This bright red fashionable Civil War era hat is made with a vintage double plait straw.
The hat is an average to large size with a 20″ circumference crown that is a shallow 1.5″ high. The fashionable brim dips front and back, and is 12″ across. I blocked the crown firmer than the brim so the brim could retain the softness of the plait. This did allow a little rippling to the brim.
This hat is made with the Delia crown and a wider brim . The crown is rounder and flat on the top with a slight taper. The 3″ wide brim dips front and back just a bit.
This hat is nice for an average to larger head, being 21 3/4″ around. The brim is 12″ across.
This could make a nice seaside hat.
A member of the Sewing Academy posted about sheer basques a little while back. The post’s images got my mind wheeling and envisioning a sheer white basque for wear in the millinery this July. Light, airy, pretty.
I saw Colleen did a sheer outer garment. I need to chat with her to see what she thinks of it.
For me, I am thinking a non-outerwear garment. I picture this paired with a black wool skirt, as that is what I have on hand. It could be nice with any color wool or a silk skirt.
I have the sheer stripe silk I picked up last summer. It has a very soft hand. It may be too drapey. If I am going to have this made by the July event, I would need to order another material asap if that silk isn’t going to work.
Sheer Basques:
Taken directly from the SA Thread, posted by EKorsmo:
From Graham’s American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, 1855:
“[Detailed description of flounced silk skirt] The basque was trimmed in the same manner but for the warm days we should advise a white basque with pink or light green ribbons.”
“Another dress of very novel and pretty effect of fawn colored barege with three flounces embroidered in a deep scallop with silk of the same color. Between each of the barege flounces is a flounce of plaid silk also scalloped in silk. When a white basque is not worn with this dress the basque made for it is of the plaid silk the same as that which compose the flounces.”
“Light materials are of course prevalent this month, and flounces have established their reign. Moire antique, however, has not been laid aside but then it is only worn as a skirt; thanks to the universal fashion of white muslin basques or waists, rich silks can be worn this year Many prefer this to muslins and bareges which are so soon tumbled and which require so much care in the accessories and the underskirts There are however some beautiful light materials this summer: barege, of course, mousseline de soie, crepe de Paris, grenadine and chali (challis?), which is only a revival, but one much to be admired for it is a beautiful tissue and most becoming from its graceful folds. Besides there are jaconets, and organdies, and lawns of very beautiful pattern… A very good innovation for hot weather is to line the barege basques with soft fine mull muslin; it is better than Florence silk for this purpose at this season… Dresses are almost all made with basques–still for very young ladies we think the plain or full corsage is more suitable…”
The London and Paris Ladies’ Magazine of Fashion, 1855:
“… the bodies of barege and organdy dresses are made full without basques; the flounces of organdys are edged by a small guipure or lace edging the top flounce, left open in front as a tunic which gives the effect of a basque… When the barege dresses are without basques the bodies are full, with ceinture of wide ribbon and floating ends, but the basques are more generally preferred. There is a new material of still slighter texture than barege, but less flimsy; they as well as bareges are worn over silk skirts flounced which is preferred to lining the flounce.”The New Monthly Belle Assemblee, 1853:
“Gowns in barege, organdy, tarlatane, and grenadine are made with flounces… As for the corsages of the gowns, those in thin materials are either a la vierge or full bodies gathered at the waist and shoulders or a sort of vest with basquines; but this last is very difficult to make and rarely fits well. The basques are much easier to succeed in and produce the same effect. Most of the corsages with basques, particularly those in silk, are made quite high.”
[A few people have told me they can’t see the whole post and links are not working. I am starting to wonder if it is a WP formatting issue or WP advertisements at the end. This is the end of the post.]
This petite Regency era hat has a bold look and a hint of hidden color. The straight sided crown is encircled with black velvet points. The shaped brim is edged in black velvet and lined in a blue green silk taffeta.
The crown measures 19.5″ around, making it nice for an average to smaller head. The crown is 5″ tall. The brim is 10.5″ across. The crown has a band of quilt cotton sateen and ribbon ties.
