Another Slat Bonnet

Hi ladies and gents!

This time I'm making a historical bonnet for a friend of mine, who wanted appropriate headwear for when she visits me at reenactment events. Okey-doke!

Oh, and by the way, 50th post. Not much I know, but a small landmark :) A thank you to all the loyal readers I just lately discovered I actually have!! You guys are great! :)

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming:

Garment Data:
- Type: Civil War style Slat Bonnet
- Date made: July/August 2014
- Pattern: Based on the bonnet from The Sewing Academy
- Fabric/Materials: A pink reproduction cotton print, with a nice crisp hand
- Trim: none
- Time to finish: oh, a few hours, I think, or so.
 

 

The front of the bonnet is at the bottom of the picture. In this picture, the bonnet is completely unfolded. The crescent is long enough to cover the back of the neck, and the front has a width that means it will shade your cheeks but not go too far down over your shoulders that it gets in the way. the front portion/brim is lined with muslin, and the slats only go down to about the ears. You can see the under-chin ties.

  

Here it is, folded along the top edge, so you can kind of see how it comes together. The left side is the brim, and the right side goes down  the back.

 

Now it's tied, so you can see how it's shaped! This is a view into the inside of the bonnet. The under-chin strings are visible - the outside strings on the back of the bonnet are what's holding it in this shape.

And the completed beauty! On the right you can see how the outside ties form the puff for over the hair, gather the bonnet at the neck, and allow the rest to shade the neck and upper back.

Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah

Blouse

Hello friends!

A dear school chum of mine recently came by with an interesting request.
She held up a well-loved blouse (replete with signs of wear) and asked if I could duplicate it.

WHO AM I TO REFUSE SUCH A CHALLENGE???

OF COURSE I SHALL TAKE IT ON.

And, in the process, discovered what a well made blouse it was, originally. It took simply aaaages to pull apart at the seams!

Garment Data:
- Type: Modern blouse
- Date made: Summer 2014
- Pattern: The original blouse I was to mimic
- Fabric/Materials: a cotton+ stretch poplin
- Trim: none/self fabric
- Time to finish: 9.5 hours, including dis-assembly, tracing, pattern making, cutting, and assembly

Tracing parts after they've been disassembled. I traced them onto brown paper, and eventually used marker to note seam allowances, pleats, grainlines, etc., as well as which piece it was.

 

The blouse starting to come together. It consists of 1 back piece and 2 pieces for each side of the front, at this point, with the sleeves, cuffs, and 4-piece collar added later.

 

Every seam on the blouse was flat-felled! Completely brilliant - impossible to take apart! Also means that once I put it back together, the new blouse has a very finished look and is probably smooth and comfy to wear.

 

The inside, before the sleeves. Doesn't actually look that different from the outside, due to the flat-felled seams.

 

The shaping pleats/tucks on the back, pre-ironing. Interestingly, a design feature of the original blouse was that the pleats/tucks were visible on the outside back of the blouse.

 

Attaching the collar. It has rounded points, and is sewn in 4 pieces, 2 for the collar itself, and 2 for the collar band, plus some interfacing for stiffening.

 

Completed blouse, sans buttons...

...and with buttons:

 

And the hidden lower button placket:

Hope my friend enjoys!!!

Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah

Blue Apron

Guess what?? I finally finished the apron I've been meaning to make for ages!

Garment Data:
- Type: 1860s-style apron
- Date made: spring 2014
- Pattern: Elizabeth Stewart Clark's apron pattern
- Fabric/Materials: blue plaid 100% cotton "homespun" from JoAnn's - so, nothing fancy, and it has a "dishrag" soft texture
- Trim: none
- Time to finish: a few days of on-and-off work

This apron has only 1 machine-sewn seam. I did the rest by hand. This allowed me to do it as a portable project.
I also left the sides unhemmed, since they are the selvages.

The bottom hem. This is the only machine-seam I did - when I thought I'd have enough time to just sit down and whip the thing together! Turns out I had better luck (and, most assuredly, a better result) by doing it as handwork on the go.

A close-up of the machine hem. Hard to see, because I was being my usual self with plaids/stripes and was matching them! Actually, the machine-sewn hem is the least-accurately plaid-matched seam. You'll actually find plaid-matching through-out this piece, which means that even the pockets are fairly stealth!

