We’re very pleased to announce that registration is now open for our upcoming Sewing Academy series, hosted by the Friends of Missouri Town 1855 in Blue Springs, Missouri (Kansas City, MO area).

We hope you’ll join us Friday, 13 April 2012 and Saturday, 14 April 2012, for hands-on workshops that will inspire, instruct, and engage everyone from the newest newbie, to the moldiest oldie.

(registration form on the first page, workshop details on the second)

Registration will close 15 March 2012, so don’t delay. When you register, we’ll process $20 of your total workshop fees and hold your seats. The balance will be processed at the close of registration. We’ll have on-line registration coded and open next week; for now, feel free to call in or mail your registration!

With cooler weather reigning in most areas, you may be looking for those particular wardrobe additions that are both accurate, and designed to keep you warmer, safer, and happier at winter activities. Look no further than the glorious Winter Hood! Created separate from other winter wraps, your hood moves freely with your head, blocks drafts, and acts as a perfect platform for personal expression through the use of colorful fabrics, or even a touch of luxury in an otherwise working class wardrobe.

Here are some top-notch resources for accurately-made hoods, suited for all cool-weather living history endeavors:

• Overview article on observing correct historic shapes from the delightful Anna Worden Bauersmith
• Anna’s new hood pattern (which includes youth sizes!) (She also sells ready-made hoods through her Etsy shop…)
• Hood options from Lynette Miller at Miller’s Millinery.
• Discussions of hoods in The Sewing Academy @ Home Forum.

Sure, we may end the year with destruction of epic Mayan proportions, but let’s squeeze in all the great learning we can first!

You can download our 2012 Sewing Academy series planner now, and have Elizabeth come to you for a full weekend of fun and hands-on education.

The process of moving forward in living history is a big deal for the progressively-minded. Want a peek into the minds of those “oddball hardcores?” Take a gander at this recent thread from the forum:

New Year, New Us living history resolutions

The Sewing Academy @ Home forum is not just for clothing tech support; you’ll also find a vibrant and civil community of living history enthusiasts. It’s a great place to help you make your 2012 historic (and not in a Mayan sort of way.)

Transcribed from the 5 January 1861 Rural New Yorker

Borrowers

There is a certain class of persons who seem to be inveterate foes of decency, as far as the returning of borrowed articles is concerned. Have you ever, gentle reader, been blessed with one of these “borrowers” for a neighbor? If you have, you doubtless know what it is to measure out homeopathic doses of tea, starch, sugar, and all the et ceteras of housekeeping. If “trials bring strength,” your patience charity, and other Christian graces are undoubtedly largely developed. Exercise has probably not been neglected, as you have daily to “just step across the way” after your washtub, smoothing iron, or most vexatious of all, your newspaper. Sometimes one is tempted to exclaim “blessed be nothing,” for then at least one is free from all importunities to lend.

It seems to be an established rule with these borrowers, that book and papers are purchased by their friends “pro bono publico,” instead of their individual, gratification. Perhaps from this misapprehension arises all those inconveniences wherewith they so annoy the reading part of the community. And it certainly is an annoyance, just as you have settled yourself for a quiet evening’s looking over the paper, to have your neighbor step in with his stereotyped “Good evening, Mrs White–thought I’d just run over and look at your last paper a few moments.”

Well, there is no use in crying, so you hand him the paper, inwardly hoping that his few minutes may be few indeed. But no, he sits immovable, until hastily glancing at the clock, he perceives it is rather an unseasonable hour. Then comes the crowning trial for you as he coolly says: –”I beg your pardon for staying so late, but really this story was so interesting I didn’t mind how fast the evening was slipping away; guess I’d better take it home and finish it.”

Away he goes, paper in hand, and after it has been read and re-read by the whole Smith family, after the news is old, the jokes stale, and the recipes cut out, your paper comes home, if you choose to bring it.

This is about a fair specimen of newspaper lending; and if my experience is any criterion to judge by, lending books is not much better. Now and then one is returned uninjured, but the majority come home with broken back and leaves that suggest at once the use of Spalding’s glue. Others, like the Dutchman’s hens, “come home missing.” But it will not answer to be too severe upon this army of borrowers. We must give, “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little,” and wait patiently for that “good time coming,” when every man shall be the possessor of his own Bible, his own tooth-brush, and his own newspaper.

If you, like the Cousin S from Vermont, are plagued by Borrowers, consider giving either them or yourself the gift of a new copy of The Dressmaker’s Guide, Second Edition, for Christmas!

I was tickled to read this very concise look at how gentlemen can improve their mid-19th century impression… you’ll want to visit and read it, too! With the expansion of citizen living history, more and more men are exploring the wide range of mid-century clothing styles, but one thing they all have in common is the need to wear those trousers at the right height! This, as with so many physical details, is another spot where looking at images of The Original Cast is a huge help; you’ll enjoy some great images in the article. My thanks to Mr James Williams for making it available!

I count eight.

All four cloth dolls were made using our Great Auntie Maude’s Favorite Cloth Doll Pattern, available in the Marketplace. It’s so much fun to see the individuality each girl’s doll has!

A simple cloth doll can be a great Christmas gift, and definitely works well in the toy basket for living history events. These girls are all set to do some high quality historic interpretation, just by sitting under a tree and playing together. They can also undertake their own doll sewing and gain useful historic stitching skills (to the delight of mothers everywhere!)

Thanks, girls, for sharing your dolls with us!

From the Sewing Academy @ Home Forum, here’s an excellent topic:

Help!  My oldest, almost 12, needs new everything.  We haven’t made her stays of any kind yet but I am sure it is time.  She is starting to develop, has a small bust-to-waist difference, but is still very short-waisted.

Should I:

a) Use the Girls pattern (#200) and make it stop at her waist, resulting in something very similar to a sports bra in look. b) Use the Girls pattern (#200)  and ignore her anatomical waist and make her waist about 15″ where her pants end. c) Use a corset pattern and ignore the busk (button the front closed) and using cording instead of stays with lacing in the back. d) Make her a real corset (Please say no, I’m not sure I’m up to the expense or have enough time to order stuff before I need it.) e) Some other option I am completely overlooking

This is a very common position for families with girls in the 9 to 13 age group!

Most girls, at the very beginning of their development, go through a stage where their bodies store some reserves to use during the major growth of puberty. Since she’s likely to hit a lot of development in the next two years (visible and invisible), I’d go with making her comfortable corded stays now, rather than a fully boned women’s corset. Go for something for support and *minimal* torso control, just enough to help her feel modest and secure.

You could absolutely go with a child-shaped stay, or if she would prefer, and a more generous figure shape warrants it, try the curvier lines of an adult’s shape (control down over the top of the hip), and consider adding straps for now. Does she have a preference at this point? If so, I’d try to follow her preference as to shape, and make this as inexpensive as possible: buttoning closure in the back, or possibly front, cording rather than boning, very minimally compressive… something to give a stable platform for her clothing.

Anticipate that even if she doesn’t get a lot taller in the next few years, she will most likely change shape a good deal, so use inexpensive cotton sateen for the stays (or another inexpensive, lightweight, fairly firm fabric), and cording, etc, to keep the stay updates both very affordable and very period-correct.

Many girls in living history are making their way into their teens lacking appropriate support. As they get taller, and move toward ever-lengthening skirts and petticoats, the weight of their clothing can become oppressive. Adding supportive stays and light corsets to their historic wardrobe is the best way to get a finished look consistent with images of The Original Cast, and it will also help support the increasing weight of their clothing, allowing them greater freedom of movement and far more comfortable historic living.

Between the ages of 12 and 20, a girl may go through two, three, four, or even more corseting changes, as her figure develops: all the more reason to undertake these supportive endeavors at home!

In the Marketplace, you’ll find some resources to help you keep your teens and pre-teens correctly supported. Our Girl’s Linens pattern has simple corded stays that are very easy to fit for support. Practical Prinkery and The Dressmaker’s Guide both include chapters on corsetry, and how to make both a customized pattern, and finished corded or boned corsets.

Beyond comfortable corded stays, here’s one last tip on keeping this age group well-turned-out: Growth Tucks! They’re vital for drawers, skirts, and petticoats!

Happy Independence Day, everyone! We’re having a lovely holiday full of patriotism and bagpipes here, and hope you’re doing the same.

The event season is in full swing all around the country, and we’re having a great time seeing the event pictures and notes from everyone!

Don’t forget the resources we have for you in the Marketplace, above, and in the Compendium as well. You can click through to the Academy @ Home forum and visit with a great community of like-minded historic souls, or contact us directly for help with your projects. We’ve a few things up our sleeves to show off in the coming months, so do drop by frequently!

And if you’ve been dragged into Facebook (I have been, thanks to my loving Auntie C, who is, in her own way, far more fierce than any Great Auntie Maude), do take a moment to visit us there: The Sewing Academy Facebook Page

Some time ago, a writer for the Education section of National Geographic’s site contacted me about participating in an article on Civil War reenactment… and of course, being a life-long reader of the magazine (and a home-schooling-Mom user of the site!) I said yes. The article was published today. Pop on over and take a peek!

Orders placed between 9 June and 24 June will ship starting Saturday, 25 June.

We’ll be available to answer tech support email throughout, however!

We’re pleased to announce a one-day series of Sewing Academy workshops in the Salt Lake City area, 13 June, 2011… yes, that’s just a little under two weeks away!

Seating is quite limited, so please reserve yours by phoning in your registration (208-523-3673) or emailing me directly before 9 June.

We’ll explore:

Take a look at the functional pieces you need in a historic wardrobe uniquely suited to your roles, activities, and personality. We’ll discuss nation-wide, regional, and personal specifics, and see the many ways your research applies to your clothing decisions. We’ll take things from the skin out, and share loads of resources for every portion of your wardrobe planning. Please bring your list of questions (or email them to me ahead of time!) This is a fantastic overview workshop, whether you’re starting from scratch, or looking to upgrade the accuracy of your current wardrobe! $15

Some fridge space will be available if you have things you’d like to keep cold.

We’ll look at several ways to get an excellent fit for any figure: starting from a published historic pattern (with pattern review notes!), draping with fabric directly on the body, and some very surprising, thoroughly modern ways to get a jump start on a customized historic pattern for your figure! We’ll also talk about re-fitting and re-working strategies if you have existing clothing you’re looking to upgrade. Please let me know if you’d be interested in being one of our fit models–you’ll go home with your basic bodice shapes. $15

Our foremothers were extremely clever! Learn their tips and tricks as you create a sampler of mid-19th century handsewing techniques you’ll use over and over in your historic sewing. We’ll cover methods to handle fullness (gathering, stroked gathering, gauging, and pleating), closures (how to set hooks and eyes invisibly and securely), and finishing (bias binding, tiny piping, the most common hem styles, and even how to make a tiny rolled hem without cussing!) Your course fee include a materials kit. $20

With some great wardrobes in place, it’s time to get into the living history part of it! We’ll look at interpretive voice, ways to engage your visitors, and how to bring your own personal passion and research into high-quality interpretive work. Telling the stories of the past effectively does not need to be intimidating. You can do it! You’ll leave this workshop excited and ready to dive into active living history. $15

Register by phone at 208-523-3673; we can take your payment information by phone

Register by email: elizabeth@thesewingacademy.org Please let us know your workshop selections, and we’ll give you a call to collect payment information.

Register for the full series, and receive a special Sewing Academy edition of our Dressmaker’s Guide (with bonus content only found in the series editions!), a $30 value!

Or, register for one, two, or three workshops and save 33% on your copy of the Sewing Academy edition of the Dressmaker’s Guide: only $20

We’ll send you a registration confirmation by email with the workshop location and map (we’ll be just a smidge north of SLC, in beautiful Bountiful).

Plan to bring yourself, a brown-bag lunch, your favorite pen or pencil, and a favorite pair of fabric scissors or thimble if you like. Dress for comfort; period clothing is *not* required. If you’d like to dress out, feel free; please do not wear hoops, as space is limited!

This story is somewhat diminished without pictures (which, thankfully, I do not have), and I confess myself a bit hampered when limited only to the written word, and deprived of the ability to gesticulate and pantomime the adventure. Nevertheless, I share my horrific tale in the hopes that someone may be edified, and spared a similar fate.

When I started out in Living History, I presumed myself to be a fairly Smart Girl. When I heard that to be historically accurate, a woman should wear drawers that lack a sewn-closed crutch seam, the Smart Girl in me cringed. How immodest! thought she. How inconvenient! Surely, this is beyond the pale.

And so, Smart Girl that I presumed myself to be, I held fast to a decision to wear that ultimate in modest apparel, cotton-lycra bike shorts, beneath my skirts.

Sure, it meant I had to carefully plan my beverages, and necessitated some fairly convoluted acrobatics just to use a porta-loo, but it was worth it, right? To avoid those dreadful split drawers, I’d do just about anything. Besides, the one pair I’d worn for five or six minutes (borrowed from a shorter friend) would have given me a permanent double wedgie, and that couldn’t be good, right?

I continued with my acrobatic endeavors for a few events. If you’ve not done it yourself, the process of trying to use a porta-loo, whilst wearing a hooped skirt, and a corset, and cotton-lycra bike shorts tucked up under that corset… well, let’s say that quantum entanglement theory is relatively simple, comparatively, and leave it at that. One key feature of the process is needing to hike the the dress skirt, several petticoats, and hoop skirt well above one’s shoulders, catch the hoops together with one hand and pull them toward the front of the body, and proceed with business with oneself as the rather sweaty, huffy cheese in the middle of a hoopskirt taco.

This tends to limit one’s peripheral vision.

About one year into my living history exploits, I took a well-planned trip to confessional at Our Lady of Blue Waters. I re-enacted the hoopskirt taco arrangement, and backed into a standard-sized porta-loo to perform my endeavors. It wasn’t until I was seated, and commencing my endeavors, that I noticed the entire interior of the porta-loo at been “decorated” by a veritable Poo Picasso. Everything I was wearing was now covered with human waste that I had not been able to see, because I was too busy wrangling my modern layers the Smart Girl Me had insisted on using, against the advice of very clever living history friends.

I survived. I burned all my clothes, but I survived. I also borrowed some books from those dear friends, applied some drafting and geometry, and worked out a good math plan to create historically correct split drawers for myself, that fit in the length (to avoid the Mother of All Wedgies), fit in the width (with a nice bit of overlap for customized privacy and convenience), and could be worn comfortably in all weather.

With well-adjusted split drawers, visiting Our Lady of the Blue Waters is as simple as stepping in, lifting skirts straight up, and taking a wide stance before sitting and commencing any needed endeavors. No more hoop tacos. No more Poo Picasso striking without warning.

And that, friends, is why I wear split drawers.

Here’s how to make your own.

How important is historical accuracy in an interpretive plan?

Pardon me a moment while I hop up on this handy stump and share a few thoughts…

Patrons to any historic site (and extrapolating, to any history-focused event) have the very reasonable expectation that the site is “doing it right”–in other words, that the site is presenting them with historically-consistent information all the way through, from plants in the flower beds, to items in the gift shops, to household furnishings, to the details of material culture in clothing and accessories, and definitely including the information presented through entertainment.

Therefore, it is vital that any on-site entertainment be continually looking for ways to upgrade the historical content, becoming “edu-tainment”–something that patrons can enjoy, and also walk away having learned things that accurately reflect the historic record. The good news is, small changes can be free (or very nearly so), and change can happen over time.

Historic clothing plays a tremendous role in all of this. It’s a primary visual component of any historic interpretation, and deserves weighty consideration. The Original Cast did every single activity we might interpret while wearing a full complement of accurate clothing; there is no reason we should endeavor to do less. More after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve struggled with getting a published pattern to fit, you’ll want to download and try our most recent addition to the Compendium: Having a Fit. This simple checklist of fitting tips was one of our very first published articles, and was the seed that grew to become The Dressmaker’s Guide! You can use it with any published pattern, and even to refine the fit of a dress you’re already wearing.

Remember, all of the articles and projects you’ll find in the Compendium are free for sharing. You’re very welcome to make extra copies to share with others needing a little boost, some encouragement, or a budget-friendly way to outfit themselves or their family for living history activities. Please let us know if we can be of help!