Have I mentioned lately how much I love my Shaker style sewing boxes?
I do. They have become my at home and on-the-go go-to. With not feeling well from my gallbladder crankiness, having each of my three, yes, three sewing boxes on hand was great. They are just the right size; each with the tools for their project inside. Nice. Neat. Handy. Organized. Easy to fit on the couch with me. Secure, feline safe lid. And they are pretty. Love them.
Original Shaker sewing boxes are pretty incredible. (I call mine Shaker style because the boxes were made by a local artisan rather than a Shaker.) This one is an original I saw at a local show. The patina for the wood on this box is beautiful. It has a simple, flexible handle, a silk lining and ribbons holding each of the tools in place. I like that this one has an assortment of materials for the tools.
This basket was at the same show. It doesn’t have as much inside. The silk liking really works with the color of the wood. I think it has a golden sunshine effect. I have one handled box I want to do up like this when I have some time.
Here is an assortment of Shaker sewing boxes, or carriers as some seem to call them. (I also have a pinboard of them.)
Clockwiser from top left: Blue: https://www.rubylane.com/item/61838-1068141×20000719/Antique-Wooden-Shaker-Sewing-Box78-Silk Pale pink: Garth’s Auctioneers & Appraisers , 2016, via http://www.invaluable.com/ Copper: https://www.rubylane.com/item/572704-RL-417/Antique-Shaker-Swing-Handle-Sewing-Carrier Pale blue: http://antique-boxes.com/sewing-boxes.php Closed: http://www.willishenry.com/shaker2011/shakcat2011.htm
I do have just two boxes in my Etsy shop for those interested. One is a larger, yellow painted box with a red silk check lining. It has a tray that lifts out from the top. You can put your tools in the top and project below. I did have a client tell me she likes to hide her modern thread spools and directions in the bottom. (SOLD)
The other is this shallower box with a beautiful wood. Inside is a blue silk lining. I made the compartments so one is flexible to meet the space needs of the tools. I find that scissors fit very nicely there.
Both of these can be found in my Etsy shop. (Yellow or Blue.) They are all hand sewn linings using Fanciful Utility techniques.
This Civil War era hat has a shallow crown and petite brim. The 19″ crown is meant to sit very high on an average head, with its inch and a half rise in the crown. The 2″ deep brim is a petite 10.5″ across with a pretty curve front and back.
I recommend ties inside this hat to help hold it in place. You may also find a ribbon band inside or a lining will be most comfortable. This was blocked on the Delia crown, which is a rounder crown.
I am having a moment of “OH, Wow! I need to make that hat!!!”
At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
I think, I hope I still have the right straw. May need more.
I recently wrote a program for a local group of 1860s civilians looking at millinery in terms of context. Since then, millinery in context has come up in several different online conversations.
When looking at millinery in terms of social, situational context, we see a different picture of which millinery was worn when, than we did twenty years ago. Looking at very large pools of images, including impromptu in-situ group photos, then clustering them together into the particular situations, we see patterns emerging within the situational groupings. No longer is it a simple matter of “young fashionable women wore hats, older women wore bonnets”, because this was simply not the case, nor was head-wear that unvaried.
While I would like to put together a thorough, detailed blog post filled with corresponding images, many of you know I am currently dealing with a cranky medical issue that is making my dedicated millinery and blogging time inconsistent. I don’t know when I will pull together what I have in mind because I want to have all the image rights in order.
What I have done in the meantime is reorganize some of my Pinterest board into groups of Millinery Context. Each is labeled with a “MIL CONTEXT” preface. My hope this will ease discussion and get people headed in the right direction for their interpretive situation. The boards currently developing include: (please keep in mind this is just a rough start of a massive reorganization.)
This evening’s hat is a fashionable Civil War era hat with a shallow crown. This is a petite hat meant to be worn very, very high on the head with the crown just cupping the crown. See the aspects below.
This crown is barely 17″ around while rising a mear inch and a half, to sit very high on the head. The brim is 10.5″ across with a subtle curve dipping front and back.
If I Had My Own Blue Box: 