The stealth pockets, pinned in place, for location (i.e., lining up the stripes). I then actually hemmed the pockets separately and then stitched them onto the front of the apron.
Since this was an apron I really wanted to wear soon, I actually end up wearing the apron at the Memorial Day reenactment in Painesville, and pinning and sewing the pockets while wearing it!

The pinner, pre-attachement. I attached it so I can easily fold it down behind the apron and wear it as though there is no pinner. Versatility! And yes, when I wear the apron, the pinner (the bib part of the apron) is actually pinned up to my dress, instead of having a loop around my neck or some-such.

 

Waistband, pinned and pre-sewing. The pleating of the apron is encased in the waistband, and then beyond the apron, the waistband turns into ties like in this picture.

 

 

The apron! No pockets or pinner (bib) yet in this picture.

 

A close-up of the pleated apron encased in the waistband. Note the second row of stabilizing stitching, so the pleating remains crisp and visible in what is otherwise a very floppy fabric (but great for wiping hands on).


... And below, the apron in action, with the pinner (bib) pinned up, and the pockets sewn on! It's very long, so it protects my dress well, and I really like how it turned out!
Things to change next time I make this pattern: maybe try a crisp cotton, or make it (just very very slightly) shorter. And make the ties way longer!! There is a short little bow in the back but long ties would be much easier. Let's be honest: I just want an excuse to have another apron or three in other prints!
(This picture taken at Fort Meigs in Perrysburg, Ohio.)

Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah

Gettysburg: 150th anniversary, June 2013.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for bearing with me on the brief hiatus of posts....

Relaxing in camp on a hot day.

     I'd mentioned in a few previous posts that exactly a year ago at the end of June of 2013 I went to Gettysburg. This was the first Civil War-era overnight camping event that I attended. I had a great time! It was the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

     I did get a chance to tour the battle fields, too. I was particularly struck by the scale of the battle, once I started picturing it, and by the sheer hopelessness of trying to assault Little Round Top. That hill is a natural fortress - and trying to march in Napoleonic lines of up the side of it was madness. Guerrilla warfare, maybe - but not battle lines.

Part of Devil's Den, at the foot of Little Round Top.

     The landscapes were actually quite beautiful, in a strikingly rocky sort of a way. The battlefields came to life because a more seasoned reenactor, who was more familiar with how the battle lines had been drawn up, talked me through an understanding as we walked and drove through the main areas of the battlefields and the town.

Fencing along the battlefields, which are preserved by the park service.

The north side of town, where the first day's engagement happened.
The smaller, round spire, is, I believe the Lutheran Seminary on Seminary Ridge.
If any readers can tell me what the tall spire is, leave the info in the comments!

The monument to the 29th OVI.
Culp's Hill, 1st day's engagement.

From Little Round Top (Union Line)
looking down toward Devil's Den
(rock formation just left of center past the road).
Confederate line approached from the trees on the right,
had one unit come along the road,
and one unit try to flank along the left.

Within Devil's Den.
I believe this may be one of the spots where Matthew Brady posed
the bodies of dead soldiers for some of his famous pictures.

Looking up Little Round Top. It's steeper than it looks.

The artillery line behind Devil's Den.
At one point, this line was seized and turned around toward the other side.

Little Round Top from farther away, across fields.
Maybe The Wheat Fields from the 3rd day's engagement?

Downtown Gettysburg.

     Of course, much of the weekend was spent at the reenactment itself. There are two different organizations that were doing reenactments in Gettysburg last year: The GAC (Gettysburg Anniversary Committee), which is local and does it every year, as I understand, and the BGA (Blue-Gray Alliance), which tends to sponsor larger special events. The two reenactments were on bracketing weekends to the actual anniversary dates, and because of the person who invited me to stay with her, and when she planned on being there, I ended up going to the BGA weekend immediately preceding the actual anniversary dates of the battle that took place on July 1-3, 1863.

        When it is hot, really hot, the temptation is to stay in camp and not do anything. Even when the mock battles are exciting, if it is 90+ in the shade, and it's over a mile hike to watch the battle, you may as well sit still and drink iced tea. So I did a fair amount of "sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits."

