1865 Dress Research, Part II: Skirts and Skirt Support

More thoughts and sources since the first iteration.

Pictures provided by K. Krewer at the Sewing Academy got me thinking along the lines of layering the skirt (the striped silk in my first research post also had the "en tablier" front, but with a back bow instead of the puffs in Mrs. Krewer's example).  It's a cool effect, and one I'd like to try if I can make the fabric (metaphorically) stretch.

"The petticoat is ornamented with the same lace as the train, sometimes in flounces, sometimes in puffings or bouffons of tulle, sometimes en tablier, that is, down either side."
-Description of Court Dress from The Habits of Good Society, 1865

(In this context, the "petticoat" is meant to be seen... because Court Dress.)

The same term 'en tablier' is used in 1864 (in the February issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine) to describe a morning costume with a contrasting front panel.

From Frank Leslie's Ladies' Magazine and Gazette of Fashion, August 1865 

"Dress of black silk, trimmed en tablier with a wide band of violet silk."

The French, however, seem to actually mean 'apron-shaped' instead of  'open/contrast panel' when they use it:

La Moniteur de la Mode, December 1864

"La jupe de taffetas blanc forme bien la traîne, elle est ornée d une haute dentelle s'arrondissant derrière en habit-traine et en tablier plus court devant."

For the less high-fashion minded, here's what Peterson's had to say about dresses in February 1865:

Summary: High waists, waistbands, gored skirts, and narrow sleeves.

As for what's going on under those skirts (forgive the expression):

Peterson's, February 1865

Peterson's, May 1865

Der Bazar, March 1865

Footprint of the above hoop (Der Bazar, March 1865)

Gored petticoats to support gored skirts, and the crinoline shape itself is morphing along similar lines (fuller in back than front; less "bell" and more "conical"/"pyramidal" in shape, with an egg-shaped footprint instead of a round one).  As I'm not about to make two new crinolines for one event, I'm working on some gored and/or full-backed petticoats (with a small 'tournure'/'dress improver') for use with with my existing cages, to simulate the full-back look.  My 1865 persona is apparently an economically-minded woman who already has a perfectly serviceable cage, and is being cautious about this new 'fad' in skirt shape, while trying not to look too out-dated.  

HFF #23: Sweet Sips or Potent Potables

The Challenge: Make a beverage.

The Receipt: Plain Lemonade (receipt #223) from Jerry Thomas's How to Mix Drinks

Cut in very thin slices 3 lemons, put them in a basin, add half a pound of sugar, either white or brown; bruise all together, add a gallon of water, and stir well. It is then ready. 

Date/Region: 1862, American

How did you make it: Half scale. Sliced three small lemons* into a mixing bowl, per the instructions, added 1 cup of granulated sugar and beat with a wooden spoon.  Stirred in 1/2 gallon of water.

*Not sure of the average size of lemons in the 1860s, so I'm just guessing that these are the appropriate size for a half-batch.

Time: Under 10 minutes

Cost: $1.50 for lemons; sugar on hand.

How successful was it: A light, not-to-sweet lemonade.  Quick and straight forward; would make again.

How accurate was it: Only potential issue is the average size of lemons in the 1860s.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Mid-Nineteenth Century Gored Corset

Updating my gored 1850s/1860s number.  It started life as the Simplicity 2890 corset (pattern by Kay Gnagey).  After two alterations, I got the bust gussets to the almost-proper widths for me.  Following Liz Clark's advice (and scissor-work) at the Nisqually workshops in October, there are now four additional hip gussets in the side and side back; the back gusset has also been re-sized, and the entire upper front extended by 2". I also added some additional boning, to help support the extra swaths of fabric.  Additional fitting advice from the SA ladies, and some final gore re-shaping/ change of bone placement from Dana, and voila:

I've decided that I still hate sewing in gores, but that they can be effective.

Oregon City Textile Con

Marge Harding's Historic Textile, Fashion, and Living History Conference was a blast!  I'm definitely going back next time, ideally with more batteries for the camera, and a larger budget for fabric--Oregon City being conveniently near to a certain Pendelton Woolen outlet.

I got to take classes from Eileen Trestain (who let us handle and drool-over-but-not-on awesome historic quilts) and Carolann Schmidt (who's invisible mending methods have already come in handy).  There were talks from Carolann, Liz Clark, and Marge Harding, and a plethora of original garments to study.  Rotating displays on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday featured over three dozen unique articles each, from the late eighteenth to early twentieth centuries.  The small, yet dangerous, dealer's room included very reasonably priced reproduction fabric, period-appropriate cashmere shawls, magazines and fashion plates, patterns, reference books, and even original garments.

On Saturday afternoon, were we allowed to handle some fifty dresses and wrappers, dated 1815 to 1915, taking closer looks at construction methods, repairs, alterations, material, trim, and style elements.  That evening, dinner included a fashion show of attendee's reproduction apparel, in which the 1870s contingent really blew the rest of us out of the water.

Although I didn't make it to the nearby McLoughlin House (closed on Sundays), the Stevens-Crawford House Museum put on a special display of gowns to coincide with the conference.

Now to put my notes in order, and hopefully label the 1445 photographs I took...

Corded Stays, 1860s

Using the suggestions in The Dressmaker's Guide, I adapted the Simplicity 9000-series shaped-seam corset into corded stays for Mom.  For a wide variety of reasons (most pertinently, that her first/only-planned event is a 4 mile walk) I think she'll find them more comfortable--or at least less unfamiliar--than the steel-boned corsets I favor.

