Dear Sis,

William and I are planning to attend an event later this month, so we need outerwear for our 1860s impression. I figured I’d start with the smallest of the two projects. It turned out better than anticipated, because I didn’t really like the fabric I had on hand, but wasn’t willing to spring for something new. I like the fabric much better now!

Finding period information was harder than I imagined, so I’m compiling it carefully for the benefit of others and later use. 

Infant Sacque Coat Pattern and Child’s Palette: 1860-1861 from A Day in 1862

Child’s 1860s Coat in White Wool in Colonial Williamsburg’s Collection

Cotton Child’s Coat 1860-69 from MET collections

Child’s 1865 Silk Dress and Coat Ensemble from Colonial Williamsburg’s Collection

Child’s 1860s Coat of Wool and Lined in Silk from MET collection

Lastly, Elizabeth Clark has a few articles on the topic which discuss period materials and layering: Cold Weather Clothing for Infants and Cold Weather Clothing for Children.

William’s 1860s Coat & Hood

The outer fabric is a Wool Twill of medium weight. It is lined in cotton flannel. The closure is 3 – 1/2 inch shank brass buttons. We made a matching hood by modifying our slat bonnet pattern, which will be discussed in more detail below.

I used Elizabeth Clark’s Slat bonnet pattern, sized 1-3 years. This wool hood to fully lined with cotton flannel to avoid irritating delicate young skin. There is 5 1/2 inch wide section of cotton batting in the crown in place of card stock slats. It is basted into the lining fabric, 2 inches from the front edge. The crown is folded back two inches to create contract and widen the field of view. William has a tendency to walk into things when wearing his slat bonnet. Peripheral vision is nice:) I placed the curtain ties and utility ties just as I would with a slatted bonnet. 

I modified Elizabeth Clark’s Infant Gown pattern back in the fall to create a Bolero Style Short Jacket to make our short sleeved frock usable. I used the short jacket pattern to create the coat pattern.

Adding Length and Hemline Width to the pattern: I added 10 inches from the armscye down to create length for a coat. I also added width by making the bottom of the coat 2 inches wider, by marking a diagonal line from the armscye to a point 10 inches below and 2 inches wider than the armscye point. I did this on both the front and back pieces. The result is a coat 8 inches wider at the hem than the chest, allowing fullness for skirts.

Our Bolero Style Short Jacket has no closure, and has roughly a 2 inch opening at the chest. To create a coat that closed with proper overlap for buttons, I added 2 inches to the center front of the front panels, allowing for a two inch overlap, which is space for either single or double breasted closure. We used only three buttons on our single breasted closure, to allow the center to drape nicely over skirt fullness.

The lining is full in both the front and back panels, but no lining is used in the sleeves. Also the sleeves are cut on a fold, but 1/2 inch away from the fold for ease.

Now I need to make a coat for myself!

Love,

b