If I Had My Own Blue Box:

I still have all the ribbons I won at the Genesee Country Village and Museum’s Agricultural Society Fair. Believe it or not I actually won a blue ribbon for my handwriting. Go figure.

This year I’m entering a variety of sewn goodies.

First is my pair of sewing cases, also called housewifes. I do like this little pair. They will be entered under the sewn items category.

Under the “Quilted Projects” category, I’ll have a pieced article of clothing and a quilted article of clothing. For a pieced item, I’ll be entering my quilted pocket.

The quilted article of clothing entry will be the quilted hood I am working on.

For my sewn article of clothing I keep changing my mind between one of my little purses or the capote hood I teeter-totter from liking to disliking.

I find I am a bit more productive and less likely to wander off on tangents when I may my to-do list public. Last month went pretty well. Lets see for this month:

Green updates from Friday with one week until first August event; Blue updates from Tuesday before the event. Post Arcade additions.

Sewing

• Little sister’s underpinnings – she needs petticoats and chemises– One petti done, borrowing chemises & cage, hoping to alter a second petti. Still need to get to that second petti to alter.
• Little sister’s brown dress – plaid brown with red cotton shirting – gauged skirt, with a V neckline, gathered bodice and short sleeves – Mostly done, just needs closure and collar, maybe undersleeves for short sleeves. Done and redone, with collar
• My 1830s travel dress – brown semi-sheer cotton which wants to be a wool – cross-over V neck, dropped late 30s sleeves – Cut, skirt together. Part of one side of the back top-stitched on & buried in a box.
• Patriotic accessories for upcoming event
•                    2 aprons
•                    2 Cockades?
•                     2 red belts – One done and one rosette. Two red belts with rosette done.
•                    On train projects – possibly a handkerchief and/or patriotic shield needle-book. Several NBs planned materials lacking
• Tweak one of my bonnet’s flowers
• At least one rolled sewing and/or structure case for Etsy
• At least one little purse for Etsy
• At least one needle-book – Two made (shell and bellows) Five more made (3 shells, 1 shield, 1 bell)
• Special project with 4 to 5 components – Measured and layed out
• Take apart and redo straw bonnet that smooshed
• Draft a new drawers pattern for hubby
• Repair slippers
• Replace buttons on hubby’s pants and both of my paletots (one just lost one, one needs all new)
• Repair sleeve
• Repair trim pulled of black paletot by train
• Darn stockings
• Make a pair of slippers for someones sore feet
• Add to dress wish list – sacque/petti combo in tbd fabric (possibly in a real travel fabric)
•  

Writing

• Talk points for travel project – Sorta
• Finish “Why this is Good” & put on blog – in progress
• “moving into fall” blog post – all in my mind
• “Keep it Simple, Keep it in Budget”

Locate or re-locate

• Drawers that will fit little sister – skipped
• Extra bedding from storage – skipped
• The barn-board box – found
• Rugs x2 – found
• Drinking pottery – no luck
• where is my food box? Where is my toiletries box?

Since it has been 2 years since my little sister has been able to attend a history event with me, she is in need of new clothes. She will be 13 this next month. So, she’s in those between years. That can mean lots of options and lots of confusion.

Luckily, Catherine was kind enough to send back the clothes that don’t fit her anymore. Let me tell you my surprise when my little sister, tall & thin little sister, fit into the dress I wore in my late teens and early 20s. She could have a little more flesh on her torso and shoulders, but over-all it fits rather than falls off of her. So, the skirt will get some age appropriate tucks. The bodice will get some pinches in the seams. I think this skirt might get a sheer white bodice since she liked the one Marta sent from Kay’s site. I’m picturing something like this body/bodice or this bodice/body just with short sleeves. I like the sleeve treatment of the first. This does mean I need to either do an under-body or a half-high lining or a corset cover for her. Something like this but with a straight waist sorta would work, but is a bit off of what I have in mind as I’m pretty sure this is for evening wear. (While we are talking white sheers, this is one I would really like for myself.) The skirt/body combo will need a belt in black or red. I have a nice MOP buckle which will work. Or we can do a back closure. This dress and skirt/body combo will work nicely for ‘better’ wear.

She has two cotton shirtings coming thanks to mom’s ordering. (I know the first one is the right one; I’m not sure I have the right photo of the second one.)

There is enough of each for a dress thanks to the wider width. The first will be a dress. The second is intended to be a skirt  combined with a shirt. I’ll decide if that is happening when I see the quality of the cotton. (I’d rather see a sheer body with a silk or high-end cotton.) I haven’t decided on styles yet of either. I should really get on that. For the green, likely it will be a basic dress with tucks in the skirts up to lower calf or upper ankles. The sleeves will be comfortably short. The bodice might get to be a yoked bodice with a jewel neckline. That could be really cute while appeasing my desire to make a yoked bodice. (okay, I confess, I really wanted this fabric.)

 She also needs all new underpinnings with the exception of drawers which should fit. That hopefully will be easy. Now the cage… I have my fingers crossed on.

Oh, just remembered. I need to fix my other boots for her to wear. Hope it doesn’t rain that weekend since I’ll only have my wool boots.  

There just isn’t enough time or organization to do every sewing project on our lists. Here is some of my sewing wish list.

This Bonnet Bag has been on the list for a while. I like my pasteboard box bags very much. I have a plan for this type of bag, I just have to get around to it.

I am rather intrigued by this style of flat, round bottom bags. It may be that bit of structure. The version I like even more has the flat bottom and structured sides. They look like they are built around pasteboard.

I don’t know if I will ever be up to this level of needlework. Okay, I highly doubt it. But, this little slipper shaped bag is just to cute not to make at some point.

There is something about these multi-sided shaped bags. There several different shapes found in Godey’s and Peterson’s for both lady’s bags and men’s tabacco bags. Some have these central embroidered designs on each side, some have full/all-over needlework while others have braidwork. I don’t know which I will do. The idea of the personalized embroidery is very apealling. But, so is doing some braid work.

I’m determined to remake a broken fan I have (somewhere) into a Jenny Lind fan like one like this or this. While I’m at it, it would be nice to replace my feather fan that died. Granted, this one is a bit Wow. I wasn’t aware making a fan from painted pasteboard was an option. Then I saw this one. Tempting. 

A pasteboard box or bandbox from scratch

A ribbon cockade – There are some amazing, I should say AMAZING, reproductions out there. I just want to take a try at one or two.

I’m bound to find a way to make my own thread winders out of recyled MOP, bone or such. I just have to find the right material and the dremel tool (hopefully it still works after getting wet during the move.)

I will learn to make my own gloves for my challenging to fit hands.

After finding it uncomfortable to sit the whole day in a mid-century chair sewing, I will make a period cushion for sitting.

This apron.

At one point I was under the dillusion that I would make my husband this beautiful white shirt for his birthday. But, as it t turns out shirts intimidate me. Instead, I went looking for a print for him, an eagle print since he likes eagles. What should have been an easy task wasn’t. There were so many nice prints. But, none of them spoke to me. None, that is until I came across the piece called Wings over Antitiem by John Neal Mullican.

This print was just right. It had the eagle Dan loves and it had to do with the Civil War. (For those of you who don’t know, he and I met reenacting years back.) The print itself just has that nice feel to it. It had to be the one for his birthday. So, I ordered it.

Dan gave me a length of the fabric I saw a while back. Now the fabric and I are in discussion over what it wants to be. Current options are…..

• A mid-century to 60s wash dress for if/when I’ll get around to doing work in a dress again. I’m not sure how likely this is. Though it may be smart to have a wash dress since I currently don’t have one anymore.
• The yoke style dress I thought I should have when I realized I don’t have one. Again 50s or 60s
• A dress more from the 1830s to experiment with the style. I’m not sure I would have enough occasions to wear this decade though.
• An 18-teens dress since there is likely more times to wear it and I’ve been really wanting to make Regency era dresses. I’m not sure this fabric wants to be that era though.

 Here are some new photos… The ground is a rich brown with the deep, almost turkey red flowers and creamy leaves/stems with a hint of gold. From a distance it reads brown with a hint of red. I think the distance photo below really is more washed out then it really looks. I took these with the phone rather than the camera.

In thinking about the yoke dress idea, I would need some shaping to it. Kinda like this one below. (Though, that collar thing will not be making it.)  I’m concerned I will not look so great in this type dress between my larger bust, fluffiness and short shoulders. Not sure. (opted to play with photo so she isn’t so skinny.)

ADDING…..

Gail suggested this type of early 1850s dress. (this is a facebook link) In actuality, my instinct was to lean towards something later 40s or 50s. But, I have a few dresses for those years, so didn’t include it. I’m just drawn to the styles from then so much more then the early 60s. The V shaped sheering could look nice with this fabric.

One of my favorite garments became one of my favorite garments a few winters back. Oddly enough, this 19th century garment became a favorite in a 21st century way. I already had a couple red wool pettis, which I loved. It was time to make a quilted petti. So, I did using wool batting and a favorite fabric selvaged from a less than fabulous dress,  that reminded me of Grandpa because it had wheat in the stripes. Being a teacher in NY, I often was up and on my way to work well before the snow plows were to far into their routes and in less than wonderful temperatures. Now, add to that my creaky, achy knees and you can imagine the drive in was not so great. One particularly cold morning, when several other school districts were closed due to the cold, I opted for my 19th century coat, hood and new quilted petticoat. It was wonderful. I was toasty warm despite the frigid temperatures. That quilted petti was worn many times over after that.

Fast forward to New Mexico. I didn’t think I would end up missing a warm quilted petticoat of all things. But, there is something about the snuggly softness as well as the warmth it could provide on evening drives after the temperature drops and my husband doesn’t like a warm car. Since I have this black print fabric with a green tone that just kept saying it wanted to be a quilted petti, it is time to make one. Here is the fabric.

