Threaded Bliss

A Blue and Red Dutch Chintz Jacket,

1775-1785

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

This jacket was a Christmas gift for Ashley (well, she bought the fabric and I supplied the sewing!) and she's worn it numerous times since then, but it was only a couple of weeks ago that we were able to get pictures of it.  I have to say that I think it's one of my favorites of all our projects thus far.

The pattern: The style of this jacket should look quite familiar by now!  This is the "swallowtail" jacket from Colonial Williamsburg's collection (CW acc. no. 1962-259) patterned by Linda Baumgarten in Costume Close-up, pages 39-42.  I used the pattern a couple of years ago for Ashley's "Wetherburn" jacket and then again more recently on my own blue chintz jacket, but we both like it so much that when Ashley ended up needing some new clothes, we immediately went to this old standby to ensure a quick, appealing, and well-fitting piece.

The original jacket in a study drawer at the DeWitt Wallace Museum.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2010.

Inspirations: The red and blue colorway of this Dutch chintz was chosen to reflect the red and blue floral cotton print on the original jacket.  This chintz is of a much finer quality than the original textile and the printing design correspondingly much more detailed, but the overall effect is quite similar.

The jacket with a stomacher.

Construction details: The construction specifics for this particular jacket pattern have already been provided in significant (three-post-long!) detail in the blue chintz jacket tutorial, so I won't waste space repeating anything here.  If you haven't already seen it, you can access the complete tutorial here: part one, part two, part three.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

 

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

The fabric: A gorgeous Dutch chintz from Den Haan and Wagenmakers called "Wilhelmina."  The jacket, like the original, is fully lined with off-white linen.  The lacing holes are finished with silk button-hole twist.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

Finishing the look: The other reason Ashley selected this particular colorway for this jacket is because it coordinates so nicely with multiple different petticoats and accessories we already had.  In both incarnations, the jacket is worn over a shift, fully-boned stays, and a linen underpetticoat.  To emphasize the blue in the chintz, she pairs the jacket with my blue stuff wool/silk petticoat and a hat trimmed with blue satin ribbon poofs.  A bum roll helps the tails of the jacket drape elegantly, and a white neckerchief fills in the neckline.  A white silk taffeta ribbon laces the stomacher in across the front.

A bum roll gives the back of the jacket the cute shape so

fashionable in the late 1770s and early 1780s.

To emphasize the red and pink in the print, Ashley wears the jacket with a rosey pink cotton petticoat the same color as my pink worsted gown and a coordinating wide pink ribbon on her cap.  To give the outfit a slightly less "formal" look, she adds an apron made from the same white checked linen as the neckerchief and substitutes white cotton cording for the silk ribbon to lace in the stomacher.  We unfortunately didn't manage to get any decent pictures of the pink version this time (it was the 4th of July when she wore it and SO hot!), so you'll just have to imagine the look for now and wait for a "Threaded Bliss Postscript" post next time she wears that outfit!

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

When we discovered that my new pink worsted gown is identical in color to the petticoat Ashley wears with this jacket, we decided to wear the two outfits together during UTR and had a fun time photographing them together.  We look a little too coordinated for 18th-century tastes, but the colors just looked so perfectly pretty together, so we did it anyway!  :-)

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

Additional pictures of this jacket can be found in this project's flickr set.