First Petticoat

It's Saturday night and I'm nearly finished with the first item I'm making for Baby -- a petticoat. I'm just waiting for the tape for the ties to come in and I need to add buttons around the waist for a second petticoat. For that, I'll make a cotton one and a wool one. This was fun to make because I got to practice my French handsewing again -- something I don't get to do very often. I didn't want the petticoats to be really fancy (I'm saving that for the dress), so I settled on a Single Hemstitch (my book calls it a Half Hemstitch). I liked how it turned out and it didn't take terribly long. Probably about 8 hours total.

The only gift is a portion of thyself. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today I received a lovely package from a lovely lady...

...and in it was a beautiful nightcap which she painstakingly re-created for me from an engraving. It fits perfectly, by the way...and looks so wonderfully authentic
I will post more of it as soon as I can get my darling husband to take some pictures of me wearing it.

But there was more!...

...the sweetest little baby dress for my firstborn, in a darling calico print. What a perfect little dress it was!

...but there was even more!...

...a little bundle containing a baby bonnet -- in matching fabric to my nightcap -- to cover the new little head! With dainty little lace embellishments, I simply can't wait to get photos of my baby in this outfit.

Sarah, it was such a wonderful surprise to find this in my mailbox just now. You are indeed an exceptional seamstress and I can't even begin to express my gratitude and happiness. These are the first little "civil war" items for my babe and they will be cherished -- believe me -- for many years to come.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

Baby Dress Plans

So many things to plan!! :) Now that I found some fabric, I'm researching like crazy on the different types of items to make. I've downloaded Elizabeth Stewart Clark's PDF on dressing infants and here's what I think I should be making so that my baby is a period correct infant:

(If you see any errors in my thinking, PLEASE let me know -- this is all new to me and I'm just doing my best to decipher what "basics" I need for the little one. I could be way wrong about some of this.)

1) Infant chemise or shirt. I found these simply-styled originals here:










2) Diaper/drawers

3) Infant "skirt" or "underdress", like this:












4) Perhaps a button-on second petticoat on the "underdress"

5) Outer dress, like this:












6) Bonnet and shoes and any other outerwear











I sure hope that's the right layering. I'm hoping to make one "really nice" dress (with the super sheer cotton from my previous post), a "nice" everyday dress and underdress out of the batiste, and a couple of plain muslin versions with two different sizes and skirt lengths so I can make the transition into crawling/walking easier.

Any thoughts? Am I on the right track?

Baby Dresses...fabric finds...

I was so excited this weekend to happen upon an heirloom sewing store in north Lewisville, TX which had all sorts of lovely batistes. I was going to look for swiss batiste, hoping to pick up for some of my baby dresses. Down where we live, I don't have much options (if any) for fine heirloom sewing stores like that, so it's kind of lucky I work for a company in Dallas which needs me to drive in every month or two. ;) The three hour drive is worth it when you get to visit great fabric stores.

Anyway, while I was getting my batiste and talking about my project, the owner said she happened to have a single piece of sheer cotton, about 1.75 yards (and 60" wide) which was the "closest to the fabric they'd used 100 years ago" that she'd ever found. Well, she was right! It's super sheer and fine, and so very soft, and looked very much like some of the very sheer antique baby dresses. A soft, airy version of swiss batiste, which to me is one of the best fabrics for heirloom sewing.

So, I bought 3 yards of super fine swiss batiste, and that piece of sheer cotton, and went on my merry way....dreaming up baby dresses and picturing my sweet little one.... ::sigh::

Ultrasound / Baby Update

I've posted an update on our baby on my home/garden blog here in case anyone is interested. We posted some photos, too. Everything is healthy and happy and we couldn't be more pleased. :)

Attention: For all of you who know the sex of the baby, please do not mention a gender here, as there are folks in the family who don't want to know. If you want to know the sex, please email me at amckinney@colortyme.com and I'll tell you privately.

Maternity Corset - Almost Done!

Good evening all! I hope this post finds you all well.

I've been busily trying to finish my maternity corset as I have a few reenactments coming up in the next couple of months. Luckily, I won't have any reenactments at the hottest part of the year (or my largest belly phase) so I only need this corset to get me through about 7 months or so. Since it's modified from a standard corset and is designed to bring me back down to a pre-pregnancy size and be in use for nursing, I can't expect it to expand really large.

I took these photos just now, using some old shoelaces to give me some laceups while I await proper lacing to come in. All in all, I'm pretty darn pleased.

Modifications Needed: I created the flaps for nursing without taking the time to mock it up correctly, and the error of my ways is clear. The flaps do not have the correct shape and thus flatten my bustline, making for a really poor silhouette (and probably discomfort once I actually begin nursing. Better to be too large than too small, in my opinion. I can always use padding.

Fit/Comfort: This corset is surprisingly comfortable. I'm wearing it right now as I'm typing this. Besides the bust flaps, I don't think I need to alter the fit at all. There are a few creases here and there, but nothing that cuts into me and nothing that should cause problems after the baby is born. This corset is designed to be lightly boned, so I need to expect a few creases as it lays over my expanding "curves". Not only that, but I loosened the back so that there is ample room to squeeze down more after baby -- I want to keep it snug, but not tight for maternity wear.

Enjoy the photos. (Sorry they're not clearer.)