Quite a few dresses across all levels of the fashionable continuum employ a pocket, set into the side seam of the skirts (most find this comfortable on the dominant hand’s side of the body), and supported by a pocket stay.

A pocket stay is simply a band, tape, or other such arrangement, firmly stitched to the edge of the pocket bag furthest from the hand opening, and then tacked to the inside of the dress waist (in this image, it’s the vertical strap bridging pocket and band.)

The stay is the exact length needed to hold the pocket level and flat. It really does make things stay: you can load the pocket without fear of the side seam dragging, or putting undue strain on the seams that join pocket to skirt seam, because the stay takes up strain and keeps the pocket bag from falling down.

A pocket stay, combined with a rounded pocket shape, makes it easier to find things inside your dress pocket, too, as small things (or even larger things) cannot get lost in the pointy parts of a squared pocket bag.

You don’t need a published pattern to add a pocket to your dress. Check back soon for a new Compendium article (free to download and share!) with step-by-step instructions to help you draw and sew a pocket (plus stay!) into any dress in your wardrobe.

In the meantime: if you already have a dress pocket, but it’s been sagging or threatening to let go under the strain of the things you stash inside, add a stay! Support your pocket, and it will serve you well.

So, we’re blessed with quite a lot of photographic documentation of the era we love!

But, we’re also working with images that are more often grey-toned than colored, and that can lead to a lot of speculation about what colors the Original Cast were actually wearing. One big flaw is to examine period images taken with wet-plate technology (find a discussion of the processes here, and you’ll see why modern historic photographers are not charging enough for ferros, dags, and ambros!) and “read” them according to a modern black-and-white-film gray-scale of tones. Because modern black-and-white film is not nearly so blue-sensitive as period photography technology, the “read” is wrong; we are not used to the grayscale a historic person would expect to see in photographs.

Years and years ago, I met a really neat woman named Kathleen Lowe, who took a short series of images with both modern and  historic processes. I do have her permission, granted all those years ago, to share these images for educational use, so I’m happy to do it, with this caveat: if you want to share them, link back to this article rather than re-hosting or re-publishing her images, so the her permissions and her copyrights are maintained. Court good cosmic karma, and click through for the images.

Modern color wheel with modern color film, compared to a modern color wheel photographed with modern black-and-white film, way back when film cameras still existed, in the 1990s. It’s vintage. I’m old.

The same modern color wheel compared to itself shot with wet-plate technology and a historically-accurate camera. I know. It’s a bit different than what we expect, isn’t it?

The wet-plate image has not been manipulated or flipped; cyan really does read about the same as white! All those “mourning” pictures that show up for sale? A crimson dress, pumpkin orange dress, or screaming canary yellow dress can all photograph with the same black tones. That pale grey dress? Could be deep blue: it “reads” lighter because of the blue tones. Those “zombie” pictures from mid-century, where the sitter appears to have blank white eyes with a tiny dot of pupil and no iris? Welcome to my world: we folks with pale blue eyes end up iris-free with period photographic technology.

Even with this rather nifty color comparison, we can’t use the second set to go around “reading” colors in original images, because the actual color of the fabric and complexion is not the only factor influencing the color “read.” The age and temperatures of the chemicals used to prepare or develop the plate, the skill of the photographer, the angles of light as they strike different planes of the sitter, and even the temperature of the light that day (changeable with the season, weather, time of day, and orientation of the sun relative to the photographer’s windows or camera position) will all affect the finished image (click through for the physics explanation of the temperature of light, and here for a nice chart that relates light temperature to time of day, year, and illumination in everyday terms.)

While we can sometimes match an original image to an extant dress documented to the sitter in the image and compare the colors more directly, it’s safe to say that it’s well-nigh impossible to simply look at color comparisons and state with certainty what color something is. We can often say things like, “It reads dark here, so it may have red or yellow tones, or be black,” or “It reads light, so there may be some blue toes in the fabric,” and other such statements, but definitive declarations of color can be problematic. (This isn’t limited to armchair historians; there are some fantastic photo resource books that seem to use modern grayscale for reading the images, too. When you know that filter exists, the books remain extremely valuable for the images and non-color commentary.)

You’ll no doubt want to know more about the ways color photographs with period technology. I recommend a great (fat and wonderful) article by Michael and Virginia Mescher, available on their website here. Be patient as the pdf file loads; it is extensive, and has images included, so the file is large. (Also, if you want to share the article, link your friends to it’s location on the Mescher’s site, so they’ll always have the most recent updates and new research!)

(And if you want another run at this same topic, please visit the Compendium or click here for our free article about the The Progressive Questions!)

Here’s the pattern:

1. What did the Original Cast, the people who lived our favorite time period, actually do and use?
2. Can I replicate or do that exactly?
3. If not, what other things did the Original Cast actually do and use?
4. Which of these historic options fits best with my modern impression, budget, time, and preferences?

Let’s put them into use for a few questions (and I’m going to pick different questions than in the Compendium article.)

 I will be sleeping at a history event. Can I use my air mattress?

1: What did the Original Cast do? Well, mostly they slept in beds, with a variety of mattress options.

2: Can I do that? Yes, it’s possible to build or buy a repro bed frame, add slats or rope tension, make a period mattress, and period bedding. I’ll be quite comfortable and cozy, too.

But what if that set-up is beyond my budget, or doesn’t work for my time-frame before the event, or I lack a way to haul all that gear to and from, or the physical wherewithal to do the set-up and take-down on my own? What if I’m going to be in a tent?

That’s when we head for Question 3: What other options did the Original Cast use?

Well, in westward migration settings, most people either slept on pallets and mattresses inside the wagon, or in bedrolls on the ground under the wagon or in a tent put up for the night. There are also plans for portable cots in period publications like The Prairie Traveler (discussion of furniture starts on page 114. You’re welcome.), so I could make a more budget-scaled and transport-friendly bed that is still well within period norms.

I could skip a bed frame, and lay a pallet on a floorcloth inside or outside a tent, or in a historic building, and sleep there. I could use a simple bed-roll of period-styled quilts (with wool under me to cushion and insulate.) I could also do what many displaced and away from home people did, and rent a room for the night at a nearby boarding house or hotel, and skip hauling bedding entirely.

And if I want to use an air mattress? Well, they had ‘em. And I can, too, if I’m willing to construct one of real rubber in a period style and inflate it by means of a small bellows or my own lungs. Of all the options open to replicate the era, using an accurate air mattress is more challenging than all the others.

With any of these options, I still need to stick to period materials, techniques, and styles for bedding, wood, fasteners, etc; but I could also safely leave every speck of my sleeping arrangements open to public view, and be confident the spectators are seeing something historic, not make-do.

All that remains is to carefully examine the period-appropriate options I have (with this one question, I’m counting a minimum of nine valid period options I could choose to replicate).

Let’s do another. I think I need a purse for my bits of junk. What should I use?

1: What did They use? A quick survey of extant dresses shows something handy: pockets. Pockets quite deep and capacious, stitched right into the seam of the skirt (usually on the dominant hand side), with a “pocket stay” to support the outer reaches of the pocket bag. Properly made (with rounded corners to prevent things going lost in the points), a pocket in a dress can hold everything the modern woman thinks she needs (and more than most modern purses of moderate scale.)

2: Can I do that? Oh, yes! It’s a free or nearly-free retro-fit to existing dresses, and costs only pennies to add to new dresses, too. It’s such a great solution, in fact, that I’m going to recommend stopping there for any normal day-to-day detritus like keys, medications, handkerchiefs, lozenges, small candies to soothe or bribe little children, a tiny notebook and pencil for random jottings… not to mention modern but sometimes-felt-vital things like phones. A pocket sewn into a dress is more convenient than hauling a purse, and it’s a perfectly period solution. We can actually stop right here, and meet a need for 99% of our sistren.

I certainly could continue on through the four-step process. There are some great articles to do with cases and arrangements for travel, for instance, from Anna Worden Bauersmith. I could look at classes from Genteel Arts Academy in making my own travel bag. I could read up on other options from Virginia Mescher, regarding baskets or a host of other topics that inform what I might keep in pockets, bags, or boxes. All of that learning, and more, will only add context to my choices and expand my options.

Or, since I’ve found a great period solution that works easily and widely, I can stop right here, feeling secure that by starting with What They Did, my final choice of What I’ll Do fits well within the period norms for my own modern living history situation. It’s a great place to rest for a moment.

So I shall.

• Provo, Utah
• Bozeman, Montana
• Lee’s Summit, Missouri

… You should come and learn with us! Registration for the Sewing Academy On the Road series are now open. Remember, we won’t be able to accommodate walk-ons, so to reserve a seat, you’ll need to register.

Find more information through the links here, or click on the Workshops tab above!

For 2013, we’re doing something new, and we hope you’ll be as excited to participate as we are to host. Women in the 19th century used a group work party called a “bee” to tackle big projects together, and we’re doing the same thing. It’s the first ever

Sewing Academy Sewing Bee!

Our SA-SB will benefit the End of the Oregon Trail Center in historic Oregon City, Oregon (which seems to us a very sensible place to put an Oregon City, really). After several years of hard work from dedicated staff and volunteers, the EOTC will re-open this summer, and we want to help get them ready. Click through to read more!The End of the Oregon Trail Center needs the help. We all know how hard it can be for historic interpretive sites to stay funded these days. We also know how important it is for visitors of all ages to have well-sorted places to go and experience history first-hand.

Henry J Warre’s view of Oregon City, 1846 (litho published 1848)

Our focus with this project is clothing: the Center is starting from scratch in their historic clothing closet, and they need some great pieces for visitor dress-up, too. If we can help with a good portion of the wishlist, they’ll be able to focus this year’s limited clothing budget and staff sewing time on the pieces that aren’t so easily provided long distance.

Our standards must be top-notch with regard to the accuracy of the textiles, construction techniques, and garment shapes. These are not stage props, but up-close living history clothing. We want patrons to be able to turn things inside out, and trust that they’re really experiencing history!

If you’re new to accurate historic clothing, you can still get involved; there are some great simple items on the wish list, and even a few no-sew projects you could help with.

Participants in the SA-SB must register and commit to this project and its deadlines; without our fulfilled commitment, the site won’t have what they need to reopen!

Register now through 28 February.

As soon as you have your participation approval and information sheets from us, you can start on your items.

The Bee runs through March 2013.

Plan to have your projects finished and boxed to ship to us by an Absolute, Firm, Unwavering, and Inviolate Deadline of 10 April 2013. We’ll combine all the contributions and information sheets into one glorious Christmas In April box, and send them to the project volunteers at the End of the Oregon Trail Center.

We’ll need all manner of help to construct

• Women’s underthings, sunbonnets, shawls, and white accessories;
• Men’s shirts, trousers, braces, vests, caps, and other items;
• Children’s shawls, sunbonnets, caps, vests, pinafores, and more!

Let us know what sorts of things you prefer to work on, and we’ll share additional specifics, sizing needs, and some great new Compendium projects to make it all as easy as pie.

So, who wants to join in the Sewing Academy Sewing Bee? Let’s get buzzing!

from The Philosophy of Housekeeping

Joseph Bardwell Lyman, 1869

If a lady can have but one silk dress in a series of years, she will find a black silk will be of more use to her than any other color. Black is becoming to every complexion, and a black silk may be worn at a wedding, a party, a funeral, or to church. It is nowhere out of taste except in the kitchen. It may be made gay with bright trimmings, or severe with those of the same color. It can be worn with hat and wrappings of every hue and is never out of fashion.

If the silk is figured, let the figure be small, the same on both sides, with no up or down to it; so that when worn at the bottom it can be turned upside-down, and when soiled outside, it can be turned inside out. Be careful, too, that the figure is well woven in, and no long threads left on the surface. These will catch in everything, and be soon worn off or frayed out so that no care or skill can restore a new appearance to the dress. If the silk be plain, let it be of excellent quality, not stiff and inflexible, but soft and pliable,  and, when pulled in bias folds, easily returned to its former shape.

