Photo Antiquities Museum, Pittsburgh

Another great museum Lindsey and I had an opportunity to visit this weekend is the Photo Antiquities Museum in Pittsburgh. It's only two floors of a row home, but what a collection they have! The diversity of photographic types and equipment from all eras, particularly from daguerreotypes to cabinet cards is impressive. We even got a chance to see a collection from the archives focusing on Civil War Era photography in Lancaster, which is the emphasis of Lindsey and my fledgling collection (I used to buy her CDVs frequently when we were dating...and had some disposable income).

We hope to have an opportunity to contribute to interpretive efforts there in the future, as there are rich resources at the museum with much potential. If you're in Pittsburgh, this is another hour or two well-spent.

(Above Photo: CDV from authors' collection.)

Woodville Plantation

Today, Lindsey and I stopped by Woodville Plantation just south of Pittsburgh, a country/wilderness/frontier mansion owned by John Neville--a man socially comparable to Edward Hand (of Rockford Plantation, Lancaster). That museum also interprets the the late 1700s to early 1800s and boasts a small cadre of costumed docents. (Sorry, no pictures, we forgot our camera.)

Lindsey seemed to be very impressed by the authenticity of the costumes, and it was evident the docents put much time into research for a first-person impression and research on Neville and his house. It's a small-scale operation, but if you're in the area, we recommend you attend one of their events this year.

Yellow Silk Ballgown on Ebay

I just wanted to let you know that I'm selling this Yellow Silk Taffeta Ballgown on Ebay right now. I did not make this beautiful dress. It was purchased on Ebay in 2003 and only worn once. See my Ebay listing for more information if you're interested in owning it!

Simplicity 7216 Hoopskirt

Here is the completed Simplicity 7216 Hoopskirt. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

This is made from a JoAnns Bottomweight Cotton - a nice weight for this project with a tight weave.

I made the larger of the two hoopskirts. I shortened the length by two rows of hooping, so the largest hoop is a little less than 108".

To add a little interest I scalloped the bottom edge of the hoopskirt like I had seen on an original. I cut the scalloped edge by hand and finished the edges using a satin stitch on my sewing machine.

1860 Silk Corset

You may remember my adoration for THIS Gold Silk Corset worn in the movie 'Owl Creek Bridge'. I had long wanted to make a silk 1860s corset - even though my research shows that most 1860s corsets were white. I probably won't wear this one very often. I just think they're so pretty! My original intent was to use royal blue silk, but when that was not available, I decided to use this gold silk that I already had in my stash.

I patterned the corset off of a Beth Miller reproduction corset that I had worn for years. That corset was purchased second hand and since I'm long waisted I had to add quite a bit of length to achieve the correct fit in my reproduction.

Past Patterns #213 Victorian Corset would be an excellent pattern to use to achieve a similar look.

This corset has two layers of cotton coutil (purchased from Needles & Thread in Gettysburg). I also made a white cotton coutil corset, so that has just two layers of coutil - one is the outer fabric and the other is the lining. The silk corset has the silk and outer layer of coutil treated as one piece.

If you're new to corsetry and you'd like to make your own corset, I would recommend attending the Genteel Arts Corset class. A friend of mine attended this class and left with a beautiful reproduction corset.

1860s Green Ballgown

Finally! Some decent photos of my 1860s Green Silk Ballgown. This ballgown was finished in November 2009 for a Remembrance Day Ball in Gettysburg, Pennyslvania.

I drafted the bodice based off of an original. I love the darted evening bodices that are so under-represented in the Living History community.

I designed the dress with lots of yards of clear bugle bead looped beadwork in mind - which I chose to lavishly trim the sleeves with. In retrospect the sleeves remind me of the stereotypical "princess" sleeves worn by Disney's Snow White.

The dress design began with two White, Purple, and Green silk scarves purchased at a Ten Thousand Villages sale. I knew that they would make the perfect Turban style headdress just like one I had seen in a fashion plate.

The triangular ruching on the skirt - green silk taffeta and white silk organza - contains thousands of purple beads hand beaded to it with the clear looped bead trim formed into rosettes at the points. Very time consuming! The skirt is lined in cotton organdy to stabilize the beadwork.

The skirt is box pleated after an original that I had the opportunity to study. The box pleats start out small in the front with one knife pleat on each side and grow in width to be very large at the back with lots of little knife pleats on each side.

18th Century Panniers

Here are my 18th Century Panniers or Pocket Hoops. These were sewn from Ivory Cotton Damask fabric using a pattern that I drafted myself. I used round reed as the hoop boning.

18th Century Stays

Here is one of the pairs of 18th Century Stays that I made last Spring. I used the J.P. Ryan Strapless Stays pattern. I would love to try out her new 18th Century Half Boned Stays Pattern!

This pair of stays was made using Pink Silk with Linen lining. I used both Reed and Metal boning.

I am also wearing my linen shift made using a pattern that I drafted myself.

18th Century Cap

Here are a few detailed pictures of the 18th Century Cap that I made from Cotton Organdy using the J.P. Ryan Dormeuse Cap pattern.

1795-1803 Silk Robe

Pictures of the c1795-1803 reproduction silk robe.