I finally started into some historical clothing sewing. It was a bittersweet experience. It felt so good to do sewing that was so familiar to me that I didn't even need instructions. The bitter part was that I couldn't help thinking of my historical sewing mentor, Suzanne, and how much I missed her. I kept thinking I should call her up to tell her about my latest projects but then I would remember that she's passed away. It was difficult, but like I said, it was bittersweet.
I decided to start small and sew a dress for my daughter. I've had these children's Civil War clothing patterns for something like 10 years and never had children to use them for. I even had fabric I had purchased as a single, childless teenager for my future children which is what I used for her dress. How insightful of me! It's not the prettiest fabric, but I didn't have to go out and buy it, so that was great!
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| Boone Frock by Period Impressions |
So, I decided to make a
Boone Frock for my daughter. It's an 18th century dress, but it's so simple and versatile. I remember seeing a little girl in one at a Civil War event and she was adorable and looked very comfortable. The problem was that I had the pattern, but no actual instructions. I was able to print off the picture (above) and use that as I guide, but I was a little nervous. I didn't even cut it out in scrap fabric, but just dove right in. Not really recommended, but there were only 5 pieces to cut, so I figured it was simple enough that it would be hard to mess up.
Thank goodness I have 9 years of historical sewing under my belt! There was one piece that was not included because you have to know the chest measurement of the child and just cut out 2 rectangular pieces of the right length to gather the front and back panels to. I guessed on the width. It took me just one day and I even whipped together a matching, blue linen cap with lace from another pattern I had. Wow! I was so proud of myself! I feel as if I haven't had a 7 year break from historical sewing. It's amazing how easily I slipped back into it. That bodes very well for my next project - my Regency corset! (I got the pattern and the wooden busk in the mail yesterday. Yippeee!)
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Boone Frock with two growth tucks.
I just realized the square neck is much smaller than the one in the picture, but I didn't want to have it hanging off her shoulders. |
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| A sweet little print, even if it's not the prettiest of colors.... |
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| Frock and cap. I only had a minimal amount of hand sewing to do on the dress. And on the cap - none at all! How lazy is that! haha! I was even able to sew the lace on by machine, which is how I was able to put it together in under an hour. |
I finished the dress late at night, so the next morning I showed it to my 2-year-old daughter and put it on her. She shouted "No!" and wanted it off right away. When I put the cap on her earlier yesterday, she also said, "No", and pulled it off. Hmm. I guess because it doesn't have doggies or kitties on it, it's not awesome enough. I really sewed this dress for the possibility of us going to the 150th Gettysburg event next year. I want us all to dress up as a family! Hopefully by then, she'll be more happy to dress in costume. We'll see! I wonder if a child's corset and corded petticoat would be pushing it a bit for her?.....
