Comments | heidilea: A Question (or Two) to My Civil War Lady Friends.

heidilea

A Question (or Two) to My Civil War Lady Friends.

Nov 27, 2010 20:58

On Thanksgiving, my husband's cousin, Holly, asked me for guidance in making an 1861 ball gown. She and her husband will be attending a Sesquicentennial Ball for the founding of Vineland, and she wants to make an authentic as possible gown. She knows how to sew already and just needs some help in knowing what to make, what materials and colors are ( Read more... )

19th century, costuming

Comments 4

msmcknittington November 28 2010, 04:07:47 UTC

THE SEWING ACADEMY!Um, you should go there. Definitely. They'll have the answers to probably every question you have and some you haven't thought of yet ( ... )

msmcknittington November 28 2010, 04:41:37 UTC

OK, clothing layers from the inside out!

Chemise -- directions for chemise and drawers
Drawers
Stockings -- fine silk or cotton, white is safest
Garters

Shoes -- on before corset!

Corset

Modesty petticoat

Crinoline -- another how-to here
Petticoat to smooth crinoline wires

Skirt
Bodice

Hair ornaments

She'll also need some sort of shawl or wrap if it's cold, but that is a whole other topic.

heidilea November 28 2010, 21:48:54 UTC

Thank you so much! I forwarded all this information to her. The ball is not until next fall, so she has plenty of time.

PS--My mom asked me after my wedding how old she was--she didn't believe it either!

msmcknittington November 28 2010, 23:40:53 UTC

You're welcome! I hope she has a blast putting this all together and then wearing it!

A note on the garters: They're the tie around the leg kind, not the descending for a garter belt kind. Like 18th century garters, kind of. Sometimes they were elasticated, because rubber was available. There's a knitting pattern in an 1862 issue of Godey's for garters which have a tassel and fasten with a loop on one end. Picture here.