1770's Woman's Bedgown

The pattern for this piece is by Kannik's Korner and comes with a wealth of historical documentation. One note states that a bedgown is a "kind of short clothing which the women wear to the bed, and which they keep in the morning in the fashion of 'deshabillé' [undress]." (Originally from "Supplément a L'Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers" by Denis Diderot et al, 1777.)I used a 100% cotton that is a woven navy blue and tan plaid. Here is the front; I used braided pieces of wool yard to make the ties at the front. The one is unlined, unlike the original pattern. It's too hot to be wearing multiple layers of lined garments outdoors all day. I will be making a second one that is lined to wear when it gets colder.
The back view showing the long pleat down the back. (Sorry for the picture quality. This was the best I could get.)Here is the pleating on the sleeves.I tried one of the suggested variations which was to create "pocket slits" in the side pleats to allow access to one's pockets through the bedgown. I have to say I'm glad I did. I recommend this pattern to anyone who wants a bedgown. The instructions were clear and well written, and also full of interesting history. I will say that I was unprepared for the shear size of the main pattern piece. Once I stared at it for a bit I was able to figure out how to work with it. A much larger table to cut and pin on would have been useful.

If you look closely there are no shoulder seams on this piece. It was sewn from two pieces (left side and right side) and then the sleeve extensions and arm gussets were added. This means the main body pattern had to be cut twice, once per side.

There are instructions for using 58"-60" wide fabric and cuting once on the fold. I'm going to try that if I can find something I like in that width.

Oh yeah, I have to say that this is quite comfortable to wear. I prefer it to my friend's red one that I wore to other events only because her red one is made from a heavy cotton and lined with flannel.Nobody took pictures Saturday, so I have to wait for things to calm down enough around here to have FH take some of it being worn. That may not happen until after we get back from St.Louis.

Not Dead Yet!

I'm here, I swear!

Yards upon yards of fabric have claimed me for the duration since FH and I need our own clothes for Rendezvous.

First came sporting through forty yards of linen. This is how it arrived:
Twenty yards of this roll is a lighter weight linen (5.3 ounces, for those interested) and will be used for chemises and shirts. The other twenty yards is an even heavier weight (7.1 oz) and will be used to make outerwear. All of this linen has been bleached, which means the outerwear garments will have to be dyed before they are finished.

In case folks are interested linen must be washed with detergent in hot water (no fabric softener!) to remove the formaldehyde that is in the fabric from the fiber being processed. This also serves to pre-shrink the fabric before you sew with it. Then if you sew the garments with 100% cotton or linen thread you can dye the entire finished piece and the threads will stay unseen since they will match. This cannot be done if you use polyester thread.

I haven't started sewing with the linen yet. I'm working with the cottons I have first. There will eventually be pictures. There will also be pictures of the dying process whenever that gets underway.

Then came working on non-linen garments after the patterns I ordered arrived. As you can see I'm sewing by hand for most of each piece.

This section is the side opening in a petticoat (1770's style) to allow access to a pocket.


If you're wondering why there is a white-ish blob on the point of the 'V,' I sewed a bar tack to reinforce the seam so it wouldn't want to pull apart. I'm using cotton thread for the stitching.

For this petticoat I still need to sew the waistband in place and then I can start hemming it.

Here I'm closing the waistband on an apron. The front panel is pleated, so I cheated a bit and used the sewing machine to initially attach the waistband to the panel.
When done right, the machine stitched section isn't visible... and neither is my hand stitching.
Right now I'm attaching the ties for the apron and then I will attach the top panel. These aprons are "pinner style"(also 1770's) meaning the top section is actually pinned to your clothing. When not doing something really messy, you can un-pin the top and fold it down out of the way.

Next up are shirts for FH and a friend and bed gowns for myself and another friend. We're trading sewn garments and leather goods for an unlimitted supply of homemade soaps that these friends make. ;-)

When I get a chance, I will take pictures of the pattern envelopes. Obviously I will take pictures of the finished clothes too.

Catch you later!

Sewing for FH

Here are some of the long awaited pictures of the sewing projects that booting the trading post off the kitchen table.

First is one of the modified shirts for FH to wear. The buttons and pocket were cut off and the front sewn shut. I did one for LittleD too, but he was really good at hiding this weekend. I still have a shirt for each of them left to modify. The head scarf is a square of fabric 1 yard x 1 yard. Right now it's machine basted in place. I fully intended to sew the hems by hand at the Rendezvous, but he needed it thanks to the sun. I'll get another one started soon too.

