1770s Silk Dress

My mother has been very busy constructing costumes this fall! On Saturday afternoon she wore this costume to a Christmas homes tour in historic Strasburg, PA. She was asked to dress in costume and be part of the tour for a 1770s home. (The photos you see here were taken in my mother's home)

The dress is made of striped silk taffeta from the J.P. Ryan Polonaise pattern. The cap is made from the J.P. Ryan Dormeuse Cap pattern from white cotton organdy. The trim is box pleated silk taffeta with white lace around the neckline and at the elbows.

Since I've been so busy with school these past few months, I have to live vicariously through her. ;)

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.

18th C. Fashion Show

This is my mother, Nancy, in her 18th Century silk Pet en lair. Notice the silk hat that I just finished for her. :)

Pictures from the Fashion Show

Mom in the Silk Stays that I made her, showing her pocket hoops.

Mom putting the skirt on while Rosie wears her stays and petticoat.

Finished 18th Century Attire

18th Century Attire

My revamped 18th century attire was finished just in time for the Revolutionary War reenactment I attended this past weekend. Quite a few changes were made. The Pink Linen Skirt was lengthened (I dislike short skirts!). The Printed Cotton Jacket was taken apart in almost every spot and remade. I made it slightly larger so the stomacher could close tighter, added the slashes at the front of the jacket, and also at the center back point, lengthened the stomacher, and added eyelet holes to lace the front. And I found some pale pink ribbon at JoAnns to replace the bright pink ribbon (thanks for the advice!).

The Cap is made of Cotton Organdy from the JPRyan pattern.



I made a hip/bum roll of striped cotton to support the skirts. I like the shape it added.

Finished 18th Century Hat

The 18th Century Hat is Finished!
This hat took much longer than I had expected! But I think it's rather pretty finished. The straw hat was covered in green silk pleated to fit on top and bottom. It was rather easy to do, just very time consuming. Sheer ribbon was box pleated and sewn around the base of the crown and along the edge of the hat. I think it added a nice touch. I like to keep my creations 'light'. The same ribbon was sewn on under the hat for ties. My mother will be wearing the hat this weekend for a fashion show, so I'll be sure to take more pictures of it then.

A view from above.

The underside of the hat.

18th Century Silk Hat

Today I'm working on making an 18th century silk hat for my mother to wear this upcoming weekend in a fashion show. She'll be portraying an upperclass lady, so I thought she'd need a pretty silk hat to wear with her Pet en lair and skirt.

During the 18th century straw hats were often covered in silk and trimmed. This hat form is just lovely - I almost hated to cover it! It was purchased from Colonial Williamsburg. The Silly Sisters also sell nice straw hat forms.

I've been following the directions on the Koshka-the-Cat website.

18th Century Jacket Lacing?

So what do you think?

Here's a detail shot of the Revolutionary War era jacket with lacing. Is this pink ribbon too bright? It's really difficult to find pink ribbon that will match the skirt. This ribbon is a little brighter than the skirt, and I'm not sure a pink quite that bright would be authentic. Maybe I should have looked for lilac colored ribbon instead. What do you think?

The 18th Century Bedgown

The 18th Century Bedgown

As I prepare my notes for an upcoming speaking engagement, I find myself researching 18th Century Bedgowns. I thought you might be interested in sharing in the information that my research has provided.

Chardin Painting of a Woman working in her Bedgown.

Bedgowns could be worn as undress wear or by the lower to middle class for work and daily activities, as pictured here.


An Original Bedgown in the collection of Colonial Williamsburg

Original Patterning Instructions for an 18th Century Bedgown

The Bedgown is a simple jacket that could be worn as a working woman's everyday garment or by non-working women as an undress garment. Diderot describes bedgowns as a "kind of short clothing which the women wear the bed, and which they keep in the morning in the fashion of undress." This is the description of an upper class woman's bedgown. He also describes them as made of "cotton cloth more or less fine, of plain or embroidered muslin or other similar material." They could also be made of quilted silk or linen. The bedgown is a loose, unfitted garment, with the sleeves cut in one piece with the body of the garment - there is no shoulder seam. The bedgown falls below the hip in length.


Reproducing an 18th Century Bedgown:

Several Patterns are available for the authentic reproduction of 18th century bedgowns.

