Dear Sis,

You visited for a week under the guise that we would be helping sew new gowns for one another. As moms, we should have known we would spend our time working for our children instead:) In the end, we had two moms pretending to fit into some period garb… I think we hid things nicely, and two lovely kiddos who really did fit into their period apparel. 

Pinafores

Each munchkin got a new pinafore. For kids this young, they work great as bibs. With all the mud and muck at the event Saturday, I ended up leaving William’s in the car, so the only photo I have with him in it is a sewing room pictures:)

1-2-3 Pinafore by Elizabeth Stewart Clark

The hard decision when drafting this pattern was how wide a fabric panel to use. I decided it to match skirt fullness of the garment it would cover, in our case 2 (30 inch) panels. It ended up a few inches narrower because of the limitations the remnant possessed:) 

1-2-3 Pinafore: Girl’s Variation by Elizabeth Stewart Clark

Jamie made two lovely gowns for Evelyn, incase spit up or blow out should reck one. I suggested a pinafore to add another layer of protection. When you offer to make things for other people free of charge they are shockingly agreeable:)

I guessed I would need a half yard of period calico. Evelyn is wearing 3-6 months in modern apparel. I missed the mark. It is not visible from the front, but one of the back skirt panels is pieced together, so the fullness would match the 2 (25 inch) skirt panels in her gowns.

The other regret… waistband circumference. The pattern suggests adding 2 inches to the natural waist measurement for seam allowance & overlap. One inch is consumed by seam allowance, which allows only a 1/2 inch tab on each side for button and button hole.

Solution: add another inch so you will have 1 inch tabs on each side or only put a tab on one side, so it can be 1 inch wide. The side where the button is stitched doesn’t really have to have a tab. You will find hand stitching a button hole much easier with a full inch of space, as you won’t have to work too near the bulk of seam allowance. 

Slat Bonnets in Many Sizes

Simple Slat Bonnet by Elizabeth Stewart Clark

Sizing Suggestions for Infant – Adult

After whipping up three of these, in three sizes, in three days, I discovered:

All the yardage suggestions are idealistic and scant even with non-directional period prints. Hence the color coordinating curtain ties and lining on Jamie’s bonnet, which was purchased at exact suggested yardage. Luckily for the kiddos, I was working with remnant that was more generously portioned. 

The pattern suggests trimming slats if they come too near the ears for the sake of auditory efficiency and comfort. Easier still don’t put slats there at all. The slats are for crown shaping, and don’t need to cover the ears at all. 

The ones for small people whip up so fast even with hand-sewn slat channels:) I had fun making them! As with all sewing patterns they are a nice place to start, because they get me through hours of trail and error, but I always find I need to modify them in some way. Having written patterns myself, I understand that it is easy to overlook a small detail when trying the create written instruction. Having said this, Elizabeth Steward Clarks are still some of the very best period patterns around especially for munchkins:)

A Simple Bolero Style Short Jacket

When it became evident the day before the end that we could expect a day of rain and cool temperature instead of the warm summer weather we have been recently accustomed too, I needed a period way to make William’s short sleeve gown a touch warmer. 

The day before the event, I ran to get another 1/4 yard of fabric to go with the remnant for dress making, did some crash coarse research, and made a pattern, so I could whip up a matching bolero.

I used Elizabeth Stewart Clark’s Infant Gown pattern as a starting point when drafting my bolero pattern. William’s gown used the Natural Waist bodice pattern with the Half-High neckline and the Short Sleeve options. For the bolero, I decided to start with the Natural Waist bodice variation, but use the High neckline and the long sleeve option. 

First, I added an inch and a half to the length, so the bolero would hang just below the natural waistline.

Second, I tackled the biggest hurdle: transitioning form a back closing to a front opening garment. Cutting the back piece on a fold is simple enough, but I had to take out the 2 inches of fabric that is used to face a back closing garment on each side, so that the panel would be the proper proportions as a single piece. 

For the front panels, I did the opposite. I didn’t cut on a fold. I also added a rounded edge to the bottom of the opening and added a bit of fabric at the side seam. I didn’t want to change the armscye, so I added the fabric by making a point to the left of the side seam by one and one half inches on the bottom. Then, using my sewing ruler, I made a diagonal line from the upper point the near the armscye to the new point at the bottom of the side seam. It looks crazy, but it will add just a touch a fullness to ease the garment over a base layer. 

Because this new diagonal line is longer than the original vertically cut side seam the back panel possesses, it is important to match the seam from the bottom edge and cut away the excess fabric in the armscye. 

Other sewing notes: the bolero bodice is fully lined, the armscyes are piped, and a added hand top stitching all around the front opening and bottom edge of the garment for a more period finished look. Add trimming as desired. Time constraint made that impossible and after wearing it to an event without trimming, I’ve grown to like it plain.

Love,

b