1870's Baby Gown

Since the baby keeps growing by leaps and bounds I thought that I would try a different style gown that would afford more tummy room. The 1870's isn't an era that I generally sew from but I researched a little bit and found some very easy and flattering baby styles to give me inspiration. The impetus for this is seen in the first picture below. Yes indeedy, that's an 18" waist. :-/

The gown is called a "tent style" gown in the period, but I think of it more as just a basic "A" line shape. There is no fitting done at the waist, it just falls straight to the feet. It closes with one button in the back like the originals do that I found. The main difference is the overall length, baby dresses covered the feet, but that could be by a little or a lot. On all of Asa's gowns I have opted for about 4"-6" of skirt to cover his feet, this seems like a reasonable amount that doesn't gobble up too much fabric. However, if I were making this gown again, I would make the skirts longer because I'd like them to be somewhat wider across the middle. He has wiggle room but not as much as I'd wish. Then again he will probably have outgrown it by the day after tomorrow anyway. :-)

Here is a close-up of the bodice detail, it is basically just bias strips ironed into shape and applied. However, it does give the illusion of a waistline and makes the gown somewhat more interesting than an untrimmed one.

This original gown is from the Wisconsin Historical Society and is dated 1860-1869. It would seem to be a less popular choice at the beginning of that decade but as time passed it is seen more frequently in images and surviving originals. It is basically a chemise style gown but is left uncontrolled at the waist, by contrast most 1860's gowns have a definite fitted waistline.

This image is from Godey's magazine and was published in 1871, I'm sorry that I don't have the exact month. It shows a baby in a gown very similar to the original pictured above.

This baby shoe pattern from January 1870 was found in Peterson's magazine and would be the perfect compliment to Asa's new gown. They look so easy to sew up that I'm really tempted to make him a pair!

The last image is also from Peterson's magazine, November 1870. It shows how gored the skirts could be as pictured on the little girl's dress on the top right. It also displays the sizeable bustles that were fashionable. The fashions of the 1860's with the voluminous skirts and supporting hoops give such a different silhouette than fashions a scant decade later. By the 1870's most skirts had the fullness pulled to the back creating a flat panel down the center front with the fullness taken up in bustles that would continue to increase in size. I think they are beautiful in their own way but not a practical fashion for a Country Wife.

All in all I enjoyed sewing this new style but I certainly wouldn't want to limit my wardrobe to strictly 1870's fashions. Until the baby stops growing in such great strides though I may have to make up a few more to help flesh out his wardrobe.

Seasonal observations

We have been gathering apples again for cider and butter and some for drying as well. Later apples make better/sweeter cider than do early apples and I enjoy the taste so much more. Mr. G patched the holes in the woodstove so it is ready for another winter of service and then he blacked it this past weekend. A blacked stove looks so much more presentable than an unblacked one does, everything looks better with a fresh face, right? And speaking of stoves, did you know that you can tell if the barometric pressure is rising or falling by watching what the smoke does as it comes out of the chimney? Smoke that falls straight to the ground indicates an oncoming storm as does a chimney that won't draw.

Autumn is my favorite season but this year's display has been pretty subdued, the trees seem to be sulking by not putting on their bright colors. Actually, the colors are related to the weather. When the Autumn days are warm and bright and the nights are cool but not freezing then the colors in the trees will feature more reds. We have hardly any reds this year but this would be due to the unseasonably cold temperatures we've had during the day in addition to the fact that we've had several killing frosts already. Also, too much Autumnal rain will lower the intensity of the colors and an early frost causes the leaves to turn brown and fall off prematurely. So this year the hills are far and away orange and yellow since those colors are steady from year to year.

At night when I first get into bed if I look out the window I can see Cassiopeia. It is one of the few constellations that I can easily recognize; to find it look in the Northern sky for 5 stars that form a "W". I was thinking and pondering about this lately after Jenny P wrote about being able to see the stars now that they are in their new home. It's amazing to realize that some people don't get to enjoy this simplest of pleasures. I think it must be much harder to meditate on God if one can't see His handiwork, He reveals Himself in the wonders of the created world.

New Blue Homespun Gown

I completed the first of Asa's new gowns this past weekend. I did it in blue homespun basically because it's what I had on hand. I have a hard time getting him to lay anywhere without me and not cry so Katie took these pictures whilst I held him. He is such a Mama's boy!

I lengthened the bodice by an inch and widened it by 2 inches, so it now has a 21 inch long waistband. I don't *think* he'll outgrow this one in 3 weeks. I cut the front bodice on the bias to give it a little "interest" and lined it so it would lay neatly. I have yet to do the buttons and buttonholes. It looks huge just hanging there, almost like Abby could wear it. :-/

A final picture just because he looks like a little Sumo Wrestler. :-)

Historic Baby

I wanted to record as much for myself as anyone else what garments Asa wore at what ages. Memory just doesn't serve to keep the dates straight. So I'll call this set of posts "Historic Baby" and it will be the chronicle of clothing our baby in his old fashioned garments.

First we begin with his chemise and cotton socks. Thankfully the chemises still fit him, they are one of the best things that I made, he wears them every day. He has cotton socks on today but also has wool ones if the weather worsens. He has cloth diapers but the only "period correct" wool soaker that I have doesn't fit him, he pretty much just skipped most newborn sized things. So, it's a disposable diaper for today.

