Dear Sis,
Thanks for joining us for a fun filled weekend! Three long weeks of sewing had adorable results at Heritage Village’s Holly Days event at Sharonwoods MetroPark.
Sunday, we were to busy giving the kids haircuts and taking blog photos to take any photos of the kids playing together, but we made up for it by taking loads of pictures Monday morning while the kids played at Jump n Jack’s.
These guys are really becoming buddies!
See you in a few weeks for Grant’s 2nd Birthday Party!
Love,
b
Dear Sis,
We have period caroling on the calendar in just a few weeks time. Poor Charlotte has absolutely nothing to wear! We started for the bottom up with a pettichemise.
A pattern for a basic pettichemise or body can be found here. In the photo above, I was marking where to place the hook and eye tape for the back bodice closure and pinning the one inch twill tape straps in place. Twill tape is a time saving hack. I was trying to complete the body in a single night… and did:) Note all the tucks, they are not purely decorative! They help maintain volume in the skirts!!!
I was planning to make a wool petticoat to go with this pettichemise, but they fabric was not 100% wool as advertised and thus I need to order different materials at another time.
I started Charlotte’s dress without a clear plan of what I wanted it to look like. My fabric selection was some tropical weight dark gray wool, with a very nice hand, that was gifted to me years ago, and some teal undershot brown silk taffeta from a botched sash attempt from over a decade ago. I also was operating with the knowledge that Charlotte’s sensitive skin had to be fully removed from direct contact with the wool itself. Thus, I decided to line the wool with the silk. The uncut portion of silk that remained was small, so I narrowed the sleeves to accommodate what little materials I did have, and then opened the upper seams in a decorative way, so they wouldn’t appear too narrow for the period. After I opened the sleeves, I decided I needed more teal peaking out of the dark wool on the bodice and cut the tear shaped eyelets and secured them with button hole stitching.
After, completing the bodice I decided I wanted to trim the skirt edge in more teal silk. Since my plans for a wool petticoat were thawed, I decided to make a double layer skirt to compensate. Upon completion of the dress, I realized that it needed a bigger splash of teal and I still had the sash itself to cut into. I was able to refashion it nicely using this period fashion plate for inspiration.
I’ve included photos of the finish dress both on the wiggling two-year-old and off.
Pardon to poor evening lighting… and the blur of a child in constant motion:)
Charlotte enjoys here new dress very much. She and William call it her “princess dress.”
See you love!
Love,
b
See more Children’s Wear in our Historical Closet
The third times a charm right? Well, maybe? This is the third coat I have made, and I am keeping this one!!! Because, I’m not making another one lol. But, boy did I make the neckline too low. Why am I sooo good at messing up necklines? It is my special talent!
I really do like this jacket though. I combined both of trim ideas from my two previous coats, and I think it looks way better that way. The bow on the back is just so cute!
The trims did take a long time. They are rayon stoutche braid, rayon velvet, and many many tiny french knots from silk yarn. And the bow took about a day to make. I had to hand sew the velvet to both sides of the tail, just so it can flip in the breeze and still look good.
The original braid work came from a Godey’s 1863 fashion plate. You can see a post on the first jacket I made with this trim here.
And I did add pockets to this jacket! They are hidden in the first side seams.
I am really looking forward to finishing the look of this coat with some hand knitted accessories and taking some winter pictures.
I want to make the Opera hood in a soft gray with some white down feathers, a pair of matching long gloves. I feel that would soften and not clash with the boldness of the blue jacket.
I also have a super exciting trim idea for my burgundy wool dress. More to hopefully come on that in the future!
Dear Sis,
It’s been a while since we have been to the pioneer village at Caesar’s Creek State Park. There was a lot of change in the few years we’ve been away! Although, we didn’t get many pictures of the children, we finally got some really nice pictures of our dresses. We even saw our long lost friend Dana, in her “one good dress!”
Photo compliments of Jenn’s husband, Brandon.
I love this photo you took of me cuddling Charlotte!
The dying of your dress to amend the bleeding hem tape turned out perfectly! It’s like it never happened… except for the trauma:) Photo compliments of Jenn.
Jenn and I finally have a photo together as well. We were photo bombed by Charlotte and daddy’s don’t always get the full dress, but it’s still a nice picture:)
This picture of Charlotte giving Cooper stink face is priceless! Had to include it too!!!
Love,
b
Dear Sis,
Today we spent the morning at Heritage Village. We were extras in a silent film production for their Halloween event. Apparently, it can be tricky to find a family with a period wardrobe ready to go on a two weeks notice:)
Thank You Sis!!! Without all your lovely work on my summer shear, it wouldn’t have been possible!
This picture is compliments of Sandi from our Civil War ladies group.
Love,
b
Dear Sis,
This was William’s very first event… some years ago. It’s such a wonderful family friendly event held at Battery Hooper Park and hosted by the James A. Ramage Civil War Museum!
This year Mama Jenn and her family were able to join the fun. It was nice to see all their costumes come to life after a full month of sewing:)
Charlotte, Cooper, and Evelyn
Mama Jenn, Carter, and William
Brandy, Charlotte, Evelyn, William, Grant (behind William), and Jamie
Wrapping Bandages at the Field Hospital
William and Charlotte
Evelyn, Jamie, and Grant
Brandy, William, and Charlotte
It’s wonderful to finally have sheer dresses for summer impressions! Thanks for all your help sis!!!
Love,
b
This weekend, we attended a local event. I had no idea we had such a nice site close to home. Century village is in Geauga County, and is about 30 minutes away from our home. So, it was a nice easy ride for a day activity with the kiddos.
They usually host the event on memorial weekend, but with covid they rescheduled to August. The site is very nice, they have a general store, apothecary, school, church, railroad station, blacksmith, dressmaker shop, and even more. I really wanted to spend some time looking around, but with the kids constant snacking we mostly walked outside. You don’t want to drag food into old buildings.
My friend Pamela had mentioned some interest in attending an event. So, she dressed up with us. Thankfully, a wrapper is pretty much a one size fits all, so all I had to do was change the hem. The downfall, is that is a pretty hot dress to wear. So, I starched the heck out of a corded petticoat for her. It didn’t keep her as cool as a hoop, or a sheer dress, but it was the best I had. Everyone seemed to have a nice time.
I ran into some other friends. Debbie and her daughter Beth. And we stopped at their tent for awhile while the kids played and mooched snacks.
Dear Sis,
Carter is four and a half like William, so there was a discussion about whether we should fully breech his impression or not. Carter was excited to try a frocked outfit.
During the period boys wore frocks just like girls from infancy until sometime between the ages of two and five. Generally, the lower class breeched sooner and the upper class look their sweet old time:) Very masculine frock, skirt/jacket, and even combination tunic/breeched styles existed. I was inspired by this period original.
Frock with Coordinating Trousers
Cut and Trim Inspiration
The Frock:
I used Elizabeth Stewart Clark’s Andrew Tunic pattern as my baseline for construction with the options for a close fitting neckline and a loose short sleeve. The closure is in the back and uses hidden hook and eye tape. The neckline and armscyes are piped. I added a two inch waistband because, which is on the wide-side, but necessary for my trimming plans.
Trimming the Bodice:
I used 1/2 inch velvet trim and a row of polished wood shank buttons. I trimmed the skirt to match.
I haven’t started the coordinating trousers yet, but this is enough for the Battery Hooper event we will be attending soon!
Love,
b