Lovely Ideas For January

I have so many projects in the works now but I really enjoy looking through the old magazines. Today's favorite was January's subscription to Arthur's Illustrated Home Magazine 1859. There are so many wonderful items in there to take note of. Here are my favorites:

I'm in love with this woodcut that opens the number. It is titled "These Are My Jewels". I can relate to this image of a mother in the presence of her darling children. They are her most precious possessions.

Since quilting has become my new long term project, this quilting pattern was very interesting as well. I really love the heart shapes. They really don't stand out as hearts so I think they will go well, or a version of this, on my Baby Blocks Quilt.

Being a lace maker, I was immediately drawn to this crochet imitation Honiton cuff and collar pattern. I wasn't able to find the instruction for this so I will need to go back and scour the issue again later. Most likely it will read that it can be made up easily from the illustration given.

And then there comes a cute story for parents about allowing their toddlers to learn to climb the stairs. I've read it before but skipped reading it today. However, it did bring a ready smile at the recollection.

Now that is something that I didn't remember from this issue. The Self Supporting Tournure. The main difference between this and our more recent cage supports is that the steels are represented by the vertical stripes and the horizontal are tapes. This is very interesting.

A tatted trim on chemise, petticoat, and children's clothing always looks lovely. The pearl is call a picot in recent times and this arrangement is very nice. Perhaps when I am bored of stitching my quilt pieces, I could work on some tatting. After all my shuttle is kept in my sewing box and is very convenient to take when visiting.

Speaking of my sewing box. This little needle book would look lovely in there. It makes my current needle book pale in comparison.

And of course there were other little project and nice stories to read but these were the ones that I wanted to note here, sort of as a reminder to myself. Perhaps I should start a notebook or two. One for quilting patterns and one for tatting patterns that can be kept in my sewing box for reference.


I have a bit of velvet, some bugle beads, cardboard, and ribbon. Perhaps I can take some time and put together that needle book some evening this month. We will have to see.

The Story Of A Baby Blocks Quilt

First Update - 12/9/2014
So far I have only been able to log 6 hours on this quilt. It seems that starting a big project just before the holidays makes for a very slow start. I also didn't realize how long it would take to cut all of those diamonds out of newspaper and scrap fabric and then baste the two. I'm actually having a lot of fun with this project, I'm just glad that I hadn't expected to complete it until next April.

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Original Post - 11/24/2014
I am finally starting on an endeavor in quilting. I have fallen in love with a pattern and have been lent the instruction on creating it. I have some documented, period correct fabric with which to start. So, the next logical thing to do is get started.

This quilt will be a small child's quilt and done completely by hand. Here is an example of what I am going for:

The National Museum of American History also calls this pattern "Cubework" and "Boxes" and this particular quilt is made from 4" cotton diamonds. The overall measurements are 47 in. by 41 in.

I am very excited to get started on this project. I will be using the paper piecing method to construct this. It starts with creating a template and cutting out a lot of paper diamonds. Then the fun really gets going when I scour my stash scraps for pieces big enough and varied enough for this project. I'll just keep adding to this post for updates. So stay tuned.

Here's more quilting inspiration:
Follow Wrapped In Scarlet 's board Quilts on Pinterest.

Patchwork Pattern

 Here is a new patchwork (quilt) pattern found in The Lady's Friend 1864. This pattern calls for silk but there are several similar museum quilts made of cotton. I'd love to find one made of wool.

While my favorite patchwork pattern is the Baby Blocks design, this one is becoming a fast favorite as well.

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This quilting pattern was found in Arthur's Illustrated Home Magazine 1859

Drawnwork In Linen

I was very pleased to find this drawn-work d'oyley in The Lady's Friend 1864. It is made of unbleached Irish (course) linen and bound with purse silk in magenta. There is also mention of a silk lining in a bright color.

Straw Plaited Hats

I have been obsessed with straw hats. I want one, I want one for each of the children .... and most importantly..... I want them all to be accurate. I started with research, of course, and found that the craft straw hats found today are not what I'm looking for but I picked one up at a yard sale for 10 cents anyway. I wanted to see just how they are put together today and if it was even possible to hand sew on straw. In my imagination I could envision the straw disintegrating with each stitch. You can imagine my delight when the sewing was very easy and the straw held up very well.

In my research I found that the pattern of the modern plaiting is correct but where we use whole straw, they used split straw. The split straw plait is much narrower.... as small as 5mm wide.

