Printed Fabrics of the early 1860s

A reproduced 1860s print.

Here are some more eye-training resources, this time for period textiles.  Learn the aesthetics of the time, and your options for reproduction textiles multiply!

Among the many books written on Victorian fabrics, these four are my favorites:

Eileen Trestain's  Dating Fabrics, A Color Guide 1800-1960 is probably the most concise and easy-to-use reference.  It's also among the least expensive and most portable. (See here for a longer review.) 

Barbara Brackman's America's Printed Fabrics, 1770-1890 has fewer examples, but is also easy to procure and use, and has additional information about period quilting. (Complete review.) Ms. Brackman's blog also discusses historic fabric and quilts.

The single most informative book I've found is Meller and Elffer's Textile Designs: Two Hundred Years of European and American Patterns Organized by Motif, Style, Color, Layout, and Period. It is literally hundreds of pages of fabric designs. (Complete review.)  

Florence Montgomery's Textiles in America 1650-1870 is an exhaustive reference of fabrics for furnishing as well as apparel. It features fewer examples of printed designs that Meller/Elffer, but has a lot of information about woven patterns, fibers, and different types of fabric. (Complete review.)

Although I've not had a chance to read it, Wearable Prints 1760-1860 comes highly recommended.

There are also a number of on-line references, less well-curated that the published sources, but still useful.  Googling "Fabric Swatch Book 1860", or 1850, gives any number of hits.  Close-ups of original garments also show the fabric's pattern (for ideas, here are some museum on-line collections).

Val from Time Travelling in Costume has a nice introductory post, featuring original swatch books and garments.  Trouvais also has some sample books, though not all are from the 1860s.

A booklet for Printed Textile Identification is provided by the British Dress and Textile Specialists (they also have some other useful free guides, including fiber and lace identification).

One can also browse Reproduction Fabrics for ideas: the year ranges can be a bit broad, but the fabrics are all available to purchase, no further searching required.  Additionally, the proprietress has posted two of her original fabric swatch books on-line, and also blogs about nineteenth century textile printing technology.