Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Petticoats and Underskirts

Petticoats are worn under the dress for the sake of warmth, and also to make the gown hang more gracefully upon the person.  They should have three or three and a half breadths of material in the width, and the bottom is made with a broad hem three nails [6.75 inches] deep, or with tucks or worked muslin.  The latter is extremely neat.  They are to be set on to a strong band or stock, and are to have a slit left at the back about four nails [9 inches] in length. The skirt may be gathered full all around, or only at the back and front, leaving the sides plain: sometimes all the fullness is thrown to the back.  Having shoulder-straps to keep up the petticoats, is a great advantage; but they are unnecessary if a waist or body, with or without sleeves, be set on the band.
--The Ladies' Work-table Book (1850, 3rd ed.)
Plain cotton petticoat, 1850s
from The Met
Unfortunately, everyone seemed to have known how to make petticoats during the mid-19th century. Excepting the above description, plain-sewing books tend to skip over the subject, save for infant petticoats and the occasional flannel garment; meanwhile, the magazines only mention embellishment options. Some construction details are published around 1864/5, as the new gored skirts require a more tapered petticoat.
Braidwork and broderie anglaise petticoat insertion.
Godey's, 1861
Fortunately, surviving petticoats are available for study (even if many of them are the more embellished examples of their type).
White cotton petticoat with tucks, 1860s
The Girls' Own Toymaker (1860) also includes instructions for making flannel, hooped, and white petticoats for one's doll; at the time, this activity was viewed as practical education, as well as play.
(Somewhat exaggerated) hoop, with a petticoat underneath
Punch, August 23, 1856
Petticoats or underskirts are worn above the skirt supports--hoop, corded petticoat or crinoline [horsehair] petticoat--smoothing the line of the dress.  One or more may also be worn below, for warmth and to guard against wardrobe mishaps (drawers duplicate these functions). A silk underskirt, worn over the hoop, will keep a light-weight muslin dress looking crisp and neat.
Quilted silk petticoat, 1850s, from The Met.
White cotton (or linen) petticoats have the same washing/bleaching benefits as white chemises or drawers.  As noted before, white embroidery, tucks, and sturdy lace (including certain knit "laces") will hold up to laundry better than more delicate trims, and are thus the preferred means of decorating washable white garments.  Around 1864/5, the use of colored wool braid, specifically black and red, on white petticoats becomes fashionable, though readers are advised to use color-fast trims.  For inclement weather, dark petticoats won't show dirt as badly.
Embroidery pattern from Arthur's Illustrated Home Magazine 1857
Petticoat hems may be beautifully decorated for ones' own enjoyment, and also in case they ever comes into view; around 1861, the fashion will change in favor of embellished insertions rather than edgings. Decoration along a front panel is also possible, and much desired when worn with open-front wrappers or morning gowns.
Petticoat, 1860-65, decorated with Broderie Anglaise
Peterson's, February 1859
The broderie anglaise petticoat (above) may have been made
for wearing with an open-front wrapper such as this.
This warm post-war (c. 1865-70) petticoat contains down.
From The Met.
Flannel was a favorite material for the lowest petticoat, particularly in cold weather.  Children's could even be layered with a knit or crocheted petticoat for extra warmth.  Quilted and wadded petticoats, as well as "alpaca" and wool ones, are also options in cold weather.
Child's crocheted petticoat, c. 1860, from The Museum of Fine Arts.

On the other hand, a brightly-colored wool "Balmoral" petticoat, worn as the outermost layer, is intentionally visible below skirts which have been raised for walking.
The "Highland" walking dress, with Balmoral skirt.
"With this dress a Balmoral skirt is indispensable. 
Some ladies make the petticoat of plain gray flannel, 
and ornament it with rows of red cloth or flannel."
Quilted wool petticoat, c. 1860. Is it a Balmoral skirt?
You really need a petticoat when dressed for the mid-century, except in the very humblest of circumstances.  Servants are expected to wear them, even if hooped or decorated ones are deemed inappropriate.  Required clothing for female inmates at the Illinois State Hospital for the Insane included "two woolen petticoats or skirts."  [Edited to add: Liz has a whole list of reasons, for those unpersuaded.]

As a final note, while your petticoats shouldn't generally be visible (excepting some morning and walking ensembles), it is perfectly period to remain calm and dignified if they are briefly in view:
"It does not alarm us nor shock us to see the flutter of a white petticoat or an embroidered skirt, but when such things make a show on the field it is a sure sign that the lady is not dressed right. " --Godey's, 1861

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Puyallup Antique Show, Jan. 23-24

The 4th's first event of the year had an admirable turn-out: 22 members over two days.  The Puyallup Antique Show is a favorite venue to meet potential recruits and share history with interested parties. It's also a lot of fun to visit the booths! The January meeting was held late on Saturday afternoon; notably, the event schedule for the year was adopted.
Civilians, and Mr. Keyes, hard at work.
The infantry had a good show, even if rain prevented
the usual firing demonstrations on Saturday.
Thanks to Mr. Talbot, our sometimes Gen. Lee, for organizing the event, setting up tables, chauffeuring various persons, and even providing Saturday's lunch.  Many individuals contributed to the display, notably Sgt. Hick's "junk on a bunk" set up, Mr. Evan's book collection, and Gen. Grant's field desk (and accouterments).  Mrs. Talbot's antique quilts were also much admired, as were Miss Dories' beautiful hand-pieced quilt "squares".  Additional pictures are on the company Facebook page, courtesy of Mr. Evans.

There will be no February meeting or drill on account of the Superbowl, so the next meeting will be at Fort Steilacoom on March 6th. 

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Garters

Some of the stockings and socks we looked at before had ribbed cuffs for a closer fit. Others would rely on garters to keep them in place.  These may be fastened above or below the knee; Graham's Illustrated Magazine suggests below the knee for women, just above for men and "those women who resemble men in their shape".  A certain medical text recommends "looping up" the stockings instead of using garters, though I've found no other source to elaborate on this idea.

There are a few different styles of garters used in the mid-19th century.  One is a flat band or ribbon, a style which has been in use for several centuries to this point.
Silk garter, c.1862. Museum of Fine Arts.
Silk garter, late 16th century. Museum of Fine Arts.
These flat garters could be simple ribbons, or could have a decorative embroidered, beaded and/or padded bands attached to narrower ties.
Wool embroidered (Berlin work) garters,
c. 1801-1850, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Flat knit garters are also possible. One knitting pattern reads:
"Cast on 18 stitches. Knit in double knitting backwards and forwards until the garter is long enough. End in a point." --The Ladies' Self-Instructor..., page 180
Another knitting book notes that "Elastic Rib...as its name implies, is the appropriate stitch for garters", and goes on to explain using alternate knit and purl rows to create a stetchy material.  "Garter stitch", on the other hand, is plain knitting. The Method for Teaching Plain Needlework in Schools (1861) recommends that students knit both plain and ribbed garters to practice knitting and purling, respectively.

A second style of mid-century garter has a loop appended to the flat band.  The few examples I've seen are a springy knit material; the flat end is threaded through the loop (and in my experience, needs to be knotted to keep the garter in place).
Cotton garter, c. 1833, from The Met.
Instructions for knit garter with loop, tassel.
Appeared in Godey's, 1862.
Reproduced here.
Garters can also fasten with buckles, such as this early 19th century pair.  Flexibility, in this case, is provided by a plain silk-elastic band.
Garters with chenile embroidery, silk/elastic band and
metal clasps. Early 19th century. Museum of Fine Arts.
Garter buckles dated 1864, from Historic New England.
There is a potential fourth style, fabric over a stretchy core, like modern novelty garters.  However, I've only seen one such, this pink silk pair,c. 1851-1880 from the Museum of London, and need to investigate further.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Stockings and Socks

I'm treating men's and women's stockings and socks together, as extent examples are rarely differentiated.  Cotton, silk, wool, and linen stockings are all found in museum collections, while period literature mentions silk, cotton, and wool frequently.  These were available for sale in a variety of colors, styles, and sizes, with home manufacture by hand or by machine also possible.
White silk stockings, c. 1850-60
Snowshill Wade Costume Collection,
via UK National Trust Collections
According to "Manufactures of the United States in 1860" (U.S. Government, 1865), stocking frames had been used in the U.S. since 1723, with a mechanized version invented in 1832.  Circular frames (allowing a stocking to be knit without a seam up the back) arrived in 1835.  By the end of 1863, the U.S. had issued 126 patents for various knitting machines and improvements, including both models for use in homes and in factories.