Our area of camp, with the threatening (and sometimes ominously swirling) weather...
Bad weather is a lot more nerve-wracking when you are only protected by canvas
and when you know that there are 10,000 reenactors and only 2 barns... a mile away...
.... we were fine.

Another view of camp, with a sibley sticking up.

Camp when it is populated!

    It wasn't only roughing it, though! There were some wonderful events aimed mostly at the female population, and there was gentility and beauty and beautiful fashion workmanship:

Part of the fashion show.
They made all the dresses from a painting of the empress Eugenie
(frame seen far left), and posed like the picture.

There were also re-created fashion plates from La Mode Illustrée.
Seamstress Kay Gnagey seen far right.

The dance! It was beyond overcrowded.

     If that was for the girls, and I've shown you camp as well, what about the boys? Yes, they had battle scenarios re-creating different aspects of the 3 day combat, including the basic flow of the 3 main battles. Others can (and probably have) spoken as to how it was done, how well it was done, etc. I can only provide the point of view of a spectator: many of the battles were far from the spectator lines and difficult to see, but interesting when we could see them.

Cavalry

     Note: A pet peeve: it is CAVALRY from the French Cheval for "horse"... Not Calvary (a Biblical thing), nor Calgary. .... that's Canada.

"Day 1": the taking of Gettysburg and battle through the town.

End of "Day 3" after the confederate defeat at the stone wall.

     All in all, I had a brilliant time. It was the kick-off of me actually camping at events, because I loved it so much. Of course, combining camping in canvas with the ability to look stunning for a dance takes some skill!!! Trust me, I'm up to it.

Loading up the cannon to take them home

On the way home, driving back through Gettysburg and the battlefields

Photo Credit: Szabo

Please let me know if you want to see more of some specific aspect, because this was only the highlights!

I will post again soon to catch you up on some of the other events I've been to in the meantime. As I go to more, though, there are fewer pictures! I'm often busy, or a camera just doesn't fit....

But of course I'll fill you in on my wardrobe updates as I finish those as well.


Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah

Red Memorial Day Daydress

Dear Ladies and Gents,
you may have noticed an item of wear recurring in mention multiple times: a basic red cotton daydress, which, when worn without hoops, can serve well enough as a camp or work dress.

Garment Data:
- Type: Civil War style daydress
- Date made: Just before Memorial Day, 2013
- Pattern: Simplicity 4551, plus alterations. I actually ignored the gathered front, and just used the lining pattern for both the in and out, and thus made a darted bodice.
- Fabric/Materials: A red cotton calico print, just over 6 yards, 42" wide
- Trim: None
- Time to finish: About a week

The fabric I selected was a red cotton print from JoAnn's, with flowers on it. I had the yardage originally for a "prairie" dress, but decided to put it to use for the civil war era.

Note that the flowers are not in a regular pattern, unfortunately.
They are white with a dark (black?) center. This color combination meant that I could wear "Red, White, and Blue" for the Memorial Day church choir concert, civil war-themed, that I was going to be dressing for.
I found out later that the fabric is fairly thin, and not exactly colorfast.

Bodice front, with front darts pinned in. This is from the lining side. The lining is just a plain muslin.

And the same front piece from the outside.

The assembled bodice, from within. Note that the lining and outer layer are sewn as one.

The completed bodice, with the bodice band at the bottom. I later realized that the bodice was too long, based on where my waistline was, so I ended up putting a 1-inch tuck to the inside, about an inch above the bodice waistband.

 

Here with the sleeves pinned on.

And here with them sewn on! The bodice was, at this point, done aside from closures.
Unfortunately, I noted some fit issues when I put it on:

Whoops! Turns out this was a combination of problems: 1) the pattern size is not necessarily indicative of actual size. 2) measurements on the back of the pattern are more important than the size number. 3) the measurement on the package is not necessarily the same as the measurement of the final piece.
Note also that the neckline was too tight and was pushing on my neck. Also, the sleeve seams were dropped too much with respect to my shoulder line. And the sleeves were too wide on the lower arm.

A sleeve before it was attached. The blue underneath becomes my "kickplate" or hem lining/facing for the skirt. This is a piece of fabric on the inside, where you can't see it, that makes the skirt hang more steadily and absorbs the brunt of my toes kicking the skirt. This means that the skirt itself takes less wear and will last longer.

This fabric was actually another skirt, that had been worn out and stained. I love the regular pattern and wish I could have a dress just of this fabric!

