West Texas Heritage Days at Ft. McKavett

The annual Ft. McKavett West Texas Heritage Days was help March 23-25, 2012.  As usual it was very enjoyable, thanks to the hard work of the Ft. McKavett staff.  Enjoy the video of the event.

FWLHA Conference 2012

Saturday, March 10, the day of the conference dawned beautifully.  It was raining and it rained nearly all day!  Hooray!!!  Even though the beautiful rain made the walkways muddy and the sky a bit dreary, the ladies in Officer's Quarters 8 at Ft. Concho were spreading sunshine and enjoying themselves.  This area needs rain so badly we are delighted to see clouds and raindrops-- no matter what.  The classes for this year's conference included a sewing project for both advanced and beginner sewists, Victorian reticules, a class on hair styles for the late 1800s and a lovely tea with a fashion show on Saturday.  On Sunday, the ladies explored the Victorian art of quilling, crazy quilting and cross stitch.    The conference was enjoyed by everyone.

Personalize a scrapbooking design

Reducing Petticoat Layers So Your Waist Looks Small

Check out this great blog on Historical Clothing and Living History.

Jennifer has giving me permission to repost this article from her blog  http://historicalsewing.com/  She has lots of wonderful information and tutorials.  Be sure to take a look.

Reducing Petticoat Layers So Your Waist Looks Small

by Jennifer Rosbrugh

Those of us who make Victorian dresses are all after one particular feature – a small waist. We do this primarily through corset cinching but also a visual trick with wide sleeves and full skirts.

Another hidden method is to reduce the amount of fabric layers around your waist, specifically on skirt layers. When you don a corded petticoat, ruffled petticoat, plain petticoat then a fashion fabric skirt, all those layers can add a significant amount to a waistline you are so desperately trying to appear small.

You may have heard to set all your petticoat skirts onto one waistband. That's a good solution. But I have a better one. One that avoids a thick seam allowance all bunched up into a thin waistband.

A yoke.

A yoke is a smooth, fitted area of fabric around the waist and hips where the lower pieces of a skirt are sewn onto the bottom edge or even up on the yoke itself. This section of a skirt reduces the amount of fabric around the body area, making fewer layers around your waist. Yay!

I will say upfront that in my research I believe that combining petticoat layers onto a yoke is a modern solution. I've not come across (that I recall) a 19th Century petticoat garment made with a yoke or several layers onto one waistband. Even in the early 1900s I've seen no more than two layers set onto the same waistband.

So if you shy away from modern techniques in your historical clothing, continue with making single layer petticoats.

The corded petticoat shown here has a smooth fitted yoke that ends at the full hip line. The skirt portion is sewn directly onto the lower edge then seam allowances serged together.

What's great about using a yoke for Victorian petticoat layers is that you can stagger the petticoat skirts on the yoke. This reduces seam bulk. Y0u'll want to put the top petticoat layer either into the waistband (gathered to fit the top of the yoke) or about an inch below the waist seam.

You can attach as many petticoat skirt layers as you can fit onto the yoke. However, if you sew on more than two I would advise the yoke be made of firm fabric like a twill/denim or even coutil if your petticoats are very heavy.

So how do you get a yoke pattern to use for petticoats? Ideally, draping (over your corset) is highly recommended. That way you get a snug fit.

But what if you just want a pattern that's quick
Like this from Simplicity:

Browse through the Big 4 pattern lines (Simplicity, McCall's, Butterick & Vogue) for a basic A-line skirt. You'll want to find one with a waistband if at all possible, but it wouldn't be hard to use a skirt with facing pattern and add a waistband to it.

Cut the pattern at the hip line or slightly below and make sure it falls perfectly parallel to the floor when you're wearing it. Do a quick fitting to take in the sides if you want a closer fit.

Ignore the zipper ('cause there's probably one there in the side seam or at center back). Make a narrow hem from the seam allowance for the opening and close the waistband with a drawstring. Or add a placket and waistband overlap and add a skirt hook to close.

