Stuff for Sale!

1.  Quilted Silk Taffeta 1860s Winter Hood. Silk taffeta, machine quilted, parts of it lined with brown polished cotton. I didn't make it, so I can't tell you what the batting is. $50
  

2. Navy blue knitted sontag. I didn't make this so I don't know the fiber content. Should fit most sizes... $30

Bonnet and Kerchief in Action

I spent the weekend "selling" rum and vegetables to the soldiers. It was lovely to see so many friends, especially since this is my last event in California. 

A Beautiful Black Bonnet

This is SUCH an improvement over my first black silk bonnet that I made about 2 years ago. I've learned so much since then!

I made up the pattern myself, which really just involved playing around with paper grocery bags until i had something I liked.

The brim is stiffened with artist's chip board to simulate pasteboard, which I personally like better than buckram for this kind of hat. The "Instructions for Cutting Out Apparel for the Poor" of 1789 recommends pasteboard for bonnet brims, as does the Kannik's Korner pattern (Kathleen wrote about pasteboard and bonnets here and here.) It is covered with black silk taffeta, trimmed with the same, and drawn up in the back with black silk ribbon. After careful consideration, I decided to construct my bonnet using the same method described by Rebecca. It made the most sense to me, and to Michael. I'd love to look at CW's original bonnet (currently the only known extant bonnet form the 18th century) to see how it was constructed, but the brim is stiffened with stripes of baleen, so that changes things a bit.

So here it is. Also pictured is the new spot'd kerchief I made. Yay for accessories!

      

Suggest Your/A Blog!

I would love to expand the number of historical sewing blogs I follow here on Blogger. Please share your favorites, or your own! There are a number of blogs I'd love to follow, but I can't figure out how to add them to my list... Yes, I am very technology-challenged! Can you help me?? Is there something I'm missing? I thought there was a button in the top left hand corner, but I no longer see it on some blogs.

Things have been very quiet around here, but my wedding is only 3 weeks away so life has been absolutely crazy! Hang in there, readers! I should have fun things to post soon. :)

Here's a picture from UTR last weekend (which sadly I had to enjoy from the comfort of my own home in CA via Facebook) of Michael with our friend's sweet baby boy. Enjoy!