Here's the first bag I made for FH. It fits his mallet and other long tools for leather projects. The green fabric is wool from a coat I found at Goodwill for $0.50 and cut up. Gotta love summer dealts on winter items!
Anyone care to hazard a guess as to what this is?
Ta da! It's a place to keep leather tools organized!
I made the pattern up the other day and literally sewed the pockets in place with a tool in them for spacing. I was in a hurry and couldn't get to my craft room for green thread, so the ends are sewn closed with the natural I was using on the bag itself. I still need to get something on the back to tie the bag closed when it's rolled up.

That's all for now. I need more canvas before I can do any more bags. I have fabric for a shirt and a long-sleeved waistcoat for FH but I don't have the patterns yet. I do have fabric for an apron of my own and a new petticoat. My friend, Donna, has the patterns and the plan is to cut them out next week.

I'm going to get back to minis for a while. I was sick of sewing before I started. ;-)

Oh before I forget, I bought FH a present from a trader at the 'Vous:
The horn is transparent enough that when he puts powder inside, we'll be able to see it! I thought it was the coolest thing ever! :-)

A Blog with No Pictures...

...is like a pub with no beer. :-(

I ordered a new cable for the camera. It will be in here in "7-10 working days."

Of course that doesn't help the fact that I have great pictures from the weekend and pictures of the sewing projects sitting on the memory card.

I altered two shirts from the guys on Friday and finished the details by hand on Saturday. FH now has two nice bags to keep all his leather tools in.

FH has been working on a leather bottle cover for Baby Anna's bottles. It's so pretty. By the time the camera cable is here, he should be finished with it. He's also working on a couple of belt pouches.

I have some material for a new petticoat and apron for myself, covers for cushions that I already have but don't look period appropriate, and for long sleeved waistcoats for FH and another friend. Sometime next week I will go to my friend Donna's house and cut out the pieces for my stuff. I'm not sure if she has a long sleeved waistcoat pattern or not.

I need to do some actual shirts for FH and a couple of the other guys. FH and I are using our skills to make things in trade with some of the other people in the group. We're all poor, but many of the younger people in the group have skills to trade upon.

One couple makes soap. Really nice soap. I'm going to do some sewing for them and they're going to keep us in soap for a long time. :-)

Another guy carves spoons and spatulas. He needs some leather stuff and some shirts.

All in all we're going to be busily making things for a while. I'm hoping to have some things done for trade by the 3rd weekend in August. That's the next Rendezvous we're going to. But this means I can get back to the mini-ing again and not be rushed with the sewing. :-)

A Mini!

I did work on a mini yesterday before I packed the trading post into the office so I could use the kitchen table for sewing. I made Petunia "sassy!"


I think she looks pretty good in her bling-covered collar.

Now I just have to get through the bag sewing and shirt altering so I can get back to minis.

When I say I'm altering shirts, that's what I mean. We bought some cheap shirts that are over-sized and in colors that work from Goodwill yesterday. I've been taking off buttons and pockets today. Next will be to sew closed the fronts and shorten the cuffs. Then I'll put on either bone or wooded buttons with loop catches. Pics once I actually get somewhere with them! ;-)

Costuming Men for the 1770's to 1860's in America

Sans asked why we weren't in costume over the weekend, but we in fact were. FH whinges about his face being seen on the internet, so I've blacked it out to make him happy... but I digress.

This blurb is a bit like Pulp Fiction, the film. I'm starting in the middle (1820's), will move to the end, and then hop back to the beginning. Also let me just say that I will end up leaving things out as I don't have an entire semester's worth of time with three hours a week of lecture time available for me to give information. But it's out there if folks are interested in reading more.

In a Rendezvous camp setting, we are depicting a fur trading camp in the time frame of 1770 to 1860. We stop at the Civil War (War of Northern Aggression, War Between the States, etc..) because generally the only activity for female reenactors is the role of "camp follower." I'm certain you can figure out what that means. Needless to say it's not very flattering for most women and while wouldn't mind portraying it for a historical documentary once in a while, we don't want to be in that role constantly.

Now the time frame gives us about 100 years of garment history to "play in" and it also gives us melding of several cultures and their clothing styles. In the picture below FH is wearing a Cherokee Ribbon Shirt without ornamentation. The ribbons are quite handsome, but not very practical for everyday wear when you're hunting, chopping wood, etc. The fabric is a lightweight cotton, which fits for the 1820's and 1830's. If you look closely the color is a faded green and white, and is a simple checkerboard pattern. Commercial weavers in Europe were already producing checked and plaid patterns by this time.

