Inspiration: the Make It With Wool competition, the wool yardage I had been given and lots of fashion plates, cdvs and pictures of original garments.
I based the jacket mainly off of this one, notice the sleeve shape and embroidery in particular
The bodice on the woman farthest to the left was the inspiration for my bodice
Materials:
Jacket~blue wool fabric, white silk floss, white silk lining, metal hook and eye.
Bodice~cotton batiste, silk ribbon, metal hooks.
Skirt~dark blue wool fabric, metal hooks and eyes.
Construction: The white “waist” (we would call it a blouse nowadays) is shirred and decorated with light purple silk ribbon. It has dropped shoulders which is typical of the period and closes in the back with hooks and thread bars. The sleeves are full Bishop, gathered into a narrow cuff at the wrist. All decoration and most of the construction was done by hand.
The jacket is decorated with chain-stitched embroidery. It has two-part shaped coat sleeves. The neckline, front and back edges, and sleeves are finished with tiny homemade piping. Rather than being bag-lined, as we would do today, I opted for a more time consuming, but more historically accurate technique. The lining is fully constructed apart from the jacket, then felled (or slipstitched) to the piping.
I created the design for the embroidery based on fashion plates and original garments, including a little boy’s jacket.
The skirt is box-pleated to the waistband and opens off-center in the back with hooks and thread loops. There is a pocket in one of the seams (a detail I found I simply could not live without in my reenacting outfits!). Three tucks and a wide ruffle grace the hemline.
PS~I received an honorable mention in the state level Make It With Wool competition 😉
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