Wrapping up "Rebels and Redcoats" and the Abigail Adams ensemble

Of course, no sewing project, particularly a historical sewing project, is ever truly complete!  There are always trimmings to stitch on (temporarily, so that they can be changed out again when the mood strikes), hem lengths to adjust, fit issues to address, and accessories to make (oh boy...accessories...the possibilities are truly limitless when it comes to accessories).  All of this means delving back into whatever research was done when the project was in its infancy, scouring books and blogs and websites and Pinterest boards for inspiration and ideas.

We do this to ourselves, you see.  It's a never-ending cycle.  We are gluttons for punishment.  When in the throes of such a project, we stay up all hours wrestling with fabric while cursing the time that decreases as our stress increases, we agonize over where it is acceptable to cut corners with modern techniques like machine stitching and where hand stitching really matters, we wring our hands and fret about minutiae like WTF color ribbon to use in an undergarment that under normal historical circumstances would never be seen (not that I would anything about that particular battle,,,AHEM).  Then as soon as we hear about an upcoming event, all we can think about is making more pretty things to wear to it, and we sign up without a moment's hesitation.

Anyway...

It was really, really incredible to be a part of "Rebels and Redcoats."  Although I've attended tons of events of varying eras and varying authenticity (I love you, Ren Faire, I really do, but elf ears ain't period) this was my first time participating in living history as an actual interpreter.  While I still have loads to learn, my main takeaway from being one of the people in full (mostly) authentic costume is that when you walk the walk and talk the talk, people not only listen, they listen and ask questions and broaden their horizons because they are willing to accept that you know more about the subject than they do - and hey, you know what?  Turns out you actually do!  I may not have a Ph.D in 18th Century History, but I do have a Master's degree in library science.  And yes, that's partly because I want a career as a librarian, but it's also because I have a natural proclivity to be curious about lots of different things, and to actually want to do the research and dig deeper.

As a refresher, I was brought on board for "Rebels and Redcoats" after meeting Jack Pauly at Northwest Colonial Festival this past August.  He portrays John Adams and Sir John Redmayne, a Redcoat General!  After hearing about my experience playing Abigail with Reboot, and how much I loved the show in general, he had all confidence that I would be able to translate that into a more comprehensive portrayal.  So I owe a great deal to him for the experience, and for having faith in my ability to carry it off!

I'm a performer and a singer, so historical interpreting is no great deviation, but it's just funny how the path of circumstance is truly a winding road and not a straight line.  Eamon first introduced me to the show 1776, and I believe between the two of us we've seen some ten iterations of it, of course including Reboot's in which I played Abigail.  But all of that is just of a piece with most of my passions.  When I latch onto something, it becomes all-consuming.  This is going to shock some of you, but I have never felt the need to hide my enthusiasm.  The preparations for this event and the event itself gave me an outlet, not just for my acting abilities, but also for sharing the knowledge I have obtained, and for sharing the notion that it's okay - awesome, even! - to be enthusiastic about things.  And what could be more librarian-like than that??

We arrived in Phoenix on Wednesday night and on Thursday it just poured rain - a drenching, soaking rain.  But the rest of the weekend was very hot, around 85 degrees.  And very, very dry and dusty (as it generally is in a desert).  I had not anticipated the amount of dust that Ziva would accumulate on her clothing and body.  She's always been a little mudskipper, but she would just sit in the dirt and gravel and dump them all over herself,  And of course this was desert dirt and gravel with lots of mineral and elemental pigmentations, so it was hard to wash out.  Now that I know, next time I'll bring two dresses for her so I can switch them out and really give them a good soaking.  I was very glad that we opted to stay in a hotel rather than camp on site, because we and our garments needed deep-cleaning pretty much every night we were there.  I mean, yes, historically, grime and dirt were just part of everyday life, but if I'm not above using a sewing machine, it seems a tad silly to forego other modern conveniences like indoor plumbing and washers and dryers.

Friday was school visit day, and I think the number of visitors totaled something like 900 students.  Pretty incredible!  Saturday and Sunday were open to the public.  Every day was a little bit different, but it was all really eye-opening and educational and fun!

And now...pictures!!  The first set of pictures were taken by Wylin Tjoelker, the secretary, photographer and webmaster for the Northwest Colonial Reenactors Association.

 Here's me and Ziva getting ready on Day 1.  Although I wish I'd gotten the hem stitched on her dress before the event actually started (I mentioned how much this was all down to the wire, didn't I??), it was actually kind of nice to have handwork to do in camp while visitors were coming and going.  I'm sure it added to the ambiance!  Next time I'll bring embroidery or a handkerchief to edge -  daughter running around in just her shift all morning!!  Not that anyone cared, she's 3.   

