Plaid Ball Gown

Dear Friends,

I have recently had the pleasure to have a ball gown made by Sarah Crow, of The Preacher Wife's Gowns and Carr Antiquities (Facebook)!

She and I discussed options, the primary limiting factor being that we would work only with fabric I already owned, with minimal purchases for trim. I had a lovely red/gold plaid silk (with small stripes in navy and green, as well). Using some period images as inspiration, we agreed on a bertha-style, with puff sleeves, and then lace trim with ribbon work. Here are a few of the inspiration images:

1) Just a similar plaid. Since we weren't doing a day dress, this was more to help me picture my flat piece of fabric as a fully formed dress. This pin was originally from Ebay (I think it was a CDV), so there is no link to its original location.

2) Again, a day dress. Yet the way the trim is on the hem and the whole collar/bodice trim was very similar to what I had in mind. There's no good link to an original source, so if you happen to know where this is from, I'd love to cite the source.

3) Day dress.This one is just such a scrumptious blue stripe! Right??? Ok, but seriously, some ideas for a waist treatment (how to attach the skirt). Note that the original Pinterest post is no longer connected to a proper source, so if you know where this is from, please let me know so I can give proper credit/citation!

4) This neckline. This neckline trim. The pleats. The lace. YUM YUM YUM. Note that this Pinterest link also doesn't lead further. Again, if you know the source, please let me know so I can include it!

The sneak preview she sent me... ;)

The bertha was originally going to be a pleated sheer silk, and would be shaped in similarly to image 4 above. Instead, it became a separate piece that sits higher on my shoulders and lower in front, with a higher neckline on the true bodice, and the pleating, believe it or not, is actually the same silk as the dress, just pleated carefully to show only the gold!

Beautiful scrumptious work in progress! This was my main fitting. The minor adjustments I'll make are mainly things like moving a few of the hooks and eyes, since we didn't get a last fitting right before the ball to check those types of things.

And done! This is at the February Ohio Regimental Military Ball (ORMB) in Canton, OH.
I absolutely ADORE all the lacy lace! I felt so beautiful wearing it.

Happy dancers :)

My seamstress friend from The Young Sewphisticate and I, enjoying being beautiful! She also gets credit for loaning me the fluffy lovely cap I'm wearing.

Thank you so much to my friend Sarah Crow for making me this gorgeous gown!

Yours,

Sarah

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Pure, Unadulterated Nerdy Cuteness

Ok, so I'm completely geeky, but I got super excited when a friend gave me a hat that may or may not look similar to a character in a well known film...

Garment Data:
- Type: Baby hat, mittens, booties
- Date made: Unknown, plus January and February 2017
- Pattern: Made up
- Fabric/Materials: Acrylic yarn
- Trim: the same yarn
- Time to finish: a few days

Figuring out how to knit a 3-fingered glove/mitten flat. Not in the round because it's so small. That's a size 3 knitting needle! And since it's going to be folded in half, there are going to be 6 points... LOTS of ends to weave in.

Here's the original hat plus the brim I added to keep the edge from rolling up. I got the closest green I could find... it's less noticeable in real life. And the first completed mitten! I'm not worried about it fitting over fingers, since I'm planning to use this with a baby small enough to mostly still keep their hands balled up.

Here's where it started to really get weird. I wanted the booties to also have 3 toes, ideally with the center toe bigger than the outside two. But, I had no pattern, and have rarely made booties. SO I'm making it up as I go! I started with the cuff, then bound off a few stitches to make the wrap-around part. Then I had to cast on, to get the length of the toe box, but then split again to make the toes... and then I realized this was just the sole.

So I had to invent the top of the bootie! And this is what it looks like.

Here's the whole completed set, minus the ties on the booties, which are in the next pictures. Note that on the right mitten, I actually matched the stitches but somehow had a tighter gauge than the first mitten, so I had to add a little length to the cuff...

The bootie ties, which consist of a loop coming from the front...

And two ties coming around from the back. I'm pleased with how they came out!

Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah

1860s-Style Mourning Dress

Hi Friends,

As some of you know, we recently experienced a loss in our family. This led me (of course!) to looking into historical customs of mourning, specifically for the American Civil War era (1861-65).

Garment Data:
- Type: Dress, specifically for mourning or half mourning, depending on the accessories
- Date made: August 2016
- Pattern: My personalized Civil War "Day Dress" pattern, drafted by my friend Karen, adjusted slightly at the neckline, and with sleeves I drafted myself. Also, assisted by the Dressmaker's Guide by Elizabeth Stewart Clark
- Fabric/Materials: Linen, cotton lining/hem facing, polyester chiffon for the veil
- Trim: Nylon velvet ribbon (1-1/2" and 3/8"), lace (poly?), cotton hem tape (1" twill tape), plastic buttons, 2 pants hooks for waist closure
- Accessories: Brooch, Belt, Belt buckle, Headband, Veil, Hairnet, Shoes
- Time to finish: approximately 3 days

I was originally intending to make this dress from a light-weight or even sheer wool. However, I could not find it easily locally, and since I had a timeline in which I wanted to make it (I wanted to wear it to the Hale Farm (Ohio) reenactment on August 13th), I needed fabric to be available quickly. As it turned out, I knew someone who had over 6 yards of black linen - and, bonus, a roll of 3-1/2" black lace! I did a little bit of research to see if that would work. Linen was rare by this point, so it is a bit of a stretch but still possible.

Due to time constraints, as well as budgetary ones, here are the corners I cut:
- I used linen, a material no longer much in use in the 1860s for dresses
- I used a blue print for the lining rather than a polished cotton
- I did not make or use a bias piping on the armscye
- I did not make/cover a bonnet (though I did buy some of the materials...)
- I forgot pockets
- I used poly chiffon instead of crape

In all, though, it came together well! Here are the pictures:

Cutting the skirt. I based the number of panels on the yardage I had left after cutting the bodice and sleeves. I had enough length left for 3 panels, and they are about 60" wide, so that was fine.

Adding the hem facing at the bottom of the skirt.

Completed skirt (inside out) showing the hem facing.

Nearly completed bodice back. Note that the sleeves are still uncuffed.

Nearly completed bodice front. Note that I have not yet added darts or finished the front edge.

Shoe options at Goodwill. I realized last minute I had no black footwear that would be even halfway passable!!! I went with the top pair due to the overall look and that they were black. The bottom pair had a thick heel and were gray, which I didn't like.

Pinning on the trim. Note that I had already gathered the skirt at this point, using 2 layers of aligned gathering stitches in anticipation of gauging (is that the same as cartridge pleating?). I had tried larger pleats but noticed that the fabric was too bulky, so despite time constraints, I was going to have to gauge the skirt.

Laying everything out to make sure I had everything I needed :)

Completed dress!!! Just in time... this is the night before. I would still have to add the waist hooks in the morning, and complete the headdress and belt, but I had the bulk done! Hurrah!

At Hale Farm. I am wearing a ribbon headband, a hairnet, veil; period glasses, reproduction brooch, gloves; velvet ribbon belt with reproduction buckle; and the dress. The funny wrinkle-tuck at my waist is because I realized that the way I did the waistband of the dress caused the bodice to be too long. I pinned it up for the duration of this event, and will take it in permanently when I have the chance.

Here you can see the line of hem tape as well.

Detail of trim lines at bottom of skirt. They are all sewn on along the upper edge.

Dearest husband is the one taking the pictures! :)

The reproduction brooch by Elizabeth Aldridge, and the matte plastic shank buttons.

Velvet ribbon belt with reproduction buckle by Elizabeth Aldridge. You can see that my "fly" is gaping a little and I had to pin it shut. Not sure how to remedy that. You can also see my hasty pinned tuck to shorten the bodice. I can fix it much more elegantly, but that worked for the day!

Close up of the gauging along the waistband. I folded about 3" of the skirt down, then did pleating stitches in black thread, that stay in the skirt (two parallel lines of stitches, lined up with each other). I then pulled it tight, and matched the skirt to the waistband. I then whip-stitched one side of each pleat to the waistband from the inside, so only the outside edge of the pleat would show from the outside. Time-consuming, but I love the finished effect!!!

Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah

Remembrance Day, Gettysburg

Well, Ladies and Gents!

This week was most auspicious. On November 19th, 1863, President Lincoln spoke a few words (after the main speaker had given a speech of nearly 2 hours, I believe!). His very short address became famous, and one of the weekends near the anniversary of his speech has become a recurring event, with ceremonies, speeches, parades, and, most importantly, balls! (I jest - and yet, I found the balls to be perhaps the funnest - if not the most important - part of the day!).

Though some events happen already on Friday, I was not able to leave home early enough to participate in these (such as Friday night balls, nor much downtown shopping).
Instead, I got to the area quite late, after a dark and rainy (and somewhat foggy) drive. The night clerk and I got to chatting, and she expressed an interest in seeing my ballgown! I promised to stop by the desk the next night on my way in from the ball to show her. :)


The next day, Saturday, November 23rd, 2013 - the year being exactly 150 years after the original event, and thus quite significant - was a full one:
At first a ceremony, then a parade, another ceremony, then the ball!
And what would a post be without pictures?

Friday night: the hotel closet full of ironed and prepped clothes for the next morning!

Saturday morning, early: A sailor, standing outside the hotel. Later, I saw a whole unit of sailors and marines marching in the parade.

Yes, that is Sgt Schulz, from Hogan's Heroes. Odd, but fun - the first reenactor I speak to on Saturday, and he's from the wrong century!

Of course, I got no pictures of the first ceremony - oops! It was at a monument, and included wreath-laying to honor the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic - a union veteran's group), among others. It included a truly phenomenal delivery of the Gettysburg Address by a Lincoln reenactor! On the downside, it was frightfully cold, as a biting wind came shearing across the fields.
LINK: Pictures of the Woolson's Monument Ceremony (I'm in picture #7! A clue: my bonnet has green ribbon ties)

The parade line-up. These are the ladies who graciously allowed me to walk with their group!

The ladies' groups lining up behind us. The parade was quite long!

The parade ended up being quite long. I didn't see all of it, though I watched a bit of what had been behind us, once we got to the end. It was an impressive show!
LINK: A video of the parade. I'm in minute 6:43.

A view of the "Hands Over the Wall" ceremony (100th anniversary).

Mr. Allen Loew, who graciously accompanied me to the ball later on.

Another view of the reenactors lined up for the "Hands Over the Wall"

At the ball!

Another view of the new ballgown (another post to follow, about how I made the dress!)

At the break between dinner and the dance, as they cleared the ballroom of the tables.

And a view of my hairstyle (there were also ringlets coming down from it, but apparently the camera slipped upward - I didn't get a good picture of them!)

And last but not least, me on the floor, dancing in my new dress!

LINK: I show up in photo 120 on this photo website!
All in all, it was a fabulous weekend! The drive home was slow and snowy, but smooth going, and I'm very glad I went. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah

A Ball!

By February 2013 I had gotten my "ball" gown ready enough to wear. I'd been to a few reenactments (Summer 2012 - posts will follow at some point!), and was excited to hear about the Grand Military Ball in Canton, Ohio. (Edited to add: the ball is called the Ohio Regimental Military Ball [SK 2/17/2014])
I didn't get many great pictures (and I'm only posting my own photos on here unless specially noted), but I'll share what I have!

Me in my hotel room before stepping downstairs for the dance.
I did end up adjusting the hoops after the ball, since I noticed that my foot kept hooking the bottom one.

Back view. I made the ribbon hairpiece based loosely on an illustration in Godey's.
My hair was braided and coiled on the back of my head, and covered my ears (as you can see in the previous picture). I also had ringlets coming down the back, but you can't see them because they are obscured by ribbons and lace!

LOTS of people!

With LOTS of pretty dresses!

The dancing was similar to Contra dancing.
We did Reels, and circle dances, and waltzes; we did dances where you switched partners as well as dances where you stayed with one.

Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah