Corset, c.1901

Another old project which never got posted; I made this corset for wearing with my linen traveling suit for an event in June 2023. I ended up wearing it with the edges raw, and then it spent another two years in my to-do basket before the binding got added.

Nothing like a photo to reveal the last few threads that need snipping.

 

I used the same material and hardware as for the 1870s and 1890s corsets: busk and 1/4" spring steels from Wawak, second-favorite coutil from I-forget-which supplier (might have been from Renaissance Fabrics). The pattern is one that was custom-drafted for me by Marie of The Fitting Room, right before everything shut down back in 2020. It's based on the corset design of c.1901 on page 84 of Nora Wraugh's Corsets and Crinolines. 

I was looking for a corset that I could use for as much of the 1890s-1910s as possible (since I don't do enough events from that time to get multiple specific corsets), and while it's not really a substitute for the longer-lined corsets c.1910, it is much easier for me to put on than one of those would be, while also being closer to the desired shape than any of my earlier corsets. 

Dotted Swiss Puffed Undersleeves, c.1858

Puffed undersleeves.

One of the last items out of the "to do" basket for this year: the puffed undersleeves I started for a long-cancelled workshop back in January 2020. At the time, I recall working from one of those small magazine illustrations, excited to find one made from Swiss dot, which I had on hand. 

Possible inspiration, Peterson's Feb 1858.

Unfortunately, I didn't seem to save illustration I'd used back then. I think it was the one above, from Peterson's Feb 1858, though I don't recall that second ruffle between the two lower puffs (nor do I can for it). Another similar Swiss dot sleeve, but with only two puffs and an extra bow appears in Godey's April 1859, though the one I used definitely had three.  

Working from an illustration only, I made up my own pattern. I decided to try using three rectangles: a base piece (width desired for upper arm by length of finished sleeve), a ruffle (2" by 1.5 times finished wrist measure), and a piece for the three puffs (about 6" wider than the base piece and 3/4 it's length). I started by closing each rectangle into a tube (running and felling the seam), then hemmed the upper edge of the base sleeve and the lower edge of the ruffle. I folded down the upper seam allowance of the puff, and then did rows of running stitches for gathering along the raw edges of the base and ruffle, as well as the upper and lower edges of the puff piece and two rows dividing it into thirds. From there, I pinned the puff to the base, then stitched all three pieces together at the wrist. Working up from the wrist, I gathered the puffs to the desired size and tacked them to the base along each of the three lines of gathers. 

I like the final effect, but am at a loss for how to iron the sleeve. More experiments are clearly in the future. 

December Mending

December was pretty busy with Christmas living history events and making presents, but I found time for some mending tasks which came up.

My long-suffering apron.

I pulled a few inches of gathering out of my print apron late in November, but re-stitched it all while waiting for a car repair appointment. Timely, now that I'm back in the Nisqually kitchen about once a month.

I also managed to tear a seam on my gray mantle, but it was a quick repair when I got home from carolling.

Small, easy to stitch, and no damage done to the fabric!

 Last item added to the pile are my red stockings, but those will have to wait until January.

Resource: Royal School of Needlework Stitch

Computer troubles have stymied my usual 'blog all 12 days of Christmas' plan, but I did find a fun new resource to share: The Royal School of Needlework's online Stitch Bank. They have a written description of each embroidery stitch, with step-by-step photographs and video of how to do it. I really enjoyed the tagging system (covering both the type of stitchand its uses), which allowed me to browse through all the early modern blackwork options.

Merry Christmas

 

The Christmas Tree, in The Children's Treasure, December 1, 1873.

Pickled Cucumbers and Radish Pods, 1845

Tidying up the blog before the year ends, and realized I never photographed my final batch of pickles last August. The last historic receipts I tried were Pickled Cucumbers and Pickled Radish Pods, based on the recipes in "Cookery Made Easy" (1845).

What an attractively arranged shelf!

As usual, I followed modern canning processes for safely, but used the historic flavor profiles with allspice, ginger, and black pepper in an all-vinegar pickle. Due to the absurd size all my cucumbers got to this year, I did have to slice them instead of using whole 3" gherkins.

Bonus round! 

Do to the aforementioned 'absurd abundance of huge cucumbers' which was summer 2025, I used the left-over 10 lbs of cucumbers to make a modern bread & butter pickle from the recipe posted by the National Center for Home Food Preservation. As that recipe calls for 6 lbs of cucumbers, I ended up making 1 and 2/3 batches to get them all used up.

This one was a bit different, in that it started by slicing up the cucumbers (10 lbs, cut into 3/16" slices) and onions (5lbs, thinly sliced), adding 5/6 cup salt, then covering them with ice in the fridge for 4 hours. I then got to boil together 6 2/3 cups vinegar, 7.5 cups sugar,  3 Tbsp + 1 tsp mustard seed, 2.5 tsp celery seed, and 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp turmeric for 10 minutes. Hot pack (add drained cucumbers and onions to the pickle, bringing back up to boiling), then put into jars and process ten minutes in the water bath. [The time varies with recipe, jar size and elevation. These instructions said to process pint or quart jars for 10 minutes at elevations up to 1000ft, for 15 min up to 6,000 ft, and for 20 minutes when working above 6,000 ft.]

My 10 lbs of cucumbers yielded 6 quarts of pickles, which is a full load in my water canner. There was actually enough material for a 7th quart jar, but rather than run a second load, I just put the rest into the fridge for refrigerator pickles.

Very exciting jar of pickles!

 

Plaid Sidelacing Gaiters, 1850s

The last part of my new winter 1850s ensemble was a pair of side-lacing gaiter to match my new basque outfit with its knit under-sleeves. I did have them finished for both Christmas events, as I had hoped. The green and purple gaiters are single-soled, so I've only been wearing them for indoor events, while the low shoes from this spring have had a busy year of wear and need some fixing, making them less than ideal for a rainy December day.

New gaiters.

I'm really happy with how these turned out, and how simple they work to make. If nothing else, this was the first time in a long while that I was able to take a pattern I'd previously used (for the re-made plaid gaiters) and just cut out a new project without needing to re-do the fitting and tweak it further.

To expedite matters, I basted and stitched the uppers on machine, with only the eyelets and binding sewn by hand. I also used rubber cement to attach both insole and outer sole, which greatly sped up the process. 

The shoes fit fine, though with the double sole I didn't have enough room to add supportive insoles. They were still a bit chilly when I had to walk over damp grass at the first event, but gave adequate comfort indoors and on pavement. I would like to experiment with adding a warmer period insole (such as the knitted one in The Workwoman's Guide), but didn't have time to make such a thing between the Nisqually and Steilacoom events. I'm also planning to make better laces, probably by dyeing some cut-down corset laces and adding aiglets, but the thick cotton cord seen above worked adequately for a single event.