I like the stripes on this one: the contrast between the vertical stripes on the bodice and skirt, the horizontal stripe on the skirt, and diagonal of the bias-cut sleeves. The maker even made the effort to align the stripes on the cape and bodice at the center front.
 |
| Dress, cotton, c.1825. From LACMA. |
Found this while working on a different research project, and fell in with love with the stripe fabric. It's described as a denim, which I need to look into further, as I haven't seen a two-color striped denim like this before. Anyway, I love how the striped fabric and darker (piped?) edging makes the bias-bands pop. It's very effective as trim, but subtle enough not to overwhelm the whole garment.
 |
| Dress, European, c.1890, in LACMA. |
Mostly Faire gear this month: I've fixed holes in my linen hose every weekend, and probably should just made new pairs for next summer. Also somehow managed to pull out both gusset seams on last year's smock and got to repair those felled seams. Awkward.
 |
| Bad enough felling the crossing seams once... |
Knit garters, based on the Typical Tudor recipe for...knit garters. Appropriately worked in garter stitch, with two strands of undyed wool singles.
 |
| Garters as knit. |
I made mine long enough for cross-gartering, only to find that my knees really aren't the right shape for it. Fortunately, the garters work just as well tied single.
I tried to dye the garters blue (messed up my indigo vat this time, got a pale yellow that dried to absolutely nothing), then red/orange/pink/brown (madder vat, any color would be fine, except that I got a shade I call "world's palest oatmeal"), and finally yellow/green (pomegranate...but instead ended up with darkest brown-black instead). Functionally, this was the only color I was not going for at any point, but they still work fine and it's not like my garters are ever visible under a kirtle.
 |
| And dyed brown. |
This month's fun antique garment is from LACMA:
 |
| Two-piece silk dress, c. 1853-5. LACMA. |
The color scheme of this dress is what caught my eye. To date, both original prints a la disposition that I've handled were purple motifs printed on a white-ground, with a purple-grounded border; both were also made up into flounced skirt dresses. This dress is silk rather than cotton, and seemingly used two fabrics rather than a border print, but follows the same color and design scheme. It's makes me wonder if this coincidence or evidence for a trend among mid-1850s flounced dresses.
The oddly flat point on this bodice's front waist also caught my eye. I've never seen one quite like it, and at first was inclined to assume a later remake. Or perhaps that I looking at the back of a postillion basque or a peplum (though the sleeves suggest that we're looking at the front of the bodice). I'd really like to see this garment in person and up close to figure out what's going on with it.
Busy month for repair work. I fixed the seams in both pairs of linen hose; put new ties on my plaid petticoat, Victorian nightcap, and plain coif; replaced the waistband on my white linen apron and reattached that of the green; put darts in my green kirtle to fix the neckline gap; and finally finished the buttonholes on my new(er) drawers.
 |
| Nearly emptied the workbasket. For now. |
 |
| Tea Cakes. |
TEA CAKE. Two cups of sugar, 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of milk, half a teaspoonful of pearlash, flour enough to make it stiff enough to roll out; add carraway seed or spice.I actually made a full batch this time, and even got to use the specified leavener, and I had some pearlash on hand. Huzzah for home-brew supply shops.
Two ingredients do not have specified quantities: flour and spice. I ended up using 3 cups of flour, then working in another 1-1.5 cups flour as I was preparing to roll it out. I found this still a still a bit too sticky to do so, but being pressed for time, I chose to roll it into balls rather than rolling out
and cutting. Next time I try this recipe, I think I would start with 4.5 or 5 cups flour, plus some for rolling. I'd also be tempted to chill the dough overnight before rolling it out--the sticky consistency of the dough reminded me of how my modern cutout cookie dough looks before it is allowed to rest.
For the spice I estimated about 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp cloves. I found this adequately flavorful; my guests' initial feedback was positive, though there was one vote that it could have a bit more spice. Next time I might increase each by 1/4 tsp and see how that goes.
One batch made two very full pans of cakes; in less of a hurry, I'd probably divide it into 3 pans since they do spread out a bit. I baked them at 350F for about 10-12 minutes per pan; this saw the edges starting to darken noticeably while the centers were barely done, but I think that had more to do with the shape of the cakes than not.
Overall, this was a fairly easy and straightforward recipe, and I think it fits well into the tea cake/dessert biscuit niche.
