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Post by missmardi on Oct 21, 2008 18:53:39 GMT -5
I have JUST ordered my first patterns to make some dresses, and am anxiously awaiting their arrival (I'm not very patient sometimes). I have been reading the various threads and am pretty comfortable choosing a fabric for the ball gowns my daughter and I would like, but I am unsure what would be our best choice for our camp dresses. I know they should be simple, and probably darker to hide possible stains, but what type? Do I look for a linen, or a cotton...? My mind is racing, and I am rambling...please help.
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Miss Credit
Clergy
"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love"
Posts: 118
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Post by Miss Credit on Oct 23, 2008 13:58:50 GMT -5
Oooh first pattern! What did you choose to go with? It is always exciting making your first gowns!
Camp dresses don’t need to be boring and plain and frumpy, that is a very common misconception! You also don’t have to wear dark colors as long as you have an apron while working. Ok let’s set the record straight first, the only way you could distinguish a working class woman from one of a higher class was not the style or cut of the dress but of the trimmings and material it was made from. That being said working class women would still wear fashionable styled dresses and in fashionable colors but it would be made from sturdier fabric. So to answer your question yes linen and cotton are both good choices you could even do a muslin if you wished, both of my camp dresses are cotton and I am planning on making a linen one for next season. As for colors you don’t necessarily have to go with dark and drab colors and you can also play around with checks and simple prints to add some flair. During this time pastels and lighter colors were very “in”. You could go with light or slate blue or creamy yellow or even various shades of green and red. If you wanted to go the route of neutrals browns and beiges along with grays work well. If you would like to go the route of lighter colors, you mentioned a daughter so this would be especially fashionable for her, but still wish to do work invest in making an apron either full body or just covering the skirt. They allow you to wear light colors without the fear of ruining them plus they do a nice job of making a dress look more like camp wear. Another way to make nice day dresses look more like working women’s clothes is to wear a short gown over the top of it. They are really simple to make and you can do it in a darker contrasting color again to hide stains. If you would like some examples of reenactor women’s clothing just PM me and I will gather up my pictures for you.
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Post by missmardi on Oct 23, 2008 15:30:05 GMT -5
Thank you soooo much.
I really like the bib front dresses, so I am gonig to use the same pattern for both my camp dress and my formal dress. I am thinking just a nice solid color, or a simple stripe for my camp dress, and then really going all out for a formal dress. My mother-in-law taught me to smock last year. I know that the smocking they do now isn't really accurate, but I thought with embroidery around the bottom of the skirt (and drifting about half way up) that I could fake it. I really like the designs it makes, and I like the way that it would hold the pleats instead of plain gathering. I might also do a little bit of smocking on the bib, too, just to balance the front with the back.
For my daughter I ordered a different pattern, as she if not as fond of the bib front style. I think it is Folkwear? I am still in the planning stages of hers, which seems kind of silly, because I intend to make hers first. I have been losing a fair bit of weight lately, and am not quite where I want to be. I figure that will give me the little extra time to reach my goal.
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Post by missmardi on Oct 24, 2008 6:06:24 GMT -5
My Dear Miss Credit
You have been so helpful, and encouraging that I am in need of you input once again. I am considering making a formal gown for my daughter that is similar in style to Val's blue ball gown. I am not exactly certain if this would be the right time frame for that style, or if it falls outside of the war of 1812 time frame. She is 17, so I thought it might be nice for her. I have not yet asked her opinion, but she is coming from her mom's to visit this weekend (step-daughter). I will be showing her pictures to get a feel for her likes, but would like to know either way, as it looks like my step-son and his girlfriend will be joining us on occasion. More to sew for, yeah! Let the creative juices flow!
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Post by Val on Oct 24, 2008 10:21:45 GMT -5
I am considering making a formal gown for my daughter that is similar in style to Val's blue ball gown. I am not exactly certain if this would be the right time frame for that style, or if it falls outside of the war of 1812 time frame. Hello MissMardi, and thank you for the compliment. My gown is closer to 1795. It might not be unusual for a child to wear an older gown cut down to fit her back then. If you want more photos, let me know, and how I used a pattern for it. Val |
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Miss Credit
Clergy
"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love"
Posts: 118
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Post by Miss Credit on Oct 24, 2008 13:41:20 GMT -5
Oh thank you please feel free to ask any questions I really enjoy helping others that are interested in 1812 and reenacting. Val’s gown is very beautiful but as she has mentioned the style is dated early 19th century about 1795-1803 or so. In 1812 there has been a great struggle to advance women’s fashions to make them as authentic as possible or at least get them away from the awful lace up French bodice and a petticoat look. We are now beginning to see the empire waist line and there are a handful of ladies in the community that do go the extra mile by producing outstanding dresses correct to a t. Deciding on which dress you would like to make all really depends on how far you want to take it. If you don’t care about the fact that the dress is dated 1805, nobody else is going to care. You will still receive tremendous amounts of compliments on it just for making a beautiful gown. I guess to put it simply there are no stitch nazi’s in 1812, other eras yes but not 1812. Like I mentioned we have ladies that strive for appropriate materials and fabrics and do everything by hand and then we have others who would rather use a machine and achieve the same look. If you would like to show your daughter some various styles of evening gowns I suggest this hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/lb.html. They have fashion plates for nearly every month through the war and from there you can get an idea of what was in style then and its always an option if you don’t want to follow through with the over gown idea. I really could rattle on and on about all sorts of stuff related to costuming for 1812 but if you really want my help let me know how far you want to take things and in which direction (if you want to hand sew stuff by all means!) and if you give me some ideas of what you were looking for in terms of dress styles I could point you in the right direction with patterns and books and fabric, likewise if you wanted any civilian clothes for the men in your family. |
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Post by missmardi on Oct 31, 2008 15:59:28 GMT -5
I am thinking of doing my formal ball gown in white muslin (modern) and embroidering it with gold and/or silver floss. would this be correct, or am I way off the mark? Should I use a cream/tan muslin instead? Or should I stay away from it altogether?
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Post by Val on Oct 31, 2008 17:22:56 GMT -5
I'm not an expert on the fabrics of this period, but muslin doesn't say "formal" to me.
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Post by Mme de Beaufort on Oct 31, 2008 17:31:07 GMT -5
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Post by lauren on Oct 31, 2008 19:18:35 GMT -5
Most of my gowns are white muslin, including my ballgown fro the 15th. They're so easy to dress up or down, the possiblities are endless.
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Post by Val on Oct 31, 2008 22:11:19 GMT -5
Fine muslins work for formalwear, absolutely. (mull, but with metallic embroidery) It's mull--yes, but still, metallic embroidery on a sheer cottony gauze. Oh, that kind of muslin. That's a horse of a different color. Wish I could find something as gorgeous as those fabrics. |
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Where so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong? ~ Jane Austen 