Here's Ziva with her best friend for the weekend, Gracie.  Gracie's mom was the tavernmistress for the event, doing all of the camp cooking for us - and she also had her adorable 7-month-old, Georgina, in tow!!  It was truly a village looking after the girls.  Gracie knew the layout of the grounds from previous years, so she and Ziva would occasionally just take off to wander around the museum.  Ziva was in absolute heaven being taken under the wing of a big kid!

Here's a lovely seated shot of the back of my dress.

Another, this time standing.

Here's Ziva with Amanda, Gracie and Georgie's mom.  

Me with Carmen, who gave presentations and demonstrations all weekend on smallpox inoculation!

Laura Holland, who played North Carolina's Joseph Hewes in Reboot's 1776, came to the event as well, and was an enormous help to me and Ziva over the course of the weekend.  She gave us rides to and from the museum every day and spent a lot of time playing with the girls.

The following set, also taken by Wylin, is of my second time giving the presentation entitled "Tyranny of the Petticoat."  Jack adapted that title from a letter John wrote to Abigail in response to her now-famous "Remember the ladies" exhortation.  It was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but he was basically saying, oh great, now that women are finding their voice and asking for representation, we must welcome our petticoat overlords!

 

The first time I was setting up for the presentation, as I was removing all my outer clothing and accessories, I just started laying it all on tables and other available surfaces, and a light bulb went off.  I could have everyone come up and take a look at everything, and then ask them to guess what I might be putting on next!  The kids especially enjoyed it being interactive, and there was a lot of great dialogue about each layer.  I had written out some blurbs for myself ahead of time, things I wanted to keep in mind or remember to say, but when it came to the presentations themselves, I went without notes and just kind of let  take its course.  I pretty much got to everything I wanted to talk about, whether it was because I brought it up or an audience member asked a question.   

Here's the back view of just the shift and stays.  Rebecca Maiten was my main go-to for advice about which fabric to use for the stays - and really, she answered TONS of questions about everything else while I was working on the whole ensemble!  Agnes Gawne made this shift (and Ziva's) and it fit perfectly and the stays really worked well over it. 

Here's the front of the stays, and I'm holding the bodkin in my hand that I use to lace them up with the ribbon.  I opted to have the stays already on and laced rather than stand there in front of everyone poking the ribbon through every eyelet.  It's a tedious process!  But I talked about how stays were made and explained why I had mine front and back lacing, and also pointed out the spiral lacing, which is different than most people have probably seen on a corset.

Here I'm wearing the hip pad and holding up the pocket.  These two pieces posed the greatest puzzle for the guests.  One lady thought the hip pad was shoulder pads, and a kid asked if the pocket was a bib of some sort.  Makes sense, if you've only ever known pockets to be an integral part of a garment!  I made this pocket based on one that was loaned to me by Mara Perry, who also loaned me the cap and gave me the straw bergere (flat bonnet hat) that I put on at the very end. 

Here's how the pocket is worn, and you pretty much have to plan all the rest of the outer garments around where it sits at your side.  This pocket is intended not to be seen, but I have seen some re-enactors wear their beautifully embroidered pockets so they are visible.

I've tucked my tucker into the neck of my stays, which in this period was more about sun protection than modesty, and I've put on my first petticoat on (which was given to me by Agnes Gawne).  Here I'm showing how an opening in the petticoat below the closure allows access to the pocket.

Second petticoat on, which in my case was made from the same fabric as the dress, but I pointed out that petticoats could be made from solid silks or other coordinating fabrics to increase the versatility of an ensemble.  This petticoat is two panels with waistband ties, and the front one ties around to the back and the back comes around to tie in the front.  I'm showing here where the panels meet there is an opening directly above the pocket.

Stomacher!  This one was easy for people to guess where it went ;-)

Pinning the stomacher in place.  A lot of the time, the stomacher would first be pinned to the corset and then the robings (front panels) of the outer dress would be pinned to the stomacher, but I found it quicker and equally as secure to just hold the stomacher in place and pin the dress to it.  Here I should mention that Mara Perry was extremely helpful in helping me decode the construction of the gown.  Never having made anything of this period, there were some things I found confusing, and she gave me some excellent guidance!

Look, I can still reach into my pocket!

I've added my "for best" apron, and I'm still not fully dressed!  I hadn't put on my jewelry yet, or my hat.  

     

           

 I was just amused comparing my pose fully dressed at the end of the presentation to earlier one when I was decidedly undressed!

My jewelry - jade necklace and matching earrings, plus a cameo ring.

The presentations all went very well, and I received some truly lovely and encouraging feedback from the seasoned interpreters who attended.  One of the ladies also helped me demonstrate how silhouettes changed in the decades of the 1770s - she was wearing pocket hoops, which are a much larger and more structured means of achieving the wide skirts than a hip pad, but not quite as big as panniers.  During the third presentation, she gamely got up to show them to the audience.  It was great to have multiple examples! 

At some point over the weekend, one of the other reenactors gifted Ziva a little apron and cap of her own.  So cute!! 

The rest of the pictures are mine, and I think I took them all on my phone.  For the most part I just tried to keep it put away since there was such a good photographer documenting the whole weekend, but there were times I couldn't resist!

Ziva was just so happy the whole weekend.  Her shift, as I mentioned, was made by Agnes Gawne, and her dress was made by Eileen Peterson, a seamstress and regular costumer for several Kitsap theater companies.    

They were all just so cute playing duck-duck-goose!  I love the action shot at the end.

Well, I think that just about covers it!!  My apologies for taking so long to get this posted, there was obviously a lot to talk about and process!  Time and funds allowing, I can absolutely see myself doing more of this.  It was such a rewarding experience with a very welcoming and warm group of people.  They were so supportive of me as a beginner and seemed really pleased with my contributions to the weekend's activities and offerings.

The stays are done! THE STAYS ARE DONE!!!

Did I mention the stays are done?  Because they are.  62 eyelets sewn by hand.  ALL DONE!

I mean, sure, I did all of the other stitching by machine, but these eyelets turned out really nice and I'm really happy with the overall effect.  Also, the stays fit perfectly!  Wahoo!

Without further ado, pictures!

Center front eyelets.  Note how they are offset by one inch except for the two at the very top and very bottom.  These are laced the same way in front and back.  One ribbon starts at the bottom and travels up in a spiral, rather than starting with the middle of the lace at the bottom and crossing the two over each other like a shoelace.

Back eyelets, same spiral layout.  Go ahead, click on the pictures and look at them really close up.  I'm damn proud of these eyelets.  

Note that when these are laced up, the edges won't actually be right up against each other like this.  There will be a gap of maybe 1-2" in the back.  The front will wind up more pointed, with the edges forming a "v" rather than lining up to each other.  Once I get the lacing in the back so that it's comfortable, I'll just tie it in place and leave it in, and get the stays on by doing up the front lace myself.  

Here are the shoulder strap and bust peak eyelets.  A shorter ribbon connects these two.

Now I have a question to pose to my esteemed readers.  The question is regarding what color the lacing ribbon should be.  I have seen period and reproduction examples of contrasting ribbons in quite bright colors, as well as plain white or off-white tapes or ribbons.  The reason I am asking is that it is likely that the stays will be seen, if we do in fact go ahead with a "Dressing Abigail Adams" presentation.  There is the argument to be made that sometimes what is most authentic does not actually register as such to the modern eye, so my ideal would be     

I have a grosgrain ribbon in a perfect matching green, but currently not enough of it to lace the whole thing (and my local JoAnn doesn't seem to carry this particular ribbon in this shade).  Here are a few rows of lacing with the green:

I quite like this, although I do think something with more contrast would help visually distinguish it from the stays, and make it easier for people to see the spiral lacing  But it's moot because I don't have enough of it :-(

This is what I'm calling the "homespun" ribbon that I was so excited about, with the little green accents, but...meh, it just doesn't have the same impact I thought it would have.    

 Like, right up close you can see that it has some texture and the little green ribbon accents, but from far away...all I see is shoelaces!!  I'm really disappointed.  Guys, am I wrong???

Here's what I mean about contrast.  The ribbon is distinct from the stays and you can really clearly see how spiral lacing is different from cross lacing.  Eamon says this is the wrong shade of purple (it's a bit darker and more vivid than how it looks in the picture).  He says it takes it into "Renaissance faire" territory.  I get what he's saying.  There are period examples with color combinations like this!  But okay, yeah, maybe Abigail wouldn't be quite so flashy.  Ideally, I'd like to find something complementary but not in-your-face.  Something more muted, but still elegant, like a lighter purple, or kind of a stone blue??  JoAnn's selection is just really not that great.

Side note: that long metal thing is a great little tool called a "bodkin."  It's kind of like an oversized needle - it has an "eye" that you can thread with the ribbon, and the end is just a little ball that pokes through the eyelets.  These eyelets turned out a tad smaller than intended, and this little tool gets through them just fine.

And then there's this.  Plain off-white cord.  I would need to figure out some way to keep the ends from fraying, but it's certainly a period-appropriate choice.  It just...it lacks oomph.  The stays are such a nice brocade I want to do something that has a little pizzazz. 

Anyway, here's a little Eyelet 101.  There's a tool that inserts grommets with what is essentially a hole-puncher for fabric, but that tears the fibers and creates a weak point in the weave.  Instead, you use an awl to gently open a hole between the fibers, stretching them apart.  This maintains the integrity of the fabric, keeping it stronger.  Then you do a first pass of regular stitches with a needle and embroidery thread to start opening up the hole.

I highly doubt that I'm the first to discover this, but I figured out a neat trick that kind of reinforces the edge of the hole while doing the first pass of stitches.  If you keep the "tail" of the embroidery thread an inch or two long, you can hold it off to the left and catch it in the stitches as you go.     

This is the first pass completed, and you can see how I've gone all the way around the hole enclosing the "tail" in each stitch.  After this, you poke through the hole again with the awl to stretch it out and set the stitches.  Then you do a buttonhole stitch all the way around by wrapping the needle with the long thread before pulling it taut.  

I did make a few other accessories today, so that's some more to-dos off the list.  These are structural as well as practical, and I needed them to be done before I could really dive in to making the dress.

This is a hip pad, which is a pretty self-explanatory name.  It looks just a throw pillow for your bum that helps flare out the skirt and give it shape (it creates a less exaggerated silhouette than hoops and paniers).  Sometimes it would be just sort of a crescent shape, but I actually like that this one has sections so that the padding doesn't shift around too much.  The pattern (which came as part of the dress pattern) didn't call for any embellishment, but I was pretty sure I remembered having this length of narrow lace in my stash, and it turned out to be exactly the right amount.  To within eighths of an inch!  I had to pin it several times to get it matched up just so.  It adds a lot, I think.  

Big honkin' pocket, right??  It wasn't until last century that pockets became incorporated into pants and dresses and skirts for women.  It used to be a separate piece that tied around the waist, and was accessed through pocket slits in the petticoat(s) and skirt of the dress.  For modern day re-enactors, it's a great place to stash anachronistic items like cell phones and keys!

It is truly taking a village to get this ensemble together.  Next post will be all of the wonderful things that folks have made, loaned, or given to me to help me save the time!

Staying with the stays

Holy wow.  These stays have taken me so much longer than I thought they would.  But the binding is FINALLY all done (it does need pressing to help smooth out some crinkles here and there).  After a few practice eyelets, I just took the plunge and started poking holes.  I've done four of them so far, and I'm pretty happy with them!  With the wider boning channels, the eyelets are coming out fairly small, so unfortunately I don't think the awesome homespun/green ribbon I got will fit - or if it does, the ribbon will be all folded over itself and the sweet detail won't be visible.  I might just have to get a very narrow grosgrain or something.  Thankfully I can be more flexible with the color so it shouldn't be hard to find something I like (famous last words...)

If the stays have taught me anything, it's that I bit off a lot more than I could chew, so I put out an APB to sewing friends.  But as is so often the case with people who can actually sew, they have their plates full with their own projects for Halloween and other fall/winter costuming events, or they're costuming theater productions!  However, they have all been very generous with offering to lend me costume pieces and accessories, which lowers my sewing load,  and will help immensely with getting everything pulled together in time.  My friend Melissa (she of Dylan Fabrics) recommended a woman to make Ziva's "Nabby" dress, and it will be made from fabric gifted by another friend, who also resized a petticoat of her own for me to wear.  Costuming enthusiasts really look after each other!!

So now...pictures!

 Here's the cotton fabric for Ziva's "Nabby" gown, courtesy of my friend Agnes Gawne.  Isn't it so sweet??  There's blue in the fabric for my gown, so it goes nicely.

And here's the Larkin & Smith Gir's Gown pattern envelope.  The lady making it is going to have to size it down a bit, but she's comfortable doing that.  I delivered this pattern and fabric to her yesterday, and then tonight I discovered there's a Mill Farm pattern that starts at a smaller size.  The Larkin & Smith gets great reviews and came highly recommended, so rather than order that pattern and wait for it to arrive, I'll stick with the Larkin & Smith for this one, and maybe I will give the Mill Farm a try if I need another dress for Ziva in this period.  

Bottom binding done!  This is just one half but they're identical.  This was some fiddly stitching but I'm very proud of myself.

Center back eyelets marked out for spiral lacing.

Center front eyelets marked, also for spiral lacing.

Strap and bust peak eyelets marked (the strap comes over the shoulder and ties with the same ribbon as the front and back lacing).

First eyelet done. First of...62. Deep breaths.