Here is a book reference from 1860 about period straw plaiting:



The first neat item mentioned in that reference is a straw splitter made of metal in the early 1800s. You can still pick them up on-line:



As is my custom, I will use this post as a repository for future research on this topic

Quilt Pattern

Currently we call this the Pandora's Box or Baby Blocks pattern in quilting. I have been looking for an early example of this for some time now. I found this in Godey's 1852. I am so excited because this is my favorite quilt pattern. Now I just need to start cutting out my scraps.


Here is a similar one from Arthur's 1864:

Colored Eggs For Easter

In The Every-day book or The Guide To The Year there is a very interesting history of the colored Easter egg. I especially like the part about the eggs being played with my young boys in the grass or thrown. These boiled eggs were marked with tallow and then submerged into dyes to add the color or they were dyed and then the dye was scraped off to make the design. Names of children, along with their ages, was marked on the eggs and the eggs were then given to then as gifts for Easter. To begin the reading you will want to go to the bottom of the first page where the title reads, "Easter Eggs".

Starting On Winter Wear

It's still very nice outside but the cold weather will be here before too long so I think that I should start on some warm garments for my children. After the cold temperatures have arrived is not the best time to start on these things. I'd rather be well on the way with only a few finishing touches when Old Man Winter starts blowing in my door.

I am still planning on finishing my tan and burgundy dress for use at the Remembrance Day Parade, November 23rd in Gettysburg. My bonnet is acceptable as it is now and I only have a few touches to add to the jacket that I made last year. Mostly, I would like to make crochet closures for down the front of it.

I love lists so here goes:

~ crochet closures and maybe some trim for my blue jacket
~ red wool petticoats for myself and my older daughter
~ long sleeve tunic and belt for my son
~ short button pants for my younger son
~ pants for my older son
~ wool gaiters for everyone
~ traveling bags for myself and my older daughter
~ finally finish the wrapper for my younger daughter
~ gloves

Here's my list for the year. So far I am not on schedule but it's all fun anyway.

Marbled Paper

I have become very interested in marbled paper and it's uses in Mid-Century home life. It is well known that this style of paper was extensively used in the book binding industry.... but what else was it used for? Here are the references that I have found so far:

"The old fashioned marbled paper, still extensively used by bookbinders, is made in a remarkable way. A viscid kind of paint-liquid is prepared, on the surface of which different colours are intermingled; and the sheet of paper is dexterously laid on this surface, from which it draws up a film of the intermingled colours." From Paper: Its Applications and Its Novelties 1853

In A catalogue of Pictures, Busts, Bronzes etc at Hendersyde Park 1859. There are listed references to marbled paper boxes. They are small, circular or oblong boxes with shell cameos.

Traveling Bag

I added a traveling bag to my to-do list a few weeks ago. This particular bag goes over the arm and is embroidered. I have no time to embroider such a large design and have been looking for an applique instead. Here is one that I found in Arthur's Home Magazine 1858. Notice that the description says that it is suitable for a bag.

Bags For Boys

I have been wanting to make a bag for each of my boys. They would benefit greatly by having a bag of their own to carry small toys and snacks. I will collect images on this topic and record them in this post.

Woodcut entitled Blessed Be The Peacemakers from Godey's 1858

 

This appears to be a cross body type bag with perhaps a loaf of bread in it.

Beadwork Adornments

There are occasionally illustrations given for beadwork. I especially like this one:

Sprigs of Flowers for Bead-work, Godey's 1858

Here is an article on beads from the same book:

 

 

 

 

AGRAFE AU CROCHET.

AGRAFE AU CROCHET.

 

- ‘1 jeté , - diminution. - Recommencez quatre fois depuis " ; - une a l'endroit, -1 jeté, - diminution , - 5 à l'endroit, - 1 jeté, - diminution, - une à l'endroit, 1 jeté, - diminution , -une à l'endroit.

27° tour. -Une levée, - 2 à l'endroit; - * 1 jeté, - diminution. -- Recommencez quatre fois depuis ‘; - une a l'endroit, -- 1 jeté, - une a l'endroit, - 1 jeté , - diminution,- 2 a l'endroit, -diminution , -_ 1 jeté, - diminution , - une a‘l'endroit , - 1 jeté, -- 3 à l'endroit.

On répète ces tours depuis le 5° tour. jusqu'à ce que l'on ait la longueur voulue, puis on encadre les pleins, en passant autour, en reprises, du fil plat, ainsi que l'indique le dessin.

 

I have no idea what the above says. It's all that I could come up with from La Mode Illustree. Thankfully a dear friend from TheSewingAcademy.org was able to translate the pattern from the German version found in Der Bazar, January 1863. Here is what she came up with:

 

Crocheted Agrafe
see figure 51.
Materials: very strong (or heavy) black Cordonnet(?) silk, coated (or annealed?) thin florists wire, some open(?) silk, twisted silk cord, a Bikeschen(?) or olive(?) button.