And, some notes from Liz:

Remember, notes from mid-century often use “hat” and “bonnet” interchangeably; in this case, given the 1859 reference, do imagine any number of fashionable bonnets as “hats”.

The accessories mentioned might include a fine silk waist (shaped, stabilized with buckram and boning; you might see these called Swiss Waist, or Medici belts), a plain silk belt in a gorgeous color (construction notes and diagrams are in The Dressmaker’s Guide!), silk neck bows, pretty silk ribbon wristlets, or gorgeously-trimmed silk accessory jackets. As the note mentions, any accessory might also be done in good black silk for fashion or solemnity, as desired.

You might be wondering about black being suited for all complexions, as we all know at least one person who ends up looking four days “expired” when wearing black. However, black dresses at mid-century will be worn with a white collar, which buffers the complexion. The addition of colored accessories and favorable bonnet trims lends even more buffering. Black can be appropriately worn by anyone at mid-century.

The process of “turning” a dress works for silks and wools, but not for printed cottons. To “turn” the skirt, it is taken off the waist of the bodice, and de-constructed to flat panels of fabric. The former hem edge is turned to be the top of the skirts; the former waist edge is finished with a faced hem. (This explains why gauged and pleated skirts have all the excess from the balancing process left intact inside!) The skirts are then re-balanced, and re-set to the waist.

A second turning process is possible when the skirts are not only turned top to bottom, but right to wrong: the skirts (or entire dress) are deconstructed, sponged clean, pressed and freshened, and re-constructed, placing the identical-but-formerly-”wrong” side out. Of course, it only works with plain cloth (non-printed) or that with a woven-in motif that’s attractive and identical on both sides.

Such silks (and fine wools) are not often going to be found in a local chain shop, but on-line purchasing and patience can bring a lovely yardage for a reasonable price, to construct a dress you’ll use over and over through the years.

Granted, a mid-century Little Black Dress may have six to ten yards of fabric involved, but the concept of a “best” dress that can be accessorized to suit many social needs is not new. Could there by a LBD in your historical future?

Learn more about the workshops here… and don’t miss this great opportunity!

Right, so: just as you most likely have your Winter Project List, so do we! And we’d love to have your input to help prioritize some of the projects in the stack.

What would you like to see first?

More infant pattern options, including some neat whitework styles?

More freebie printables to share, like new paper dolls, and coloring pages?

Activity or lesson-plan aids?

More “life” research articles spanning 1840-1865?

Articles and resources on fitting for women and children?

Project tutorials?

Let me know in the comments… right now, if I live to finish all the items in my notebooks, I’ll be a chipper 326 years old.

#39

This was a comment entry, and read:

Beautiful needlebook! My favorite part of handsewing (period or not) is being able to take it out of my sewing room and work on it in the evenings around the woodstove with the family…

Atlanta, dear, look for an email from me; I’ll need your physical address to send out the needlebook!

Thanks to everyone who participated! I do believe we shall need to do this again soon. It was great to see your thoughts on handsewing, and I hope you all have a grand time sewing this season!

There is still time to order before Christmas, if you’re wanting something special in the way of books and patterns… we can ship to you, or direct to the recipient.

Thanks for supporting our family business; we look forward to sharing even more neat things with you in the coming year!

Whether you choose to embellish the project with tiny beads, as suggested in the original 1859 text, or employ your own favorite decorative techniques, as Liz did with the version shown here, you’ll have an elegant little something to enjoy or share. For the free project sheet, please click through or right-click and save:

Beaded Needlebook Project Sheet

Here’s a needlebook Liz made from the project sheet templates. It’s scarlet shot silk with a cream chintz lining and cream wool felt shaped needlepages edged with wheat-colored blanket stitch. The exterior embroidery features wheat-colored feather-stitching, satin-stitched vining, and cream beading-stitch petals. It is suitable for both modern and historic use, and Liz thinks it’s kind of snazzy.

We’d love to see one done with tiny glass beads, as in the original! If you use this template (remember, they’re for personal use, not making things to sell!), pop us an email with a few shots so we can share them!