And a close-up, for droolworthiness. It is definitely a cotton, of better quality than the rest of the dress!

Here you can see the lining attached around the bottom of the skirt, to protect the hemline.
I attached it while the skirt was still a flat rectangle.

The waistline, with gathering stitches. Upon consideration and later experience, these stitches should have been smaller and closer together. What I'm aiming to do is create a "gauged" waistline, so the fabric at the top of the skirt is folded over (ideally somewhat more than I've done here, but I was a bit tight on yardage), and then basted with gathering threads in very regular, even stitches. The stitches are about 1 cm long (between 1/3 and 1/2 inch), and are made with two rows of double-stranded 100% cotton thread that has been waxed with beeswax.

What I've done here is pinned the waistband in a few places to make sure the center and sides match up, and then tightened the gathering threads some. You can see the "skirtiness" starting to take shape.

The wide view, so you can see how it's starting to shape up.

Gauging, from the outside, after the bodice has been whipped onto the waistband.

Note that the gathering has formed perfect ripples of fabric.

You can see that the bodice comes down all the way to the gauging, and that the bodice waistband covers the separate skirt waistband. If you look really closely, you can even see the small whip-stitches holding the "pleats" of the gauging, and the small tacking stitches in the waistband, holding the skirt to the bodice!

...Aaaand from the inside. Note that those perfect ripples of fabric kind of just hang there. The bottom edge of the waistband is whip-stitched to the "valley" of every "pleat". The things that look like horizontal puckers in the waistband are actually a slightly darker red large thread stitch, holding the bodice waistband (not visible) to the skirt waistband.This doesn't sound solid, but I promise, it is. Also, if you use short pieces of thread, and use a lot of them to go around the skirt, then if one section breaks, you don't have your whole skirt falling off, and it's easier to fix.

Note: You can see daylight between the pleats, which means that each gather was too wide and the pleats are too big. If I had made the gathering stitches smaller, then the pleats would be more numerous and closer together. I ended up flattening them all to one side and whipping them down to eliminate the gappage, though if I were to redo the dress, I would repleat with smallter gathers.

 

This is the assembled garment! It still needs closures, though.

I still had some fit issues, as you can tell by these pictures of the back. Again, this had to do with the bodice being too long.

The neckline creeping up the back of my neck, as you can see here, was eventually solved by cutting out a crescent from the back and refinishing the edge.

The necktie. I borrowed the way of tying it from another reenactor - who got the method from Godey's Lady's Book.
Though I have heard that cutting the necktie on the bias means it will lie flatter, I cut this one on the straight - perpendicular to the grain. This had to do with fabric restrictions (and it is also due to the time restriction - I didn't have the time to piece a bias tie from smaller sections).

Here's a picture of the tie close up.

From the side you can really see how the back of the neck was pushing forward. The tie is basted on, but will eventually need a white collar to be under.

The front, pinned shut. It took me half a year to get around to adding buttons. You can see how it pulls: the fit issue of being too tight was later accidentally resolved by me changing shape.

The finished product! The best full-length picture I could do on my own.

 

And on Memorial Day! The dress was a hit.

It has become a staple of my wardrobe. Here you see it in Gettysburg, June of 2013.

Here I am at Sunbeau Valley, the local horse farm, for their annual reenactment. I'm also wearing my slat bonnet and blue belt.

Same event. You can already see fading along the bottom hem, where I scrubbed out Gettysburg mud. At this point I was still pinning it shut.

And at LINK: Hale farm in August. Different neckwear! And you can see that I'm still pinning it shut.

November, and in LINK: Gettysburg again. By this time, I've added buttons, but am here wearing it with a Sontag (Bosom Friend) for warmth, so they don't show! Later in the day I added a wool cloak, and was actually wearing a sweater beneath, as well: it was quite cold, and very windy!

 

Here you can see the buttons and the collar. The collar is borrowed: collar and cuffs are on my list of "to do"s! The buttons are shell. This picture was taken at the LINK: ORMB this year.

And last, but not least, a picture from June/Gettysburg, of the red dress as seen in a tintype. Credit to Szabo for the picture! (And I'm realizing I never posted about the June 2013 150th Gettysburg trip! Well, that may be coming up, we'll see.)

Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah