Fabric for the Ladies: The Civilian Symposium 2016

The Civilian Symposium is full of highlights, but the most anticipated is the reveal of the "fabric" - each year all the female presenters receive a dress-length of fabric, with the instructions of "make a garment." Gentlemen receive a vest-length of a differing fabric.

This years fabric was an Italian cotton, in a fairly large scale, woven plaid. It had a very fine hand, much more like a wool challis than cotton.

The reveal looks a bit like this, except multiplied times 4 or 5!

 

Once in a while, the fabric immediately "speaks" and tells me exactly what it would like to become; other times (this time) it remains silent,leaving me to figure it out alone.

I started going through the many, many photos of original garments I've taken over the years and then through all the books and exhibit catalogs in my library.

Doing so caused my to notice something: plaids of this scale were nearly always wool or silk, not cotton. But I did come up with some possibilities:

1.) This one is in the Kent State University Museum collection. I've always liked the "bodice trimmed like a jacket" concept, but haven't yet constructed one. I also happen to have yards and yards of pale blue soutache that I could have used for the trim. But I decided against it; the fabric just seemed to casual for this dress.

2.) This a wool dress, the plaid being approximately the same scale as the provided cotton. The peplum, is actually a separate belt.It would have been a good choice, but it just didn't thrill me - I prefer something that will be a bit more of a challenge to figure out.

3.) This was my fall-back: if I didn't come up with any other ideas, I would make this one - at least it had an interesting sleeve! But I did find something else...

I had a chance to go off Island and took the opportunity to look for some coordinating fabric that might open up the possibilities:

Which lead to...

4.) But I came to the conclusion that the plaid was just too big, the sash would have been 20" wide!

Maybe a late 50's look?

5.) I drafted out this "tunic body" and even managed to make it fit with some tweaking, but it just would NOT work in the plaid - too many lines and angles coming together in strange ways. I do plan to make this in a solid silk or wool.

AND THEN I FOUND IT!!!!!

6.) Something interesting that would provide a slight challenge!

The fashion plate dates to November of 1859, I wasn't able to find a written description, but I'm fairly certain that either silk or wool was suggested.However, the cotton felt and behaves so much like a thin wool, I  decided to go for it.

Do to fabric constraints, I went with a small 90" hoop. I would have liked to suspend the bottom flounce from the top of the trim fabric, so it would look like a separate skirt, but there just wasn't enough fabric. I also plan on adding one more bow. I decided against going with a true pagoda, but did create a full bottom flounce for the sleeve and added a large open undersleeve.

And here are the other presenters:

GORGEOUS NOTHINGS: The Grave is the Ultimate Seal

I was recently invited to participate in a rather unique exhibit: The Gorgeous Nothings, based on the envelope poems of Emily Dickinson and held at Three Pines Studio in Cross Village, MI.

What's an "envelope poem"?

In the mid-1990s, while examining Dickinson material in the Amherst College Library, the literary historian Marta L. Werner came across a small, irregularly-shaped collage cut from recycled 19th-century envelopes and covered with writing in Dickinson’s unmistakably hieroglyphic script.

Enchanted, Ms. Werner started a search for similar items in other collections and found dozens, long familiar to Dickinson experts but never examined as a group. Most were less elaborate than the collage. Some consisted of semi-intact envelopes that had been gently pried apart at the seams and flattened out. Others were fragments: torn-off corners of envelopes, detached flaps.

Whatever their configurations, the pocket-size papers shared one feature: sentences, stanzas and entire roughed-out poems pencil-written by Dickinson herself.

Now all the known “envelope poems” — 52 — have been gathered into a book called “Emily Dickinson: The Gorgeous Nothings,” published by New Directions and the art dealer Christine Burgin. 

My chosen envelope poem was A842:

As there        are

Apartments        in our

own     Minds        that-

we      never      enter

without          Apology-

we    should       respect

the     seals    of    

others  -        

When I read the poems of Emily Dickinson, it's always through a 19th century filter - I've been involved in mid-19th century living history too long for it to be any other way.

My first inclination was to go in the direction of phrenology, especially the idea of apartments or compartments in the mind.

But I was really intrigued by the idea of envelopes and seals.

Clothing, of course, envelopes the body and I was relatively certain that no one else would use a period correct fan-front dress as the base of their work. Thus, "Emily dressed"!

        

There is symbolism in every aspect of this piece, some relating to the poem and some relating to Emily and her body of work.

I chose a fan-front dress, as that is the style Emily wears in the only authenticated image of her as an adult, albeit in an earlier style of fan-front. And it had to be in white, of course - it helped that I had a bolt of white lawn in my stash.

Adorning the front of the bodice is a winged death-head, an image from a very old Massachusetts grave stone, reference to death that so often is the focus of Emily's poetry.

Crossed bones, from the same stone, embellish the sleeve jockeys. You can also see the very fat piping I used, black wool yarn in the center. While I love the look it achieved, it was rather hard to force myself to use it - certainly not period correct!

Each flounce is centered with a large, ornate keyhole, a reference to seals. In addition, each flounce was hemmed using a feather stitch, an allusion to "Hope is a thing with feathers".

The top flounce also depicts a mid-19th century image of an apartment building, with people going about their daily routine.

The bottom flounce features a very appropriate quote, from Lydia Child's The Frugal Housewife, a book that Emily's mother was known to have owned:

“The true economy of housekeeping is simply the art of gathering up all the fragments, so that nothing be lost. I mean fragments of time as well as materials.”

The piece includes two final embellishments, a pair of chatelaines:

The first is a group of envelopes, translucent, allowing the contents to be glimpsed - an barium page, a bit of lace, some buttons, a tiny silhouette and ripped up printed pages. The envelopes are not addressed - who are the intended recipients?