In an ideal world, after the initial measurements, I'd baste some plastic boning onto a single-layer toile, adjust the fit and then build the real corset sandwich style, putting the seam allowances between the layers.  Since I'm on a time budget, fitting over a distance, and likely to be recycling/remaking this garment in the future, I instead kept the two layers of each piece together and have the seam allowances visible on the inside.  This allowed me to do some of the cording before fitting (adjustments will be made at the seam lines, so cord channels down the center of each piece will be safe).  I also worked the button-closures and set the lacing-grommets in advance, as those portions are straight lines and fastening points, ie, unlikely locations for seam tweaking.

Corded pieces, showing eyelets and button holes

My grommet setting tools, however, had ideas of their own, and went into open rebellion while working on the back pieces.

With the pieces basted together, Mom tried on the ultra-lightly-corded stays; I pinned out excess fabric at the seams, until the garment fit smoothly and snugly.  After re-stitching the seams along their new lines, I added additional cording channels along each.  Finally, the raw upper and lower edges were finished with self-fabric bias binding, and the seam allowances were  whip-stitched against fraying.

Finished Stays

Vital Stats: Front fastens with 9 bone buttons (hand-worked button holes); back adjusts with 26 hand-sewn thread eyelets; stiffened with two 1/4" spring steel bones at center back and approximately 92 vertical rows of cording running down the center of each piece, at the center front and back openings, and along the seams.

HFF #22: Make Do, or Do Without

The Challenge: Make an homage to historic ingenuity: work around a food scarcity or use historic substitutions.

The Receipt:  Quince Apple Pudding from Miss Leslie's Directions for Cookery, In Its Various Branches

QUINCE PUDDING. --Take six large ripe quinces; pare them, and cut out all the blemishes. Then scrape them to a pulp, and mix the pulp with half a pint of cream, and half a pound of powdered sugar, stirring them together very hard. Beat the yolks of seven eggs, (omitting all the whites except two,) and stir them gradually into the mixture, adding two wine glasses of rose water. Stir the whole well together and bake it in a buttered dish three quarters of an hour. Grate sugar over it when cold.

If you cannot obtain cream, you may substitute a quarter of a pound of fresh butter stirred with the sugar and quince.

A baked apple pudding may be made in the same manner.

The Internet suggests that quinces are, by mass, about half the size of a medium apple.

Date/Region: American (Philadelphia), 1840

How did you make it: Peel and core three large apples, stew in a saucepan with approximately 1/4 c. water until soft, then mash into a pulp.  Stir in 1/4 lb butter (1/2 cup) and 1/2 lb powdered sugar (scant 2 cups).  Beat 5 egg yokes and two whole eggs, and stir in with 4 oz of rose water (half the named amount, but still a lot of rosewater).  Bake in a buttered pie tin 60 min at 350F.  Sprinkled with granulated sugar when cool.

Time: Less than two hours

Cost: $5.00-ish depending on current cost of apples, amount of rosewater used

How successful was it: Well, it baked alright (was still liquid in the center after the suggested 45 minutes, so I baked it a further 15, at which point it had solidified).  The pudding tasted interesting: even at half strength, the rosewater nearly overwhelmed the apple flavor.  The texture was a lot like the pumpkin pudding I made last autumn, about which I'm ambivalent--the closet comparison would be a very moist pumpkin pie filling.

How accurate was it:  Halved the required rosewater (and probably would use even less in the future), and use the suggested/allowed substitutions of apple for quince and butter for cream.  

Apple Pudding

More On-Line Resources: Daily Life

It's dangerous to go alone!  Take this.

Before the summer reenacting season starts, here are a few more favorite period resources.  I find reading original literature, periodicals, and manuals helpful in rounding out my persona: they help me find my 'voice' in terms of word usage and style, and provide topics of conversation, ideas for activities, and random minutiae that a nineteenth-century person would know. Answering unscripted questions in character gets easier with that background information.

For those not venturing into first person interpretation, the inclusion of authentic food, activities, music, etc., can still enhance one's impression.

My earlier entries in this series include period patterns for women's clothing, bonnet/hood patterns, original garments & material culture, school books, and nineteenth-century music & literature.

For American Civil War Reenactors, the Library of Congress Civil War Collections have a wealth of photographs and other documents.

Manners and Etiquette
The Behavior Book: A Manual for Ladies (1853-4) by Eliza Leslie (This is probably my favorite period resource, not only for the breadth of information covered, but also for the entertaining tone.)
Hints on Etiquette and the Usages of Society (1843-4) by Charles William Day
The Illustrated Manners Book (1855)

Preparing Period Food
Also featuring some good information on dining practices and servants' roles
Cook Books of the 19th Century
Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project
Historic Food Fortnightly (cooking challenges across all eras: lots of inspiration served)
Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management (linked right to the index)

Games and Activities
The American Girl's Book by Eliza Leslie (1857)
The Girl's Own Book by Lydia Maria Child (1833)
The Book of Parlour Games (1853)
Cassel's Book of In-Door Amusements (1882)
The Sociable; or One Thousand and One Home Amusements (1858)
The Play-ground; Or, Out-door Amusements for Boys (1866)
School and Parlor Tableaux (1883)

Household Tasks & Laundry
The American Family Encyclopedia (1857)
Household Work, Or, The Duties of Female Servants (1850)
The Domestic Service Guide to Housekeeping (1865)
The Laundry Maid: Her Duties and How to Perform Them (1877)

General Advice & Correspondence 
Letters to Country Girls by Jane Grey Swisshelm (1853)
Inquire within upon everything (1856)
The art of letter-writing, illustrated by examples from the best authors (1858)
The hand-book of letter-writing (1861)
The Young Lady's Friend (1838)