A Weighty Matter

Lead sinkers seem like an unusual sewing item, especially for a bathing suit - I know the guy at the sportings goods store thought so!

NOTE TO SELF: Sometimes it's better not to explain why you need particular items.

But last year, we discovered why it was suggested in period descriptions of 1860's bathing costumes - without them, your skirt resembles a jellyfish, floating on the water.

Lead was suggested, I'm sure because it does not rust. These days, lead is not as readily available as in the period. However, lead split shot sinkers are still used for fishing and can be purchased in small quantities.

The split made it very easy to attach to heavy wool cord...

Just a quick squeeze to keep them in place, an inch apart.



I opened a bit of the hem and carefully fed the cord in, securing each end.

But was it enough weight?

I'll let you know soon!

Lingering

Winter will just not leave this year, it just keeps lingering on and on and on...

As of May 4th, there was still a pile of lake ice on the shore and you can hear it creaking and moving in the sun.

The texture of the ice has changed; it's very crystalline and brittle.

The slightest tap, and it breaks into shards.

There are a few signs of spring in the woods, despite the snow which is also lingering - new leaves pushing up and through the old:

Buds, waiting for a bit of warmth to open:

And a few not willing to wait, open despite the cold:

Taking to the Waters: Male Bathing Costume Construction Details

If you ask most reenactors what men wore to swim in during the mid-19th century, you would probably be told "nothing - men always swam in the nude."

Well, I'm sure there certainly were times when men swam in their skin, but a bit of research tells us that it was definitely not a case of "always". 

This scene, "The Bathe at Newport", by Winslow Homer circa 1858, shows a good reason why - in America, bathing was not gender segregated, as on the continent - and while the Victorians were not the prudes they are ever so frequently portrayed as, group nude bathing was definitely not a socially acceptable activity! 

Clues to what men actually did wear, are tantalizingly few. I choose to use this example in the collection of the McCord Museum as my inspiration. The original is wool, trimmed with braid.

The museum's description notes that men's swimming suits of the period were closely styled on underwear - and that's exactly what I used for the basic shapes when creating my custom pattern.

 

 

I took the pattern pieces for men's drawers and a square shirt and combined them into one piece. 



 

 

My initial "muslin" (actually an old flannel sheet) was a bit short in the torso, so I added an additional 3" - thus, the piecing you can see on the muslin.

 

When I first asked Robin if he would be willing to wear a period bathing costume, he readily agreed: if it was ORANGE, so if he ended up floundering in the waves, we could find him. As fate would have it, on our first attempt to find appropriate fabric, what did we find but bright orange wool! However, it was blanket weight and would have had him floundering in the waves for sure, so we settled on this color scheme instead

 



 

And behold, my version of an 1860's male bathing costume, which has come to be nicknamed the "Civil War Onsie"! It was never my intention to 100% replicate the McCord Museum piece, but to use it as reference. The basic shape is very close, but I used bands of red wool as my trimming and the mother of pearl buttons were great accents.

 

 

As the "test driver" so to speak, Robin reports that it is both functional and comfortable.

 



Touring Michigan - Munising

Water - it's the centerpiece of the landscape in Northern Michigan and was the focus of our recent visit to Munising, located on the southern shore of Lake Superior and a gateway to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

There are seventeen waterfalls in the Munising area, one of our favorites is Laughing Whitefish Falls. The falls drop a hundred feet down a limestone slide; in the spring, the flow is much stronger than now, but it's still beautiful. It's a tough place to photograph well, the ravine is so deep that only at midday does sunlight reach the bottom.
 

There's beauty in the little details too - the color of the rock, the play or light and water.

 With a forty foot drop, Miner's Falls is the reward for a twenty minute walk through the woods.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a place unlike any other, towering above Lake Superior are the most prominent of the park's  features, the multicolored sandstone cliffs for which the lakeshore is named. These cliffs reach to a height of 200 feet above the lake; the name "Pictured Rocks" comes from the streaks of minerals that stain and decorate the face of the wind and water sculpted cliffs. Sandstone cliffs of ochre, tan, and brown - sandwiched with layers of white, green, orange, and black - glisten against the cloud-streaked sky and clear waters of Lake Superior.

There are a few ways to see the Pictured Rocks, we choose a boat cruise this time. About 12 years ago, we hiked the length of the park - from Grand Marais to Munising, a total of 42 miles. Maybe we'll do it again some day!

The cliffs start out small:

But big on color! The colors and patterns are caused by water carrying minerals such as copper, iron and manganese through the soft sandstone.

If you're comfortable in a kayak on Lake Superior, you can get truly up close and personal!

 Arches and caves are formed by the forces of wind and water:

Many of the formations have been named, this is Indian Head:

This is Chapel Rock, topped with a magnificent pine - even more amazing when you notice the root system bridging the gap to the cliff!

Spray Falls marks the turn around point, the falls also marks the the resting place of an 1856 shipwreck;  "Superior" lies at the base of the falls in 20 feet of water.

As is common on Superior, a quick moving storm moved in on our return trip:

But it stopped just before we passed the East Chanel Light on Grand Island - we had spent the previous day on Grand Island, biking nearly 20 miles.

The Munising area is beautiful all year, but the best time to visit is quickly approaching: FALL! The colors are already starting to show just a bit - plan your visit soon.

Taking to the Waters: We Did It!!!

Well, our "Baseball & Bathing" weekend is over, just a fond memory now!

We started by gathering to watch a period baseball tournament, sponsored by Grand Hotel and enjoyed a fabulous picnic.

It's a great time for a period picnic, with so many fresh items available and appropriate. We had many great interactions with the modern spectators, who were quite intrigued by both our outfits and our lunch!

We strolled about town and then it was time for a bit of rest before our bathing excursion. It's about a two mile hike down to British Landing, and yes, we received more than a few stares as we made our way down to the water.

Here we are, in all our bathing glory (plus a couple non-bathers).

There had been a couple storms in the preceding week, which had unfortunately brought cold water to the surface - but it really wasn't too bad - or maybe we just became numb!

It was amazing how well all our ensembles came together - not that we don't all plan on a few "tweaks" now that they've actually been put to use.

Four of us submerged up to our shoulders, one decided the Lake Huron was just too cold and stayed on the shore

I suspect this may become an annual event for us - we had such a good time and hope we can convince a few more friends to join us in the future.

Our evening ended with a gorgeous sunset and another two mile hike, uphill this time, in our wet wool which was really not as unpleasant as it sounds.

I plan to post in depth details regarding the two bathing costumes I created - one male, one female, so more to come soon.