1850's Comes To Life

If you've been reading my blog long, you'll remember that Lindsey spent several years in the John Lewis Society as a costumed interpreter at one of our local museums.   She also participates each year in costume at the Holiday Lantern Tours.  Surprisingly, my history hater has really taken to this time period, specifically the cooking and clothing styles. 

Lindsey plans to return as an "adult volunteer" this fall, and has already been approved for the position.  She has spent the last several months, and lots of her own money in purchasing the materials to make her own, authentic 1850's outfit.  All cloth had to be 100% cotton, or 100% wool for heavy items, and patterns and colors must reflect those of the time frame.

Lindsey used her knowledge of historical clothing, and her tape measure to create a dress, apron, petticoats, chemise and kerchief without a pattern.  She had me help with her measurements so she wasn't having to bend and twist and get the wrong numbers.  Other than that, this was her project start to finish.  She will need to make a corset, but will be working on that at the museum under the tutelage of the costume seamstress.

Our dining room became the fabric cutting, pinning and ironing station.

The living room, specifically the sofa, became the sewing room. Each day she would sit and sew until her hands would cramp.  There were times that I had to banish the sewing station in order to have room for guests and the rest of us to sit in the evenings.

Please note, in the photos below, she is wearing a tank top and shorts beneath her costume clothing for modesty.  This is due to lighting with the white undergarments, so if you see the blue on the shoulders, that's why.

This is the chemise, which serves as a slip as well as sleeping garment.  She put gussets in the arm pit area to prevent seams from splitting when her arms are raised.  It was interesting to watch her figure out the configuration to add the material without it bunching.    The neck has a hook closure that allows for ease in getting dressed and undressed.  There is a tiny "V" just below the collar (you can see it in the photo below) that allows for extra room, also to prevent ripping during movement.

This next photo shows her with the chemise, her first petticoat, and the kerchief, which goes on around the neck between the chemise and dress.

This photo is the same as the first, but adds the second petticoat over the first.  Each petticoat has hook closures on the back.

Next is the dress itself.  The fabric is sage green, with tiny flowers.  The bodice and sleeves are lined in cream material, and the bottom is lined with a lovely dusty rose and trimmed with black edging to hide dirt and prevent wear.   She hand pleated the entire skirt to get the right sizing and amount of fullness.  The bodice also has hook closures on the front.

The apron is a light brown plaid.  All aprons of the time were made from plaid print material. The apron would be pinned up over the bodice during cooking, and then would be dropped down when less likely to soil the top of the dress, or when going away from home.

Pockets were typically sewn onto a waistband and worn under the dress for storage. This means there had to be slits in the dress below the waist band to reach through to access the pockets.  Lindsey chose instead to add pockets to the underneath side of the apron.  The cream area you see in the center of the pocket is the edging around the opening to prevent fraying and it is also the backing material for the pocket.

Lindsey ordered 100% cotton stockings online, and knitted her own garters to hold the stockings above the knee.  For shoes, she's allowed to wear plain black or brown boots or shoes with no modern embellishments.

This is what interest lead learning, and craftsmanship look like!