The power knitting frame improved productivity by up to 150-fold: a worker who turned two pounds of cotton into stockings each week now handled 300 pounds of cotton in the same time. From June 2, 1859 to June 1, 1860, factories in the United States produced some 1,447,200 pairs of stockings, as part of a hosiery industry using 2,927,636 pounds of wool and 3,982,342 pounds of cotton annually. This commercial production was fairly equally divided between New England and the Mid-Atlantic States, with little in the West and none in the South.
Machine-knit silk stockings, 1851
from the Victoria & Albert Museum
When knit by hand, stockings could be made in a single piece, shaped by adding or subtracting stitches as the knitting progressed (some early machine-knit stockings had the increases and decreases worked by hand, too).  Another option was to knit the material into a (seamless) tube by machine, then cut and sew it into shape. Alternatively, stocking could be made out of flat knit fabric; two pieces are cut and joined together: a welt which goes under the foot, and a main piece which covers the top of the foot, wraps around the heel, and also comprises the upper portion.  The wool stockings below show seams consistent with this style of construction.
Wool stockings, c. 1860-70, from The Met
Another option is to sew stockings from woven cloth, specifically from old wool garments.  This method, though economical, is rarely mentioned.
Men's sock pattern, from cloth
The American Agriculturalist, 1865
The American Family Encyclopedia (1856) tells us that "although the stocking loom has, in a great measure, superseded the use of the knitting needles, the latter are not entirely laid aside; and stockings knitted by hand, though generally less beautiful in appearance, can be more depended upon for durability as well as for accurate fitting."  This is borne out by the patterns available for knitting socks and stockings by hand (or, less often, for crocheting them), and by the inclusion of knit stockings in school needlework curricula. Knitting machines or stocking frames were also marketed for at-home use.
From Peterson's Magazine, 1864
Nonetheless, ready-made stockings came in a variety of materials, styles, and sizes.  This encyclopedia names the "usual sizes" as "childrens', girls', maids', slender womens', womens' full size, [womens'] large size, boys', youths', mens', men's out size, gouty hose, fishermens' hose". Both socks and stockings are commonly available in silk, spun silk, silk with cotton feet, cotton, worsted [smooth and tightly spun wool], lambs' wool, etc.  There are even light "gauze hose" (cotton and worsted) to be worn under the silk stockings.
Striped cotton stockings, red and white
c. 1850-70, from The Met
Striped stockings were popular for women's wear in the early 1860s (and one source suggests they were "purloined" from men's fashion). When only part of the stocking is decorated, it is most likely to be either up the sides of the ankle, or over the top of the foot and ankle (even up the leg to the mid-calf).
"Openwork" cotton stockings, c. 1860-70
from The Met
In 1864, Peterson's tells us that:"Stockings will be worn colored this winter; the silk stockings with narrow stripes around them are very suitable for this season of the year; the ground of the stocking should match either the dress or the petticoat in color. Merino stockings are also manufactured in brilliant colors--violet with black stripes, gray with blue, and black with Solferino; indeed they are to be procured of all shades." Arthur's Lady's Home Magazine (1864) lists many fashionable colors for stockings, noting that white is only used for "full dress" (ie, very formal attire).  Striped and plaid stockings are worn by day, while colored stockings with decorative clocking are used for evening.
Blue silk stockings with yellow 
"clocks", c.1865, from the Met
A neat (and unexpected) design appears in these multi-colored silk stockings from 1865: they're made to look like a pair of open shoes with crossed laces!
Silk stockings, c. 1865
from The Met
During the Civil War, women on both sides of the conflict knitted socks for the army; songs  and poems lauded sock-knitting as a patriotic endeavor.
"Knit socks for the soldiers. Make them to come above the calf of the leg, rib them for three or four inches at the top, make the heels and toes of double thickness." --Healthside, 1861
Army Sock Pattern, American Agriculturalist, 1861
I have found no period differentiation between "socks" and "stockings", though both terms are used. The surviving examples tend to vary based on leg length, with socks extending about one foot-length above the ankle and stockings 2.5 or 3 foot-lengths.  Further investigation is warranted.
Tentative update: a pair of women's, hand-knit silk stockings, c. 1862, in the MNHS collection has dimensions of 5" by 27.5".

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a number of very modern-looking socks produced for the Great Exhibition, including these silk and elastic knit socks:
Silk and elastic knit socks, 1851, from VAM.


Sunday, January 10, 2016

MNHS Civil War Collections

Here's another great on-line collection for research: the Minnesota Historical Society's Civil War Collection. In addition to artifacts (both military and civilian), there are assorted images, manuscripts, state muster documents, and the some of the Christie Family Letters (published in the book Brother of Mine).
Henry H. Sibley, c. 1865
First governor of Minnesota, and state millita officer.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

On Sarcasm

Godey's, 1861
Be careful also how you indulge in sarcasm.  If you are constitutionally inclined to this, you will find that there is no point in your character which needs to be more faithfully guarded.  There are some few cases in which severe irony may be employed to advantage; cases in which vice and error will shrink before it, when they will unhesitatingly confront every other species of opposition. 
It too often happens, however, that those who possess this talent use it indiscriminately; and perhaps even more frequently to confound modest and retiring virtue than to abash bold and insolent vice. 
--The Lady's Guide to Perfect Gentility (1856), p. 145