A Pumpkin-colored Bedgown

Sweet Daughter was ready for a new warm-weather garment for reenacting. So I went down to the sewing room and dug out the two Rubbermaid tubs labeled “Wool, 18^th century” and started going through them, looking for something  she’d actually wear. I found a piece of pumpkin-colored wool that wasn’t long enough for a petticoat, and that she actually liked. I then dug out my copy of “Women's Dress during the American Revolution; An Interpretive Guide” and looked at the bedgown pattern. There were written directions for making your own custom fit garment … but they were scaled for an adult female, not a six-year-old. So, I made a few educated guesses regarding proportions, then I made a fitting muslin, and then I laid out the wool.

Did you know that you can get a perfectly straight line by tearing most woven fabrics? Snip, rip and you’re good to go.

With my fitting muslin tweaked, I folded my rectangle of wool over at the shoulders, and again down the center line and drew chalk lines where I needed to rip. Since this garment is all 90 degree angles, ripping instead of cutting made sure that my lines were straight and the finished garment would hang evenly.

The center of the garment is on the right, the sleeve is sticking out on the top left, and the part that sticks on on the bottom left will become a pleat over the hip. The small squares are the underarm gussets, the rectangle is the collar, and the reproduction print is to line the cuffs.

After cutting out the basic shape, I opened it back up and cut up the center line to the shoulder, and across the top fold, making a neck opening.

I inserted the underarm gussets, and sewed the sleeve and side seams. I sewed the pleat down the back, and tacked it down. I sewed the box pleats over each hip, and tacked down the top edges.

Gusset from the inside -- those are water marks from when I pressed it, not mold.

And from the outside. Not perfect, but I'm not obsessing about this one.

I attached the collar by sewing the rectangle across the back cut edge, and the attaching the shorter cut edges to the sides of the rectangle. When you’re done, you fold the rectangle in half, and the front edges of the bedgown fold in as well, making a facing.

Collar sewn to the back neck edge.

Collar with on side sewn.

Since SD does NOT like the feel of wool on her skin, I decided to line the cuffs and neck. I went down and dug through my scraps, and found just enough of a reproduction cotton print for the job. And the best part was that it had just a bit of that pumpkin color in it. I cheated, and attached the cuff lining with the sewing machine.

I went ahead and prick-stitched the edge of the cuffs, and blind-hemmed the lining. I hemmed the bottom and I added a lining to the collar and top part of the front edges.

The pleat to the left is the center back, the pleat on the right is on the side, over one hip.

Cuff

Preparations

His Majesty's Detached Hospital are turning their collective coats and are portraying Americans at Colonial Williamsburg's "Prelude to Victory" this weekend. I'm a bit behind the curve in preparations, but it will all come together at the last minute. I hope. Besides the Mittens From Hell, I made a wool bedgown for Sweet Daughter so she'd have something to use as a warm jacket. And this evening I made two dozen scones, finished a bed tick, and mended a pair of breeches that had worn through in the seat. I still have to finalize a menu, make another two dozen scones, do the grocery shopping and figure out what else I'm going to prepare ahead of time.

The weather is supposed to be beautiful.

"And I gladly stand up ..."

When Sweet Daughter takes a bath, I often sit in the bathroom and play music on computer. Tonight she requested Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA". It was Grandparent's Day at school, and she noted that one the grandparents was a "Camouflage Guy" and they played that song. So, it's been on repeat for over half an hour, and I'm listening to some interesting interpretations of the lyrics, to include "Across the pies of Texas ...".

And the chorus -- instead of:

"And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA."

I heard:

"And I’ll stand up,
Next to you and still eat today ..."

"And I'll stand up,
Next to you and defeat her still today .."

(I corrected that one right quick.)

And, my favorite:

"And I gladly stand up
Next to you because my feet still hurt today ..."

But after listening to it for close to 45 minutes, I was hearing "Paul is dead", so who am I to critisize?

Mittens from Hell

I've made 18th century mittens before. Somewhere between 6 and 12 pair, and they aren't exactly complicated. But this latest pair were possessed, I swear. I started them last December. I ripped them out and started again in January. I've started them over at least four times. Then, when knitting the mate, I realized about 3/4 of the way through that it was a little wider than the other. WTH? Then I realized that I was running out of yarn, but that's happened to me before. Worst case scenario, I simply unravel from the bottom until I'm done, and then I pick up the stitches and knit back down in a contrasting color. I squeaked by with may an extra 15 feet of yarn, and oh, did I mention that I'm having issues with my gauge lately? (Lately being the past 11 months ...) These turned out waaaay too big. But that's okay! I figured I can full them (shrink them on purpose) up a bit. Can't make them bigger, but I can make them smaller! And guess what happened? No, they did NOT end up too small (and I have no idea how I lucked out there), but the discrepancy in width is now really obvious. And I think they're still too big. I'm sorry, Chris, but these are going to have to tide you over for now. I'll try again later. Maybe in 2012.

Cool things to do with your mouth

This even makes "Firework" palatable.

H/T to Staghounds from whom this was shamelessly stolen.

Knife Question

As a result of the rampant knife meme, it has been brought to my attention that I am woefully underbladed.  It’s not like it’s a surprise … I don’t carry one on a daily basis because I usually have no pockets. Five days a week I’m in a skirt of some sort and heels. I have a small Leatherman multi-tool that lives in my purse, and the micro-SOG that is on my lanyard next to my badges. The pockets on some of my jeans are too shallow to carry anything worthwhile but then I thought … my key ring! I have plenty of room, and it’s usually in reach. So, if you were to recommend a knife to put on my key ring, what would it be? I don’t want a Swiss Army knife with all the tweezers and the toothpicks and whatzits. I just want a single, useful blade.

Thanks in advance …

OC again

I guess the whole point of doing something outside our comfort zone is to try to get to the point where you are comfortable doing it. That, or you just love misery. The whole OC thing has pretty much become a non-issue for me. Either the sight of a six foot tall, middle-aged mom openly wearing a pistol and teasing her daughter by threatening to rip off her am and beat her with the wet end if she doesn’t shape up doesn’t cause any raised eyebrows in my neck of the woods, or I’m just totally oblivious to it. (So much for SA, eh?)

 No problems at the mall, the big box home improvement store, the fabric store, or the cheeseburger place or the donut shop. My local hardware store doesn’t bat an eye, but maybe that’s because I took my matchlock musket in to show them one day. My favorite local pizza place seems to greet me even more enthusiastically than they used to. One thing I have noticed, though, is that I’m much more cognizant of my behavior when I wearing my pistol. I can’t pretend that I’m invisible and that nobody is paying attention to me, like in high school . I realize that everything I do and say is being judged (consciously or not) in context of the gun. So, while I’d much rather glare at salespeople, ignore attempts at pointless conversation while standing in line, or start ranting when I’m asked if I’ve found everything I need, I find myself being polite. Engaging, even. Sometimes actually downright helpful.

Proof in my mind that  being armed in society is making me more polite, at least. And that's a start.