Tag: Costume

Fun and Wearable

On By kittycalashIn Clothing, making things2 Comments

I thought I’d solved this! Williamsburg’s jacket and petticoat combination, accession number 1990-10. Here’s why: “East Indian textile, worn in Albany, New York, by Ann Van Rensselaer, ca. 1790, textile earlier in date.”

1790 I can wear at work and at Dress U. That makes it fun and useful, which is always better.

Then I woke up at 2:00AM, with this KCI dress in mind:

That’s a dress style that could be worn with the white Ikea curtain petticoat and kerchief. Now, I’m better at jackets and petticoats than I am at gowns (though isn’t an open robe really just a jacket with a crazy-long skirt?) but I can’t get the KCI gown out of my head. It’s English, too, which makes it plausible, if not as close as the Rensselaer gown. Bonus: have to pattern it up myself, which I enjoy. Just because I’m swearing doesn’t mean I’m not having fun.

I have until March to get something finished. First comes some more standing around in the cold, and sewing for men who want to do farm work.

The Great Curtain-a-Long Kerfluffle

On By kittycalashIn Clothing, History4 Comments

Not to be confused with the Great Benefit Street Curtain Kerfluffle of 2007, in which I averred in a lectured that the wealthy of Providence did, in fact, have not just shutters but also curtains, and was publicly challenged by irate docents. Sometimes I feel the need to remind them that John Brown did not in fact squat naked in a corner of a fireless room gnawing on a joint until Benjamin Franklin appeared with the gift of fire called down from the sky by a kite….why, yes, I do have some docent issues.

Way back in a warm sunny month I bought the Waverly curtains at Lowe’s in the cream color way, though both the black and the red were also tempting. Now the question is, what to make? Not that there aren’t plenty of other projects requiring my attention…but sometimes, you want to do something just because it’s fun.

“Fun” is a concept I have some trouble with. I am much better with work and responsibility and guilt. “Spontaneous” isn’t too bad (how do you think I end up in some of the situations I find myself in?) but simple “fun” can be tricky. So here I am with the spontaneously purchased curtains, and the need for a plan.

The plan has vacillated between “just for fun” dress and a fully documented dress. A “just for fun” dress would not have to be documented to 1770-1780 New England or 1790-1805 Rhode Island. How liberating! French dressing, here I come! Except…where and when would I get to wear my new creation? So I need not just a plan but a cunning plan.

Where to turn? I chose the Met, and here’s what I found.

Dress number 1, 1725-1750, British, embroidered linen. Has the right features (open, robings, cuffs) and the fabric could be plausibly mimicked with the print. Could be worn with a matching petticoat (need another curtain if I do that) or a red flannel petticoat. Would be super amazing with a crewel stomacher if I made myself do that. Could probably be worn to Rev War events if I felt a bit brazen. (She wore curtains at Battle Road?! My dear, the idea!)

Dress number 2, 18th century, French. Printed cotton. Actually a two-piece item, jacket or bodice and petticoat, this is probably 1790-1800. Dates are good for work and other places in Rhode Island. Problem? It’s French, and there’s no evidence that anything like this was worn in the U.S., much less in New England.

Dress number 3, mid-18th century, American, linen and cotton. The bodice closes edge-to-edge, the back is pleated, and the skirts open. Probably 1775-1785, trending later than 1775 judging by the closed front and the longer sleeves and the style of the cuff. Not OK for Rev War events. Just OK for events at work, but not ideal.

Dress number 4, ca. 1780, from the Scottish National Museums. I have been looking in the National Trust Collections online for an image of the gown that appears in Nancy Bradfield’s book (see below), but to no avail. (I do keep falling asleep at night, and while that doesn’t help, it may be that the dress has not been photographed.) The fun part of this dress is that I have some light-weight Ikea curtains to make a petticoat and  kerchief out of. Also, my hair can get into the crazy hedgehog style practically on its own. But I can document this to Rhode Island 1780-1790?

See the dilemma? Maybe the thing to do is to make the fabric into a banyan for Mr S (that would be a little weird to see on a private soldier in von Steuben camp) and think again about the later styles.

Or maybe the thing to do is to lighten up a tiny bit and make a dress that’s just for fun.

Framing a Plan

On By kittycalashIn Clothing, Events, History, Museums, Reenacting2 Comments

cross-posted from A Lively Experiment, all images copyright RIHS.

This coming weekend, I’ll be joining in at the Coggeshall Farm Harvest Fair, along with my co-worker who helped clean the museum 18th-century style. She will be helping with cleaning and laundry and ironing (must remember to pack the lavender and vinegar solution), while I will tackle a quilted petticoat.

At first glance you might think I’ll have the easier weekend, and in some ways, I will, sitting in a parlor with a quilting frame. On the other hand, I booked myself a weekend with worries that have pestered me since we were invited in mid-August. Is the fabric I’ve chosen going to work? Do I know enough about the quilted petticoats in the RIHS collections? What kind of quilting frame is correct? And where did I stash the batting?