We add his petticoat now, this particular one is cotton but he has a wool one for inclement weather. It should tie in the back but tying in the front goes smoother. :-)

Next we add his "daily cap", this particular one is my favorite. It's made out of a double thickness of flannel and keeps his ears so warm! The gown he's wearing no longer fits but I wanted a final picture of it; his waist is 16" and makes his gowns too tight to be comfortable.

And, the final layer for cold weather wear, his wool sacque and bonnet. These are the only garments, other than his chemises, that aren't already too small. :-/ The sleeves are long and the bonnet is plenty big even with his daily cap underneath. These layers paired with a wool shawl/blanket keep him toasty warm in any weather.

This is how he is dressed every day, we've not varied from it yet but I have to make him more gowns immediately. As it is he spends a lot of days wearing one of his nightgowns. The "A" line of them afford more tummy room than his gowns do. I wasn't sure if I would like this clothing experiment, maybe the novelty would wear off and it would become a hassle or a chore and I'd long to dress him in sleepers. But, I'm happy to say that I really enjoy dressing him this way! I don't find it to be unpleasant and it keeps him so much warmer than sleepers ever did. And, I definitely don't miss onesies, I always detested pulling them over a baby's head and with his garments now nothing has to be pulled over his head. Happy baby, happy mama!

and THIS little piggy.....

I had a check-up yesterday with my midwife, whilst there we wanted to get an approximate weight for the little man. I knew that he was gaining but I never expected that he'd be well over 10 pounds! That's over a pound, more like a pound and a quarter in 13 days; I think they recommend that babies gain back their birth weight by 2 weeks to a month, ! So, I guess he's getting enough to eat, huh? :-) That's a picture of him taken this evening in the 3rd nightgown that Katie made him, it's flannel lined and *cosy*!

We are starting to can pumpkin and squash now, it will make an easy addition to quicky meal preparation. I'd like to can dry beans as well like we did last year, but I don't know if I'll get to it or not. We pressed cider for the first time last Thursday and got 20 some gallons, they were so busy, we waited hours to get our turn. I'd like our own cider press, maybe some day! Senna is now weaned and so we've been having a massive influx of milk. We make a lot of ricotta but really how much ricotta can one family eat? I've made some harder cheeses a few times but I'm no expert, a lot of people make yogurt but I'm not really a fan of anything that feels like snot in your mouth...... So, what to do? All the animals would drink the excess of course, but I'd rather the children benefitted from it. We still have chickens to butcher, a turkey for Thanksgiving, and several pigs to do this Fall.

In other mundane news, I washed the baby's clothes this evening. I hand wash all of his clothes, he doesn't do well with standard detergents so I wash his in Charlies. Have I mentioned Charlies lately? I *love* the stuff, it's not harsh on clothes and is completely unscented as well. His clothes just smell clean, not perfumey. I add the recommended 1 tablespoon of soap to a washtub of straight hot water and all of his white clothes (gowns, chemises, socks, caps, petticoats etc) and let it set until I can comfortably put my hands in it. Then I rub the clothes between my hands any place where they seem soiled. Squeeze water out and place in rinse tub. I rinse twice and that's it! Hang and they're dry by morning! To the wash water I then add the hot rinse water and his pastels and repeat. After that the water is pretty cool and I wash his few darks. It uses a lot less water, is much easier on his clothes, and most importantly I like to do it.

I have a number of sewing projects lined up for the coming weeks that I'm excited to get to! First is a dress for me! I'll be so pleased when I can wear it, I almost never find time to sew for myself, but I'm *making* time. I've been inspired anew but several dear friends who are sewing lovely historical gowns for themselves. Thanks to all of you!

What a mess

I want to interrupt my babymoon to share some of the thoughts and discussions we've had around here this past week and a half. It has been a very special time for us as a family getting to know this new little person, moving and adjusting to fit him into our family. He has been held almost constantly by someone, what more could he want really, but to be fed and held and loved by his very own family? I've questioned several times what would happen to him if he were headed to daycare in another four and a half weeks? He wouldn't be the center of anybody's universe anymore, certainly wouldn't be, couldn't be, held like he is now. I'm not disparaging anybody who cares for other's children, as a matter of fact my sister was a daycare provider for years. The children in her care were well taken care of and really got attached to her. But the point I'm trying to make is that nobody will ever love your children like you should, I'm not sure that comes completely by instinct though. Paul directs the older women to teach the younger women to "....love their children". I'm afraid that our society screams something quite different to women and families today, something that sounds a lot like "being a full time Mother is a waste of your time and talents, you were made for higher things, you just aren't cut out to be a stay at home Mother, I love my children but..." And, more unfortunate still, the "Church" is affirming the message; witness the church run daycare centers. What message does that send? The reasoning goes: they're going to put them in daycare anyway, it's better that the children are here where we can teach them about Jesus. Um, okay, so where does thinking lead? People will abuse their children anyway, better to be abused in "Church"? Men are going to cheat on their wives, it's better that the "Church" helps them cheat in a good environment? