~LaughingNymph~

I have a terrible tendency to tunnel vision. Really, it’s almost a danger to my health sometimes. I took a break from chores at about 8 o’clock this evening, and now it’s 1 o’clock in the morning and I’ve been sitting here the whole time getting pulled into an internet sinkhole following layer after layer of links to pictures and articles about 19th century clothing. I haven’t even eaten dinner yet!

. . . it counts as homework, right? Homework is a justifiable reason to stare at a computer screen for five hours . . .

. . . isn’t it?

Anyway, on to the important matter at hand: Progress on the Practice Dress.

I have now met with The Master twice, once to draft a pattern for the dress bodice/sleeves/dickey (white insert beneath the bodice – think tuxedo insert), and once to modify the pattern pieces since the muslin bodice mock-up didn’t fit quite right. I also have one of her dress forms on loan and a basic idea of how to try draping the fabric for the dickey.

A couple of weeks ago I took a trip to the fabric store and got a lightweight white cotton to serve as the base for the dickey and a lovely thin voile which I will attempt to drape over the dickey backing with some pleats for decoration and fitting. (yes, it’s a cotton/poly blend, but it doesn’t feel particularly synthetic and it was on discount, so shush.)

The Voile: draped, looking lovely in natural afternoon light

The Voile: spread out to show how fine it is

For modifications, we’re taking in the back seams and adding a dart at the bust of the bodice (which will be worked into the pattern piece since the bust dart isn’t historically accurate). We had to make the sleeves wider at the top to fit into the armscye (armhole, where the sleeve meets the bodice) and I have to modify the cuff end of the sleeve by making it larger around or adding enough seam allowance to accommodate buttons so my hand can pass through easily. (Either somebody had teensy hands or I measured the sleeve pattern wrong, but either way my hand is not going to fit.) The Master also shortened the bodice because it wasn’t sitting well at it’s former length, but I’m not so happy with that modification. I’m almost certain that the shorter bodice wouldn’t have been around at the time the photo was taken (especially since the dress may have been a few years old already), and the front of the bodice probably has at least a subtle point to it.

Halfway through altering the back seams (apologies for the slight blur)

The oh-so-inaccurate bust dart, now worked into the paper pattern so it won’t need to be sewn next time.

That little triangle pointing off to the right is what you can see of our additions to the sleeves. (Unfortunately I forgot all about the epaulettes, so I’ll have no idea if the modified pattern works until I put on the other sleeve)

The plan is to extend the bodice, modifying the front side darts as necessary, so that it sits just above my hips with a point in the center extending over the top of the skirt. The Master and I have decided that the dress probably didn’t have any closures in the back, so I’ll put in hook and bar or hook and eye closures in the front hidden beneath the bodice pleats. I haven’t decided yet whether I’m going to make the bodice and skirt completely separate, fully attached, or if the two pieces will be attached in the back with independent closures for the bodice and skirt.

Rough idea of where the point will sit

The book ‘Costume in Detail’ by Nancy Bradfield shows a dress from 1858 with a similar bodice and it has a closure on the skirt just to the left of center with a little watch pocket in it. Unfortunately, I cant really see the skirt on Anthony’s dress in the photo, which means I can’t be certain of how it was constructed, but I suppose that could be thought of as an advantage.

I also found a mid-1800s day dress in a similar style on Etsy and I was able to get some construction details from the vendor. The bodice is edged in self-bias piping (strips of the bodice fabric were cut on the diagonal of the grain and sewn around cording, then attached to the edge of the bodice) and whip stitched to the skirt. There is a closure in the center front of the bodice and the opening continues into the top of the skirt, concealed by the cartridge pleats (which look like gathers) on the skirt. I might try this method.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/226509724/1840s-style-fan-front-dress-gown-sample?ref=related-0

My greatest hope is that I’m not making a terrible mistake with the pattern, and that my assumptions about closure location, bodice length, and construction are correct. Several mid-40s to mid-50s bodices have closures in the back, with the bodice opening continuing into the top of the skirt. Some of the bodices also have extra boning in the center front where it slopes to a point. It’s driving me crazy not knowing for sure how this dress was constructed and exactly what year it was made! But I suppose I should get used to working with incomplete evidence like this if I want to be an historian of any sort.

Thanks to a fortunate alignment of events, my first summer project is to recreate the dress in this photo of

Susan B. Anthony ca. 1856.

Photo found on the Five College Archives and Manuscript Collections http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/sophiasmith/mnsss129.html

Later this summer, I will be working as an intern at a local historical museum. In this particular program, each intern works with their on-site supervisor to develop a project that will benefit or enhance the museum while aligning with the intern’s interests. When I first called the museum to inquire about the program, the woman I talked with was very excited to hear of my interest in historical clothing and reenactment. The way she was talking, you’d think it was unusual to find a 20-something who would willingly spend hours sewing and wearing four layers (give or take) of heavy, constricting clothing – go figure! A few weeks later, my interview covered a variety of topics from Downton Abbey to “The Wonders of Homeschooling,” and ended with both of us barely managing to remain professional in the face of our bubbling excitement about my project: recreating one of Susan B. Anthony’s dresses.

This could possibly be the perfect project for me: I have an excuse to pour over photos of gorgeous dresses, read for hours on end about some of my favorite subjects, shop for fabric, sew, and parade around in a mid-nineteenth century dress with all the fixin’s. In short, my version of Nerd Heaven. However, when I finally finished scooting through the house doing little happy-dances, I realized that I’ve only ever made historical clothing from store-bought patterns, using a modern sewing machine for EVERYTHING, and settling for bargain bin, all-synthetic fabrics. The more research I did, the longer my “skills to acquire” checklist became. I also realized that I would need a lot of information from reliable sources, and it can be difficult to find those on the internet.

So, first chance I got, I sent a general plea for help to three of my most knowledgeable acquaintances: two who manage the costume shop at a local college where I dance, and one local costumer and seamstress with whom I had an apprentice-like position several years ago (and whom I tend to simply call “The Master”). The next day I had enthusiastic replies from all of them saying they’d be happy to help, and a few days after that I went home with an entire tote bag full of magical books with everything I needed to get started, plus some really neat bonus information.

(For instance: did you know that in the 16th century, some women wore corsets made entirely of iron?)

“For difficult or deformed figures” (Left photo from The Wallace Collection, Right photo from the Victoria & Albert Museum, full image from ‘Corsets and Crinolines’ by Norah Waugh)

My plan is to make a “Practice Dress” with help and input from more experienced sewers so I can learn all (or most) of the techniques I’ll need when I make the “Real Dress” later this summer. So far, I’ve had two meetings with The Master so she could help me complete the first few steps in recreating the aforementioned dress.

Credit to the University of Rochester Department of Rare Books and Special Collections http://www.lib.rochester.edu/index.cfm?PAGE=4281

The photo is captioned with the year 1856, and the style of the bodice looks like pictures I found of:

http://www.thedressmakersshop.com/images/products/2276.png

“German Day Dresses” from the mid 1850s and early 1860s

http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/108428?rpp=90&pg=8&ao=on&ft=dress&when=A.D.+1800-1900&pos=709

as well as “Fan Front” dresses from the ’40s through 50’s.

It also nearly matches drawings of dresses from the same time frame in the book ‘Costume in Detail 1730-1930’ by Nancy Bradfield and photos of an 1840s Mourning Dresses made from silk (found on this site of 19th Century Mourning Clothing).

I’m not quite sure how the white center of the bodice is attached; it could be an insert attached by hooks, some variation of a chemisette or dickey, or it could be sewn under the tucks on each side with closures down the front (which I think is less likely, since something so light would be easily soiled and most collars or cuffs of the time were detachable for easy washing).

On to the muslin mock-up!