For the petticoat skirts, draw in seamlines for the number of layers you want, all of them parallel to the yoke lower raw edge (the one you've already made even with the floor). Measure from each seamline at center back to the desired length of your petticoat layers. The topmost layer should be slightly longer than the rest at the hem to smooth out all the edges as a separate top petticoat would be under a skirt.

Make up each layer with a finished hem then stitch to the yoke. Set on the waistband and you're done! Now you only have one petticoat undergarment to put on when dressing in your multiple Victorian layers. :-D

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Jennifer Rosbrugh is a 21st Century lady with a passion for sewing 19th Century costumes. Desiring to live in a charming 1870s Victorian town, she connects with others who themselves are in love with playing dress-up and dream of living in the past. Jennifer teaches historical & modern sewing techniques that go into creating beautiful period garments from the Regency, Romantic, Victorian and Edwardian eras. Having been making her own modern and historical clothing for nearly 30 years, Jennifer is now sharing her gifts through serving the costuming & reenacting communities.

Los Golindrinas Civil War Event May 4-6, 2012

May 4-6, 2012: El Rancho de Las Golondrinas, Santa Fe, NM:  Reenactors will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in New Mexico with a three-day event. The NM Civil War Commemorative Congress, NM National Guard, and other organizations will participate.
This is a wonderful event and will be even greater this year. 

Ribbon Trim



Ribbon Trim





Trim made from ribbon was one of the prettiest form of needlework made in the Victorian era.  There is a well done tutorial on this lovely piece at http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/22717/how-to-make-ribbon-trim/page/all  This trim would be lovely on a dress, cape or shawl.  How about around the neck of a 21st Century T-shirt?



Another type of ribbon work that was popular is called the Slip Knot braid and is so easy I use it at events to intrique the students. This ribbon braid was found in an 1860's Godey's book as a trim for table mats.  http://www.hobbylobby.com/assets/pdf/project_inspiration/projects/HL-208.pdf has a good easy to follow version of this one.

Ribbon Trims (Embellishment Idea Books) by Nancy Nehring is an outstanding book with all kinds of ribbon trims from the Victorian era.  It is available from Amazon and often can be found in your library.



Another book of interesting and practical needlework is 50 Heirloom Buttons to Make by Nancy Nehring.  Like the Ribbon Trims book, the paper copy is quite expensive but luckily it is also available as an E-book which is well worth the $9.99 price.  It shows how to make Dorset buttons from thread and cord.  These are the lovely thread buttons woven intricately over rings. In 1800s England, making these buttons was a cottage industry that kept many families afloat. When machinery made it quick and easy to cut shell and later plastic buttons, Dorset buttons disapeared.

I would appreciate comments on this article.  I enjoy keeping up this blog for the Frontier Women's Living History Association but sometimes feel like this is just floating in the backwaters of Cyberspace not being of value to anyone.  A few comments would let me see how this blog is being received.  Thanks, Ann Dixon

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Frontier Women LHA Conference at Ft. Concho, San Angelo, TX March 9-11, 2012

The 8th annual Frontier Women Living History Association  Conference will be held at Ft. Concho National Landmark in  San Angelo, TX on March 9-11, 2012.  There will be classes for beginner and advanced seamstresses in period costuming.  A ladies reticule workshop, a period hair style presentation and a class on quilling will also be held.  For more details and registration form, click the brochure form below to view and print a larger image.  You can also email   FortGriffinWife@aol.com for more information.

 In addition, there will be a School of the Piece (artillery) taking place for the gentleman.  The contact for that activity is Bob Bluthart,  robert.bluthardt@sanangelotexas.us

 If you have not been able to attend one of our conferences check out http://www.frontierwomen.blogspot.com/2011/03/7th-annual-frontier-womens-living.html
 to see a video of the fun we had last year. Feel free to share this information with anyone who might be interested. The more the merrier.

Click the images below to view and print an enlarged version of the brochure.