 

The full-size figure of the agrafe shows clearly that both of the main portions are formed by a twig with a 5 petaled flower and the accompanying leaves. The size and shape of each individual crochet piece, as well as the assembly of the pieces, can also be gleaned from the figure.

All flower and leaf pieces are made with very strong (see above) black Cordonnet(see above) Silk and are made from the middle out, spiraled like a snail, in the round, using firm(or tight) chain stitches (Don't know if this means a particular stitch). For the oval pieces, a center vein is made by hooking 5-7 stitches, and, depending on the required size of the piece being made, 2, 4, or 6 rows are crocheted around this beginning.

 

On every row, add a few stitches on both ends of the vein, so that an oval surface forms.

 

For the round pieces, cast on (hook) 3-4 stitches, close them into rings, and crochet around them in a snail-like spiral while continually adding stitches, until a round flat surface of the required size is formed.

 

To create a toothed leaf, make a starting chain like for the oval leaves, and then crochet around it. Work until about the middle of one of the long sides, thereupon 3 L.(?), turn the piece and crochet back over the first two of the 3 L.(?) and the most recently worked stitches, until the beginning of the row; from here make a back and forth row on the other side in the same way.

 

All of the individual crocheted pieces form the top, right side, using the wrong sides of the individual pieces. Organize and assemble the pieces as the figure shows. The stem is made of black cord, which gets tightly wrapped with open(?) black silk, and a thin piece of florist's wire is wrapped with it. The wire allows the stems to be bent.

 

The crocheted pieces are sewn firmly to the stems. The end of the stem is hidden under one of the small oval crocheted pieces, which also hides the end of the loop made of twisted silk cord. One of the two completed agrafe pieces has a "olive" or "Bikeschen" button on the outside tip of the loop.

 

(You can visit Sarah's blog here)

I Want This Purse

La Mode Illustree October 1862

Have A Ball....

.... or two, or three or four.

I made these fabric balls for the boys. The pattern is found in The Girl's Own Toy-Maker. They are supposed to be stuffed with bran but my boys will have to settle for cotton batting. 

I actually made 5 balls but the children already lost one. The front two are made from remnant wool from our coats and mantles. The back two are made from cotton remnants from my stash. I really like the wool ones the best. 

Needle Books and Fabric Bags

I am still trying to get nice pictures of the gifts that we made for Christmas. This new camera is taking a while to get used to. I hope that I catch on soon.

Here are the needle books that I made for the girls. They are made from pasteboard, covered with reproduction cotton print fabric and have a piece of wool flannel for the pages.

The bags that go with them are coordinating and have silk ties. There was also a small piece of bees wax in the bags. So, now the girl's are on their way to having well stocked sewing baskets.

Rolled Linen Dolls

Here is another Christmas update. Sorry that it's so late, my camera broke in the middle of Christmas and my new one just came in the mail. (long, boring story)

For my younger daughter I made some cute rolled linen dolls. The directions are found in The American Girl's Book 1831. Technically they are called Common Linen Dolls, but I think that Rolled Linen Dolls is a more accurate description. Here is the illustration from the book:

Here are my daughter's dolls:

(from left to right)

The peach and teal dress is a piece from the fat quarter that I picked up at Needle and Thread to make another gift, and the blue shawl is from my older son's winter coat.

The red dress is a red on pink print cotton that I had in my stash and the red wool shawl is from my younger daughter's mantle fabric. 

Lastly, the green fabric is a remnant of my older daughter's cotton homespun dress and the tan wool shawl is from my son's winter pants.

(all of these outfits are on the My Work page)

I took the liberty of adding thin wire in the arms. They are not really posable but the wire does give them a little more of a downward curve, instead of just sticking straight out at the sides. As you can see, I also added shawls. I think the shawls really add a nice touch.

I had a blast making these cute little dolls, except for the part about hiding them and making them after my children went to bed at night. When I make more, and I will be making more, it will be while the children are around. It's really fun to see these little gals come together!

St. Valentine's Day Gift Planning

Now that the excitement of Christmas and New Years is over, it's time to start sewing again. I dated my list this year so I know exactly what I need to do first. My first due date is St. Valentine's Day. At our house this is a gift giving holiday, so let's get started making gifts!

 My favorite gift for this Valentine's Day will be to give my toddler son a tatted collar. Here is the pattern that I plan to use:

This collar design is from The Lady's Companion 1852 and is meant for a lady. However, I think that it would look adorable on my son, as well as taking much less time to make it up, in his petite size. The bars in this pattern are done with a needle.