Keep in mind that shirts during this time were considered underwear. But when you're on the frontier and your waistcoat falls apart, not to mention kept getting in the way, you don't replace it easily. And some men ceased caring about them altogether given that they were living and trading with Native Americans on the frontier.

[Side note, the Cherokee and other tribes in southeast had adopted European customs and modes of dress. There was a good deal of melting pot action going on... until the American government started playing dirty.]

His belt is typical of the time: wide and buckled to the side. It's actually his kilt belt, but it serves for this nicely. He made the knife in his belt years ago but only just threw together a sheath for it over the weekend. He's going to add a loop to the sheath so it can slide onto the belt. He's also lacking a belt pouch still. FH really needs to dig out the leather tools and get moving. ;-)

The strip of cloth looped around the belt is very important. It's a strip of "patch," thin linen or in this case cotton fabric that is used to load the firearms. When you load a muzzle loading firearm, the little chant you say over and over until you can do it without thinking is "powder, patch, and ball." The fabric actually gets loading into the barrel as part of the shot. It's kept in a strip about an inch wide and tied to the belt. When you need a strip, the hunter sets the butt of his firearm on the ground, loads his powder, than sets the strip over the barrel and cuts about an inch off the length while setting the ball in place. This keeps tiny bits of fabric from flying thither and yon.

He pants aren't precisely period in this picture. There was denim fabric then and it was being made into pant. But the pants would not have pockets. That's why his shirt is long. It covers the pockets nicely. I have to make him some pants soon, but for now this works.

Longer pants were being worn in the 1820's, especially along the "frontier" in western Virgina and Kentucky. The handsome knee length trews with extremely tall stockings didn't work well in "uncivilized" parts. They were easily torn and didn't protect well from certain natural elements... like brambles and thorns. If I had thought quicker, he would have gartered his pants at the knee with strips of leather. I will be getting some small buckles in the near future to make him "proper" garters... at least from a "white man's" view of proper. Native men just tied leather strips at their knees to hold leggings in place. And speaking of leggings...

Another option was sometimes adopted from various Native American tribes. The breechcloth and leggings combination.
If you click on the picture to make it larger you can see the leather legging detail. The breechcloth is designed to cover one's privates and behind, while the leather protects your legs. Mr. Aday is wearing an apron panel, which is beautifully decorated in the front. However I don't have a picture of his front. FH took these. There was no way on this Green Earth I was walking to the rifle range in a skirt. Remember what I said about brambles and thorns? Yeah.

Foot wear depended heavily on what you could afford, what was available, and if you had to make it yourself. Back east there were more cobblers and if you could afford boots, you could get them. On the frontier once your boots worn out, you might switch to moccasins. The style of moccasin varied by region.

As time progressed through the 1840's to the 1860's there was a westward migration of white Americans. As "civilization" became easier to reach so did fashion. Actual boots were easier to get, as were wool trousers and fancier clothes, like proper frock coats. The styles from Europe from that time were adopted here, albeit slower. It did take time to bring the latest fashions over the water.

Jumping back in time to the American Colonial and Revolutionary periods, we see men's fashion still similar in the frontier areas. The example here is a painting depicting the capture of Quebec's governor, Henry Hamilton by George Roger Clark. The military uniforms of the time versus frontier clothing make an interesting contrast. Do you see the different hat styles too? Oh the coat that Clark is wearing is called a hunting frock and was worn up through the Mexican-American War. It's a variation of the typical frock coat of the time. But it's sturdier and made so ice and rain don't hinder your movements.

Mainstream clothing in the colonies (places near actual cities) are what most people think of when pondering this period. If you look here and here you can see some great photos that I don't have the rights to, but illustrate men's fashion nicely.

I think that's about all I have the time to blog about. I really need to actually get going with the sewing or else I will never get done.

If anyone is interested, click the following links to see some more clothes.

Jas. Townsend and Son, Inc
NativeLanguages.org section on clothing
Crazy Crow Trading Post

Oh and one more thing, when FH has to dress nicely in period he will eventually have an outfit that looks like this:
But there's no way I'm letting him run through the woods with embers from muzzle loaders flying around and tearing my hand sewn work on brambles. No way, no how. These will be for indoor and formal occasions. The rest of the time he gets to run around like the Cherokee-Scott-Irish man he is... leather, canvas, and cotton. ;-)