The second is a trio of large over sized keys, keys allowing the opening of seals.

The other participating artists created equally thought provoking pieces, all on display until June 16th. Will you be in Northern Michigan? If so, do try to work in a visit to Three Pines Studio!

Baseball & Bathing 2013- Part 1

I've been noticeably missing from the blog-world lately; many, many projects in progress, but none that can be revealed just yet. 

And I realized I never shared anything form the 2nd annual Baseball & Bathing weekend, so here's part 1! 

Grand Hotel hosts period baseball games, using 1860's rules - a great excuse to dress in our finery and provide some period spectators.

We were a slightly larger group this year and just look at our handsome escorts:

It was a lovely day for a baseball and a picnic, a bit warm, so we were fortunate to find a bit of shade to spread our blankets and our wonderful "spread" of lunch.

Our repast included chicken "patties" - chicken salad in pastry shells - a receipt from Miss Eliza Leslie's cookbook, blackberry pie made from fresh picked berries, fresh baked bread with preserves, vegetable bounty from the garden and a bit of hothouse fruit too!

Who knew that fruit could lead to such scandalous behavior!

We also enjoyed some rousing rounds of battledore - great fun!

The baseball teams use a progression of period rules, including a set form 1868, so it made a great reason to wear my 1868 dress. And as Mackinac is a "Watering Place", I could get away with wearing a hat, even at my advanced age. My plan was to wear a fanchon bonnet, but it didn't get finished in time (and still isn't), so it was hat or nothing.

A gentleman on the Island is developing his period photography skills and was pleased to models dressed in period styles.

Those good looking gentlemen again!

Heading up the hill, to don our bathing costumes - part 2, coming soon!

Reproduction? Or Interpretation?

This is the cap/headdress/bit of foo foo (pick your term) that I created to wear with my 2013 conference dress. I was inspired by a piece I had first spotted on an online auction site, and purely by happenstance, it was one of many original garments on display on Saturday, when I wore mine - here's the original:

And a bit closer:

The original illustrates a number of very typical period techniques:

 - The use of coordinating but not necessarily matching materials. The center square is light and airy and the surrounding lace matches it nicely in weight and color.

- The lace and ribbon have been manipulated to to minimize the need for cutting, keeping the materials in one piece as much as possible; this maximizes the potential to deconstruct the cap and reuse the trims in a new garment.

- It has been constructed completely by hand, with what many would consider large crude stitches; this is intentional, again to aid in reusing the materials.

I duplicated these techniques - all the materials are from my stash, with the center square being a real salvaged piece - it was very dark and stained, but cleaned up beautifully. The materials are heavier in weight than the original, but coordinate well in both color and texture. I used just a single round of velvet ribbon, as mine was wider than the original. I also constructed my bow a bit differently, as I had a length of of the tiny ribbon which matched perfectly. The lace and ribbon are both left in long, uncut lengths.

It is stitched entirely by hand - in the car, on the way to Pennsylvania in fact!

When I was finished, I was a bit panicked - it seemed so small! But actually, it was just right, the same size as the original.

Many people would say I had created a reproduction of the original - but did I really?

I think a better example of a "reproduction" garment would be the two replicas of Emily Dickinson's famous white dress, commissioned by the Emily Dickinson Museum, to be displayed when the original became too fragile.

A pattern was created by painstaking measurement of the original dress and a muslin sewn to check the accuracy of the pattern.

Context Weavers, an English firm, exactly duplicated the fabric by punching a custom set of cards to be used on their Jacquard loom. The embroidered insertion and edging trim was reproduced by an American company.

While finding firms able to recreate the proper materials was difficult, a larger challenge was finding the funding - $10,000 for the two replicas.

Another good example is the Plimoth jacket, and even that's not considered to be a true reproduction - it's actually based on two separate garments.

I would argue that I created an interpretation of the original; the influence can be seen, but they are certainly not identical.

And I would further argue, that's the norm - there are vary few individuals with either the skill set or the budget to create true reproductions, we're all creating interpretations!

Conference Fabric 2013

Another eagerly awaited, annual highlight of the Ladies & Gentlemen of the 1860's conference is the unveiling of the "conference fabric" on Saturday morning.

Gentlemen presenters receive a vest length of fabric, this year a cotton velveteen, and the ladies receive a dress length, this year a black and white cotton print. Everyone receives the same fabric and makes (or has made by their seamstress or tailor) a garment, which is to be kept secret until the unveiling.

I am always amazed at how the choices made in styles and trims can lead to such different end results, with  the dresses in particular - there aren't as many variations possible in the vests.

A big thank you to my dear friend who took these photos for me - she sat on the floor in front of the stage in order to get clear shots!

Many participants use original garments or photos for inspiration, as with this sleeve variation - I love the green buttons!

Red was a great compliment to this fabric and this lady choose to use "red tape" as she works for the government and it's a great reproduction of the original dress in her collection.

 This is a great style, not often represented - an open neckline and short sleeves, worn with a guimpe and just look at the skirt detail!

Emily (the doll) in her new conference dress.

Another great example of using originals as inspiration - the yoke of this dress is shirred over gathered cords front and back - a really beautiful detail, and again, one seldom seen on reproductions.

And a bit of usually undercover detail: gorgeous garters! A class on making these garters was offered as a pre-conference workshop.

And the youngest attendee at conference, isn't he adorable in his conference fabric gown?

And he's the only participant to have both a conference dress AND a vest - a surprise gift during the unveiling.

I'll be adding detailed posts on what I created for Robin and myself with our conference fabrics...soon!