Hoopskirts

My latest project was a period scarf or comforter.  This very easy scarf is shaped to be narrower around the neck and wider where it crosses on the chest.  Both the shaping and shorter length make it a scarf to be worn inside the coat.   I had already made my husband a scarf, but thought he might also like one in a light weight that would be more shapeable. After I completed it, I realized this scarf would fulfill the requirements for the Historical Sew Fortnightly   Challenge  Generosity & Gratitude.  The challenge was  "about celebrating the generosity of spirit and willingness to help others that makes the historical sewing community great, and giving credit and thanks to those who have contributed to our collective knowledge without expecting payment in return."  Scanned on-line books are such an incredible resource to anyone involved in recreating historical items! These references take us from vague imaginings cobbled together from...

I decided I needed a lady's nightcap.  Not a fancy ornamental day cap, but a practical one that could stand washing, ironing, and wearing.  My criteria were that it be historically accurate,  that it would cover my ears and keep me warm, and that it not twist around or fall off while I was sleeping.  I sleep cold; when we camp out at a reenactment, I will wear a knit cap to sleep during the cold weather.  At the end of March we are going to participate in an immersion event, which is where everything must be as accurate as possible at all times, 24/7 (or in this case, 24/3).  We will be staying in an antique log cabin, so there is no heating other than the fireplace.  It's been a cold, windy winter with an over abundance of snow, so I wanted to make sure I stayed warm at night. In July 1859, Peterson's Magazine  (akin to Good Housekeeping or Better Homes and Gardens ) published a pattern for a lady's nightcap.  A number of reenactor...

Leimomi Oakes, whose blog is The Dreamstress,  devised a brilliant challenge, The Historical Sew Fortnightly, to encourage people who enjoy sewing and creating historical costuming.  Every other week participants would be challenged to post a creation that met the parameters of the new challenge.  Because all of the participants would recreate the various eras of their choice, there would be cross-communication, which could encourage new creative thinking and new friendships.  In addition, the challenges would serve as a motivating force, a kick in the posterior, to get things made. I found the challenge well after it had started but decided to join.  Since there is no obligation to complete all of the challenges, I started with the one then due, Peasants and Pioneers.  This was the challenge description         #5  Peasants and Pioneers :  As wonderful as making pretty, pretty princess dresses is, the vast majority of people...

Freshly starched, crisply rustling clothes.. . I starch. I've been exploring various ways to starch my period clothing. Currently I starch petticoats and cotton dresses. The dresses receive a lighter coating of starch than the undergarments. I started out, as many do, with spray starch. Niagra Light - then moved up to heavy. I was unsatisfied. Spraying too heavily led to scorching and sticking on the iron soleplate. Never did I obtain the quality I was searching for - the crispness I had read about. Why starch? First and foremost, to my way of thinking, is because "they" did. Without starch, my petticoats were limp, even though they were ironed. Of course it is easier just to wash and dry your underpinnings, but it wasn't giving me a sense of recreating the proper look. Starch adds body, which should be self-evident. When you think about the bell shape of a woman's skirts, the importance of loft and body becomes clear. Since I wear a ...