Mason's Sacque Coat

A wool flannel sacque coat for my friend's new little boy, Mason.

Baby Saque...in progress

Thanks to information from Stephanie over at the Sewing Academy, I have drafted a little saque coat for Victoria, made large so she'll [hopefully] fit in it in December. I was just going to do pink silk lining and that cream wool for the outer layer, but then I said to myself: "Self, I have this wonderful plaid silk in the closet just waiting to be made up into a dress, and wouldn't the pinks in that plaid go perfectly with this wool and this lining?" They did. :)

So I did a wide edge trimming, which I really like. Now I'm thinking of adding a wider, cape-like collar to go on it, but can't really find historical references to that. I didn't add a batting layer of any kind -- not even flannel. The wool itself is pretty warm, and since we don't get terribly cold here in Texas...(shrug). Maybe I should have added a layer. I can still add one. What do you think?

If the good Lord is willing and the crick don't rise, I'll finish this saque and make a matching hood (a scaled-down version of Sarah Jane's Toddler Hood), and perhaps I'll try to make some little wool shoes. (I loved Malachi's little shoes!!) She should be nice and warm during our December reenactment.

We're gettin' there...

Well, praise be, I finished a second baby dress so that Victoria can have 2 dresses to wear at the reenactment. Ok, well I still have buttons to put on. Luckily, since it's just a muster (and kind of a time to just say hello after the season's summer hiatus), we're only going to be there 1/2 of Saturday, then overnight, then 1/2 of Sunday. So I'm *hoping* Victoria can get by with 2 dresses, 2 petticoats, and a couple pairs of drawers that I'm going to try to whip out tonight.


And for your viewing pleasure, here's a pic of the red hair before its all gone.
Hopefully it'll be back. No the photo is not touched up.


A rare photo of mama and baby. :)


And an exuberant baby in her bouncer after a morning nap and a change.

Spoke too soon...

Well, now that I've had a chance to dress a happy, contented baby in a long dress, I've decided that the dress Sarah made fits after all. The sleeves might be a tad snug, but they're not terribly tight and Victoria could wiggle around to her hearts content in it...so I presume all is well. :) Thanks Sarah! The dress is gorgeous, and she's so adorable in it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I spent today making a couple of underdresses/petticoats -- since the petticoat I'd made was far too small -- and started to make some shirts/chemises, but it's going to be hot out there at the reenactment and I don't need the baby to be any more layers than necessary. So I'm going to try to whip out one more simple gown, since I really don't want the sheer dress to be worn out at the reenactment -- it's really for photos and memories. Plus, it's not actually finished. Still, I went ahead and took a few other photos of the sheer dress, so everyone can see it. It looks like I made the bodice too long, but it works, I think.



What should I do for drawers? I'll probably use disposables, but should I make drawers for a cover? Or a wool pilcher (?) to pretend I'm using cloth underneath? Seems like that would be hot... Hmmm...

Uh oh.

So we have a little muster-style reenactment next weekend, right? And I think to myself: I have this adorable baby dress Sarah Jane made, and a couple of petticoats, and a little chemise, and another sheer gown that is almost finished (but I could make-do with).....little baby Victoria will be all dressed out -- for the most part, at least. So finally I get around to putting the dresses and petticoats on her to see how she handles the long skirts, and well.....

...they're too small!! Okay, actually, the bodices fit fine, but the sleeves are snug on both gowns, and the petticoats are too small around her waist by like 3"! The petticoat I made from the Elizabeth Stewart Clark pattern fits, but it's made out of wool because I didn't expect her to fit in it until our winter reenactment. Way to hot for September Texas weather.

I don't think the sleeves are too uncomfortable for her, but since I can't pull the sleeves all the way up, it then pulls the neckline completely off her shoulders. I can at least put ties on the petticoat (which is what I was going to do anyway) and tie it closed; but it's still gaps wide open.

I suppose I might be able to pull off another ESC petticoat this weekend, since that pattern is adjustable to growth a lot better than mine was. I don't know what to do about the sleeves on the only two gowns I have, though. ::sigh:: Heck, maybe they're supposed to be snug and the neckline to come off the shoulders. I'm kind of new to all this.

What to do. Hm.