The Kannik's Korner Bedgown pattern provides historical documentation notes and excellent directions for constructing an authentic bedgown. The lines of this pattern are especially pretty with pleated fullness at the sides and back.
www.KanniksKorner.com

J.P. Ryan also offers an excellent pattern. I have used several of her patterns before and was always very happy with the directions and the quality of the patterns.
www.JPRyan.com


Mill Farm Patterns offers this pattern for a European Bedgown. The sides of this bedgown slope out to add fullness rather than having the pleated sections like the Kannik's Korner pattern.
Available from Burnley & Trowbridge or Wm. Booth Draper.

18th Century Reenactment

::: Fort Roberdeau Reenactment :::
July 2009

Today my friend Rosie and I attended a small reenactment at Fort Roberdeau in Altoona, PA. We're just getting started in Revolutionary War Reenacting with the German Regiment of the Continental Line.

Rosie borrowed her outfit from Allison Lavens. Allison is a wealth of knowledge on clothing of the 18th century, especially the clothing of a camp follower. You can listen to a presentation by Allison on 18th Century Clothing HERE.

My Costume was started and completed the night before the event. I had another outfit, but this fabric was dying to be made up into a cute little jacket, so I gave in! The skirt is made of pink linen - a vintage tablecloth! The jacket is based off of a jacket in the Colonial Williamsburg Collection featured in the book 'Costume Close-Up'. The jacket is made of a reproduction print cotton. The Straw Hat is from Colonial Williamsburg, but similar hats can be found at www.SillySisters.com. The Shoes are from Fugawee.

And, to add a little excitement to your 18th Century Clothing Research...Here are two links definitely worth checking out!

Patterns Drafted From Originals

18th Century Clothing on Display

Finished Stays

The Green Linen Stays are Completed!

The top fabric is a Green Linen and the lining a Black and White Striped Linen. There is one layer of Canvas. The channels were sewn to the Green Linen and Canvas by machine and the reed and metal stays inserted. The eyelet holes were then sewn by hand using an awl. It really was easier than you would expect. The Lining was then pinned and tacked in place, and the 3/4" Ivory Leather Strips (Cut from a thrifted skirt) were sewn by hand around the edges. This was the hardest part. I found it difficult to get the leather to lie flat without puckering. I thought the leather was light enough because it was a garment weight leather, but maybe a kid leather would have been slightly more easy to sew with. This last step definitely requires the use of a thimble. ;)

More info on the stays in my earlier post about sewing them!
HERE

Stays Projects

Stays!

Currently I am sewing 4 pairs of Revolutionary War era stays using the J.P. Ryan Stays Pattern. I will make a stays pattern similar to these based on an original from the Colonial Williamsburg collection to use when I reproduce stays to sell. These four pairs of stays have been cut out and ready to sew for some time, so I decided to finally finish them.

Pink Silk Stays Interior

These have been Boned with Half Oval Reed. I still need to sew Eyelets, Apply the Ivory Linen Lining, and Bind the Edges. I think I'll use the same Pink Silk for the binding.


Making stays is much easier than it looks. Sewing the channels is simple once you figure out how wide they need to be. Adding the Reed boning is time consuming but not difficult.

Green Silk Damask Stays

These are for my mother to wear under her silk J.P. Ryan Pet en lair.

Blue Cotton Stays

These are for my mother to wear when she does Open Hearth Cooking.

Green Linen Stays

This fabric was from the Silly Sisters Stays Kit, which I would highly recommend. The Linen fabrics were top quality and for a beginner it's an excellent place to start. The Half Oval Reed was included in the kit. Metal boning needed to be purchased separately from Farthingales.

What Color should I bind these Green Linen Stays in?

These stays were boned with Half Oval Reed. This was my first time using reed in stays and so far I have been very satisfied with the results. It was easy to slip in the channels and trim. On a past pair of Stays I used Plastic Cable Ties and plan to use them again for the Green Silk Damask stays. It seemed that the Reed was far less expensive than the Cable Ties and I remember having more difficulty getting the Cable Ties into the channels. I used two Cable Ties per channel. I was happy with the results, but as the Reed seems less expensive and easier to handle I will likely use that in the future.