March is coming to an end. Spring recess has started. I am home from getting my shoulder worked on. (I am trying to keep it relaxed and not pull up on it.) I am feeling pretty relaxed. This is nice.
Today, I had something fun happen. One of my Reels had a huge spike in views on FB this morning. Now that I am home, it looks like the views have slowed. As of nowish, a little over 87,000 people watched my 7 second video over 112,000 times. The vast majority of those were between 7 am and noon. This super short video was just a whim I created from the short video I did on my wool petticoats not being soggy:
That video was just a spur of the moment quick video in response to a comment someone made about petticoats getting soggy.
All in all, I am amused and pretty happy. While 112k is far from technically being viral, it isn’t bad for a little niche video.
It does make me wonder if I should post that boot scraping video from last fall. 🤔
Today marks 2 weeks until the 2024 Eclipse. Living in the Path of Totality, there is a lot of excitement about the Eclipse locally. An abundance of events are happening throughout the region, from museums to villages to drive-in theaters and beyond.
Now, of course, this being Western New York, noone really knows what Mother Nature will throw at us. It could be beautiful clear sky. It could be partly cloudy. It could be an incredible spring storm. Either way, guests will have a historic experience at GCVM.
I have special project I’ve been working on for the event. It is a whole world of fancy work I’ve wanted to try my hands at for a while. This happens to be the perfect event for it. (Patreon patrons have had a sneak peek.)
I would love to hear where you are planning to spend the eclipse.
PS… Don’t worry, I plan to be ready for a very slow drive home that night.
I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure how many people I would see today as I crawled out of my complex with the blanket of snow provided by Mother Nature throwing one last winter storm at us. This week was the winteriest winter we’ve had this winter.
To my delight, visitors arrived promptly at opening and stayed steady through the whole day.
I had some excellent questions, including some that will require me to do homework:
What temperature were most homes kept at during the winter? I am going to look at this as “what temperatures were considered comfortable or acceptable?” as well as “what temperature differences would be expected in a house heated by a fireplace?“
What kind of floral broach would Lizzie Borden have worn? (Young visitor with fascinating questions.)
My topic today was winter weather wear. This is turning out to be a staple topic that I enjoy talking with visitors about. Today, we also talked about floor coverings & how to keep the feet warm.
Partway through the day, a friend commented about soggy hems. It made me pause because in that moment I realized I wasn’t having that problem despite clearing my car of 5-6″ of snow, stopping at the grocery store, and walking into the village though 6-8″ deep snow.
I found a number of people wanting a this vs that comparison, winter verses summer. This makes me want to try a side-by-side sometime with 2 tables, one with winter wear and one with summer wear.
With the amount of discussion that went into living in the cold, I would like to dress the bedroom for winter sleeping. I would draw from my Keeping Warm in Winter article from years ago, with some updates.
Now that I am home and sitting, this week has caught up, and I may be out cold soon. Though, I find this to be a very relaxed tired, the kind that comes with accomplishment.Â
My next event will be the Eclipse Festival. I have something extra special in the works for Eclipse day. (Patreon patrons have been getting a sneak peek.)
Did you know I have an assortment of short videos about 1850s & 1860s bonnets?
I do!
I just made another one.
Confession: I made this video because I am frustrated with seeing inaccurately made bonnets mass produced and sold to unknowing reenactors and interpreters. I don’t want you wasting your money or time on something that won’t meet your goals.
As this confusing winter hints of spring, this seems to be the year of the picnic.
I am excited to see several history minded picnics coming up this spring. It looks like people are planning both smaller intimate gatherings and larger events, as well as year specific events and timeline events.
As those with a picnic or two on their schedule prepare their picnic attire and neccessities, I am getting questions about picnic headwear.
In developing straw millinery pieces, I rely strongly on visual inspiration. In this case, seeing picnics, those attending, and their hats & bonnets. I keep a file of paintings, photographs, stereoviews, and illustrations in my phone to reference as I work.
These images show us women wore both hats and bonnets were worn during picnics. Some scenes also show women wearing sunbonnets.
These captured picnic scenes also show us the transition in millinery styles from the 1850s to the 1860s and through the end of the century. For the most part, the bonnets depicted in images follow the fashion norms of the time or year. Through the 1850s and 1860s, hats also maintain the basic shape and size norms but tend to have minimal decoration with a simple ribbon being most common. This difference seems to lessen in the 1870s with more adornment on some hats, while the variety of hats expands.
Selecting a Picnic Hat
1850s
The hats of the 1850s have shallow crowns and wide brims. The crown, the top portion that sits on the head, can be a curved dome shape or a flat top with tapered sided. This crown rises only a couple inches, making the hat sit high on the head. (This can feel quite different compared to a modern hat.) The brims depicted in paintings range from about a handspan on each side to as wide as shoulder width. (My shoulders are 15 inches wide. A friend’s are 17 inches wide.) These brims are shaped, dipping down at the front and back. Views from the side, the brim edge creates a soft C facing down. This curved shape is supported by wire sewn into the edge of the brim.
Original millinery blocks paired with wide brimmed hats for a late 1850s event. These hats are as wide as I can sew and still fit them in the library boxes recycled from work.
Paintings and photos show these hats trimmed with ribbon. Most often, ribbon encircles the crown with a bow centered at the back. Some hats are shown with loops or ruche of ribbon at the front or sides as well. A very limited number also show ruched ribbon at the brim edge, or a few flowers.
1860s
Hat crowns stay shallow in the first half of the 1850s while the brims become much narrower, spanning less than a hand width. This image shows two hats made with the same crown but different width brims, the top for the early 1860s, the bottom for the late 1850s. Hat brims of the 1860s provide little to no shade for the face. As with the previous decade, these brims are shaped, dipping down at the front and back. Views from the side, the brim edge creates a soft C facing down. This curved shape is supported by wire sewn into the edge of the brim.
Those desiring a wider brim for this decade may want to consider a country hat. This hat has a brim that is slightly wider while doming down around the head.
Images show 1860s picnic hats trimmed with simplicity similar to that of the 1850s, using ribbon as the primary embellishment. This is a style shape I see in photos of picnics and croquet.
1870s
At the risk of over generalizing, it seems once we pass into the 1870s, the variety of headwear in picnic images increases notably. Those depicted are fashionable for the season. More trims are evident on hats.
I will make a point to create hats and bonnets with picnics through the spring. Please check my shop for pieces available.
I will also be creating some pieces with rural cemeteries in mind as a new exhibit on The Rural Cemetery Movement will be opening in May. The millinery worn when visiting or picnicking in a cemetery is similar. Though one particular piece stands out on my to-do list:
If I Had My Own Blue Box: 