For my older daughter, I plan to make a barrel bag, or travel bag. She has asked for one and I hadn't had time to make it for her for Christmas, so now it would be a wonderful surprise. I have some more of that gorgeous navy blue wool. Now I just need to find a nice cotton print for lining, and some wide twill tape for the handles.

For my younger daughter, I have planned the simplest gift to give. It should work up so quickly. She shall have a thread case for her embroidery floss. The pattern is in The Workwoman's Guide 1840. She loves embroidery and has every color, so I may end up making her several. The following illustration is one suggested in Godey's Magazine. It's very lovely, don't you think?

My older son didn't get the drum that I wanted to make for him from a wooden cheese box. Some how I just ran out of time and energy for that project. Well, after a short rest, I'm ready to start the project list sprint again.

And I can't forget about making more hand made Victorian Valentine cards. We had so much fun making them last year, we have to do it again!!

I hope you wish me luck in accomplishing my projects, and do tell me about the ones that you have planned. Post a link to your website, blog or facebook so I can see what you've been working on.

Dressing The Christmas Tree

10/29/2012 - We will be having a Victorian Christmas celebration this year that includes a dressed tree. So the first question is .....

What did they put on Christmas trees in the 1860s?

 

 

 

I started my research with these two articles: http://www.raggedsoldier.com/christmas_customs.pdf  and http://www.raggedsoldier.com/2_xmas.pdf

 

My tree decorations list starts with the basics:

~ strung popcorn
~ strung red berries
~ paper chains
~ taper candles *
~ red ribbon bows

We are fortunate to have a good many children to share our Christmas with and can hang all of the small gifts on the tree:
~ wooden horses
~ huzzars (type of soldier)
~ tin soldiers *
~ drums *
~ trumpets
~ swards *
~ muskets *
~ dresses dolls
~ tea sets *
~ coffee sets *
~ doll furniture *
~ candied fruits in paper cornucopias
~ (gingerbread) cakes


Other little gifts that I want to make are:
~ cloth balls
~ thread cases *
~ fabric bags 
~ slippers
~ needle cases

 

12/24/212 Update - Items marked with a * were not on our tree this year. It is amazing the amount of things that are on the tree. I am impressed with how well filled out the tree became once all of the decorations and gifts were hung. We were very pleased with it all.

Boys Cap In Crochet

From Peterson's Magazine 1862

Boy's Cap In Plain Crochet

Materials - 1/4 oz. brown double zephyr; 1/2 oz. white double zephyr; 1/4 oz Flosselle silk, black; coarse cotton cord, brown or black.
Crochet over the cord with the brown wool, in plain crochet, beginning with six or eight stitches. Widen enough to keep the work flat, until you have 25 rows for the top of crown; be sure to have 200 stitches on the 25th row of the crown, it must measure 16 1/2 centimeters across the top.
The next row begins the side of the cap. Work 23 rows, and only widen 11 stitches in the whole side; turn the cap so as to begin on the wrong side, for the rim, which should turn up all round.

 1st Row - Brown
 2nd Row - White
 3rd Row - White, widen to 224 stitches
 4th Row - White widen 26 times in the whole row. Make 12 stitches of white and 2 of black floss silk. Repeat this 18 times around the cap.
 5th Row - Make 1 white stitch over the last black one of 4th row, and then 2 black ones, to form the pattern
 6th Row - Same as 5th row, and exactly over it
 7th Row - Like the 4th row.
 8th, 9th and 10th Rows - All white
 11th - Row Like the 4th and 7th only observing to make the black spots come in the center, or between those of the lower row
 12th, 13th and 14th Row - Like the 8th, 9th and 10th

Finish with 3 rows of white, 1 row of black silk; the last row of brown zephyr; black zephyr may be substituted for the spots if the silk cannot conveniently be procured.

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From The Illustrated Girl's Own Treasury

TO WORK OVER CORD Frequently done in making mats, baskets &c. Hold the cord along the top of the work, insert the hook as usual and bring out the loop of wool under the cord. Finish the stitch over the cord.

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To change the size of the cap, measure around the top of the child's head. This gives you the circumference. To find the diameter, divide the circumference by 3.14. Use this new number in place of the 16 1/2 centimeters in the pattern. You will then disregard the number of stitches needed in the 25th row.

Circumference divided by 3.14 = Diameter.

 

For example: If the circumference is 19 1/2". 19 1/2 divided by 3.14 is 6.21. Rounding up, I will use 6 1/4" as my new circumference or measurement "across the top".

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"Children's Fashions" illustrations from the same month