Research is always the place to start. I compiled a Pinterest board of quilted petticoats  in other collections to build my visual literacy, and tracked down articles by Lynne Zacek Bassett in PieceWork[i] and in the  Textiles in New England  II: Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife Proceedings[ii].  From the Textiles in New England proceedings, I learned that September is the second-most common month for quilting mentions in diaries for the late 18th and early 19th century in New England (May is the most often mentioned, Octobe is third). This was a relief as I wondered if quilting in September was even appropriate. With that resolved, I was able to move on to aesthetics.

New England and Rhode Island quilted petticoats share some general characteristics: the overall skirt is quilted in a diamond or diaper grid of about 1” square. Below this is a decorative band or border, usually about 12” deep. The top of this is set off from the grid by a cyma curve or wave pattern. Some examples use an undulating feather border, and others have a stylized arc and clam shell border.  The background of the border is stitched in diagonal lines. Sometimes the direction is set from center front, and lines radiate to the left and right, and in other cases the lines radiate to left and right from the center line of each arced segment.

Within the border, floral and animal motifs are quilted. Animals seem prevalent in New England quilts—there is even a mermaid in Connecticut—but none of our quilts have a mermaid. We have sunflowers, pomegranates, and carnations similar in form to the stylized flowers that appear in samplers and embroideries of this time period. Animals include deer, lions, squirrels and a creature that looks like an oryx but may be an elk. Birds are represented as well, peacocks and stylized songbirds as well as an owl, and even what seem to be roosters.

I drew these conclusions not only from reading, but from examining two quilted petticoats in the RIHS Collection, the lighter one made ca. 1745 by Alice Tripp [Casey], accession number 1985.7.1, and the darker one made in 1770 by Anna Waterman [Clapp], accession number 1982.76.3. In the catalog record, the images for 1985.7.1 are incorrect–they are for 1982.76.2, and the confusion testament to cataloging and linking records in a building several blocks from where the petticoats are stored. Now, at least, we can work on correctly them.

The quilted petticoat that I plan to make will use the typical Rhode Island elements. The top portion will be quilted with an overall diamond pattern, while a feather border will set off the bottom band. Within that, I will quilt squirrels, chickens, and probably an owl and a cat, because they are favorite creatures in my household. I’ll also quilt in my initials, just as Anna Waterman did in her quilt.

You can join us at Coggeshall Farm Museum this weekend, September 15 & 16, starting at 10 each day, and see RIHS staff members in action! We think it will be a good warm up for What Cheer! Day, coming to the RIHS on Saturday, October 13.

[i] “Sarah Halsey’s Mermaid Petticoat.” PieceWork. January/February 2003

[ii] ‘..a dull business alone’: Cooperative Quilting in New England, 1750-1850.” Textiles in New England II: Four Centuries of Material Life, The Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife Annual Proceedings 1999. Boston University Press, 2001.

Into the Breech(es)

On By kittycalashIn Clothing, making things, Reenacting1 Comment

Not me, but Mr. S. I finished the last of 20 or so button holes on waistcoat and breeches, and got him to agree to get dressed and be photographed. He chose the rake, as he likes 18th century work. He hopes to  join in as a volunteer laborer at Coggeshall Farm this coming weekend, and these are his clothes.

The shirt, which he has had for a year, is from the Kannik’s Korner pattern, made in a blue and white check linen purchased from Wm Booth Draper. There was a check shirt in the clothing inventory of a 2nd RI soldier who died at the Battle of Monmouth, and this small blue and white check is found throughout New England at this time in shirts and aprons. The neck handkerchief is from Time Travel Textiles. He has another one in blue that he likes to wear with his uniform on hot days.

The waistcoat is adapted from a BAR pattern I got from the captain. The wool is a Wm Booth Draper remnant that was not enough to make a jacket for me. It just made the waistcoat for him, and is lined in a striped linen from Jo Ann fabrics that was lurking in the stash. The breeches are made from the Mill Farm pattern, which doesn’t have diagrams but has well-written instructions. I finally got pockets to work using that pattern the first time out! The fabric is a linen-cotton blend from a remnant table at the local mill store. The waistband is lined with a utility linen from Wm Booth Draper, as there was not enough for the waistband…because these started out as overalls. They became a hot mess because Mr. S has large, single-speed-bike up Providence Hills calves. Henry Cooke got a look at the man in shorts a few weeks ago, but still thinks he can fit them. I say, it will take Mr. Cooke’s skill. At least Burnley & Trowbridge stockings fit over them.

The last photo shows him at Redcoats & Rebels this year, striding across the common to join the 10th Massachusetts. Here as above, the shoes are Robert Land’s Williamsburg shoes, and the buckles are from G Gedney Godwin. I went with plainer buckles with rounded corners because that was called for by the uniform specifications in the Continental Army, so that the buckles would not wear through the tongues of the uniform overalls. Shoes & buckles were Mr S’s Christmas gifts. The tan waistcoat was supposed to be as well, but the buttonholes got the better of me. Once I get past the first two, they’re OK, but at the start of the buttonholes for a man’s waistcoat or breeches, I have a kind of Kubler-Ross reaction: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

I’m so glad he likes reenacting. Buttonholes aside, it’s been a great learning experience sewing for him. Onward to a regimental, and to this: No farmer’s smock for him, thank you. Next year, his laborer intends to be well-dressed. At least with those big buttons, there won’t be that many button holes…though I bet the total area of button hole sewing is the same!