete the outfit, along with a blue silk bonnet trimmed to coordinate with the voile (more to come on that as well!).

P1010911
Showing off the new boots!
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012.

P1010857
Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Williamsburg.
Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012.

Coming soon are additional posts that will take a look at the bonnet, the corset, and the underpinnings.  In the meantime, additional photos of the dress can be found on in its flickr set.