Sunday, January 23, 2011

What to wear in the winter.

A friend sent me a message earlier this week saying that she was going to an event in February and needed to know exactly what to wear. I thought rather than reply to one person, I could make a post out of it because I’m sorely lacking in “look what I made” posts. This isn't the finished article, but I thought I would post it while the ideas are percolating in my mind and add to it or edit it later.

My first thoughts are that what your clothing needs are in the winter and summer really aren’t that different. In the winter you just need more!

I’m assuming she’s going to an event that is dated somewhere during the Civil War and it’s not a pre-war event. Working on that assumption here is the list I would prepare for myself before I went. I love lists!!!

Sturdy leather boots

Stockings – preferably wool

One pair of drawers for every day

One chemise for every day

A shortened petticoat to wear next to the drawers

Skirt support *

Three to five petticoats depending on the circumstances of the event

One sturdy dress – preferably wool

This list is the typical list I would recommend for anyone going to an average weekend event. The only differences I would have would be the textiles recommended and those would change with the weather.

Additionally I would plan on bringing a few things because this event is * I think* is taking place during winter in the Midwest.

One hood

Outerwear, either a coat or multiple shawls if you don’t have a coat.

Rubber over-boots to protect your leather ones

Mittens

Scarf

*It is my belief that most women attending Civil War reenactments would be portraying someone existing in the middle class of society. From the research I have done, and the tons of research belonging to other individuals that I have read, or discussed I believe that the vast majority of women would be wearing skirt support on a daily basis. Either a cage crinoline or a covered hoop, but something would have been worn. There are plenty of working circumstances that would limit the size of the support, but not necessarily negate the use of said support.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

just a lil post

to say that I haven't done anything blog worthy in awhile...but I hope to soon! I'm getting the itch to sew again, mainly because I have a looming deadline. I figure that most of what needs to be finished for the summer needs to be finished before spring if it's going to be finished at all! This means 3 things.
1. I need to finish clearing off my interim sewing desk.
2. I need to finish my mending pile before I start a new project.
3. I need to go into my unheated sewing room to find fabric...and it's a scary mess up there!

I feel like I've been constantly getting yelled at to slow down and stop doing physical things lately (luckily none of this has come from my midwives) so today I'm taking it fairly easy. Hopefully I'll finish at least #1, maybe even #2 on my list tonight. That is after I do barn chores and make supper.

P.S. there has been talk of picking up our sew alongs where we left off last summer!