The inside is a nice white muslin which is a tad thicker and softer then most muslins we see. The petti is two 44″ panels, 36″ long with 30″ of quilting. So far the quilting design is 4″ scalloping along the bottom with a 1″ quilt from the bottom edge for now. This might change as I go because I think the very bottom below the scalloping wants something. The top is a chain of 2.5″ wide () shapes, which I can’t think of the name of right now. The field in-between will be vertical stripes of a yet to be determined distance. I may do double sets with two very close together. I’m a little tempted to add some batting in small circles, called Trapunto, under the scallops. But, I don’t think that is common for this era.

Now, of course I can’t post about quilted pettis without some background or originals. I thought I remembered a passage from The Workwoman’s Guide, but I can’t seem to find it, just the flannel pettis. So, here are originals instead:

This is a green silk one from the 40s.

1850s wool petti with a 167″ hem listed

Green wool petti which I don’t think is reversible as they say. It has a 74″ hem.

Quilted cotton petti with narrow strip quilting on the bottom and diamonds on top. 107″ hem

This petti is post war, but a must see for the fabric and shaping. This one is also post war, 1865, but shows nice wide wadding sections.

A child quilted petti.

Here is the outside and inside of one on the Graceful Lady Site –

Another one from Anna Allen’s Graceful Lady site –

A close-up for Corsets and Crinolines

The Musee McCord Museum has this photo which shows what looks like a quilted petti underneith.

This is a blog post from the FIDM Museum with a great, colorful petti

Some how I’ve developed a project list once again…..

• Ongoing sewing cases
• Yoked bodice dress – I don’t have one, therefore I have to have one
• 19th Century coat – Because I miss mine
• 21st Century coat – May just be the same one as above (I want a 19th c. one in a different color but for cost effectiveness this may be an all purpost black coat.
• Dan’s British Rifleman’s Uniform
• Dan’s muslin shirt
• Dan’s white shirt
• Dan’s civilian pants (may purchase those.)
• Dan’s tbd civilian coat
• Dan’s tbd civilian vest
• Medium size leather bag
• Tiny white silk Regency era bag
• Regency corset, bodiced petticoat and dress
• Sunbonnet tbd (since all headwear is in NY)
• Some ribbony stuff possibly to sell (hairnets and neckbows.)
• Because I saw the coolest padded bustle made out of a paisley fabric yesterday, I may have to breakdown and make an 1870s or 80s outfit.
• Then there is at least one surprise project I can’t list online

Here is the pattern/illustration for the bag below inspired two at the MET.

Silk Leather (p1) MET bag (p2)

Since my previous post about wanting a new bag, I’ve decided it would be silly to make what I already have. It is much more fun to make something new.

This first bag is inspired by two bags at the MET. Bag 1 and Bag 2. The originals appear to have the leather center bound. Then the silk whipped to the binding. I opted to work off of a base lining because I think that would make a stronger bag. First I made two muslin circles with one side chopped off. These were sewn together with the straight side turned down to the outside. On the outside I traced the shape of the center piece on both sides. Next I gathered strips of the dark chocolate taffetta I already had cut. Since these were already cut 2.5″ wide, I sewed two together to make them wider. They needed to be wide enough to to cover easily the widest part. (In hindsight, it may have been easier to sew the silk strips together at the end.) I gathered the outer edge of the silk.

If I was going to whip the silk to the binding, I would have turned then end over and gauged like I would a skirt. The gathered silk was basted to the lining along the traced line. I turn the ends to cover the edge of the muslin on each side. (I thought about either using a draw string or elastic to hold the ends closed. I have not done that yet, waiting to see how it works with the open pieces.) I bound the edge of the leather with bias strips of the silk. Since I couldn’t find my needle for the leather, I used the maching. I don’ t like how that looks right now. I may cover that seam with beads. The bound leather was then stitched down over the gathered silk. I ran the needle through just the edge of the silk binding. The straps are on grain cut strips of silk over strips of muslin, folded in so each strap is 4 layers each of cotton and silk. These are whip stitched. The button is a cloth button with the silk gathered over muslin scraps. The button loop is a narrow flat strip of folded over silk. Rolling it would have been better.

The next bag I am looking at making is similar to this 1870s bag found in the NYPL digital archives.

The illustration calls for embroidered enameled cloth, but I have this beautiful piece of blue leather Dan picked up.

The math for the piece will make a bag 12″ wide, 10″ tall and 5″ deep. I think this should make a decent size bag for carrying items through the day when we don’t have a home-base as we are accustom. I haven’t completely decided on the straps. These small straps are nice for the bag above which will carry light stuff. But, I am not sure for a bag that might carry heavier stuff. I’m worried a shoulder strap will look to much like a modern day purse. I want this to be more like a travel bag. So, maybe wider straps.