Dear Sis,
I recently posted about William’s new 2 T Civil War Era Frock. Today we completed the matching Bolero style jacket. A jacket is a very economical way to use a frock in both warm and cool weather!
I’ve also been working on my new pleated wrapper. It turned out way to big! I’ll have to resize it to say the least. He is a picture before my seam ripper went to work:)
Love,
b
Dear Sis,
William grew out of his 18 month size frock I made him last summer. To be ready for an event at the end of April we made a size 2T. He picked his own fabric!
I’m planning to make Laughing Moon’s pleated wrapper pattern for myself as a maternity/sizing down dress, so I had pleats on my mind when I searched for an inspiring original on which to base William’s new frock.
1850-55 Dress for a Boy or Girl, MET Collections
I used Elizabeth Clark’s Infant Gown pattern with the unlined “Infant” bodice option, collected into 1/2 inch pleats. I did have to add fabric for four more pleats because the pattern piece wasn’t quite full enough.
The neck and sleeve bands are created with a 1/4 inch rolled hem, whip stitched in place.
The bodice and skirt are attached with a 1 inch waist band that it top stitched at the top and bottom to add security to the pleating of both the skirt and bodice.
The skirt has 2 (30 inch) panels, a 2 inch hem, and 3 (1/2 inch) pin tucks to follow the theme established in the bodice.
I found some passable metal buttons in my button tin that I’ll be adding as a closure along with hand stitched button holes.
Happy Sewing!
Love,
b
Dear Sis,
Tonight we put the finishing touches on my winter look, for the event at the Cincinnati Museum tomorrow. Unfortunately, I had to take my own pictures in the mirror:)
The belt you made me dresses up my simple day dress very nicely!
My paletot doesn’t have buttons yet, but pins will work for tomorrow. The hood you made me looks lovely!!!! I can’t wait to trim the coat when I have more time:)
Love,
b
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.
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
Dear Sis,
We did things a bit backwards. We finished William’s support garment after his gown🙂 Our first event was in the heat of summer, and I didn’t want to add anything unnecessarily hot! Now that autumn is in the air, I’m worrying about William being warm enough.
1860s infant undergarments can be nearly as complex as those for a lady, minus a crinoline. Little people grow so quickly, I can’t justify the labor or the expense of chemise, drawers, corded stays, and petticoats that button to the stays. Luckily, the period presents another solution.
Child’s 19th Century Petticoat ~ Metropolitan Museum of Art
I was even fortunate enough to stumble upon a pattern!
Child’s 19th Century Petticoat Pattern ~ Romantic History Blog
The first page of the pattern details how to use measurements to draft a bodice pattern. The only thing it lacks, is directive on how to come up with a measurement to determine the width for the armscey. With arm up, I measured under William’s arm where an armscey ought to lie. Divide that number in half to get an approximate width to use in conjunction with side length to form an armscey curve.
Although the pattern uses a single layer bodice, with a rolled hem along the neckline and armscey, I decided to fully line the bodice. I was able to have a finished edge on the top of the bodice, which I topstitched. I’m pleased with the affect!
For the skirt, I used two – 30 inch panels just as I did for William’s gown. The petticoat is 1 inch shorter then the gown. The hem is 1 1/2 inches deep with 1/2 inch pressed under.
I decided to use hook & eye tape for the closure instead of buttons. William’s gown has buttons. They are lovely, but add a bit more bulk, which I didn’t want in an undergarment.
Happy Sewing,
b
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.
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.
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:)
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
Dear Sis,
I finally finished the last of the hand sewn button holes today:) William’s gown is done!
He really enjoys wearing it. It was hard to get him back out of it after pictures. He had fun squatting and watching the skirt puff up around him.
I used Elizabeth Clark’s frock pattern for children birth – 2 years. We didn’t bother with period undergarments. We’ll probably only use it twice before he grows out of it anyway!
We used reproduction cotton and pattern options for a smooth bodice, with an open neck, and smooth sleeves. The neck, arms eyes, and waist are all piped. The skirt is controlled with directional knife pleats.
Here is a close up of the sleeve details! The tiny sleeves are my favorite part:)
I had a few period appropriate button styles but these horn buttons were such a perfect color match I used them even though they are an 1/8 inch too large! I was hoping to fit one more button for a more period look, but alas the size made it impossible to get them placed nicely with an additional button.
We are going to an even later this month and have another marked on our September calendar. Hopefully I remember to get some good photos during all the excitement.
Love,
b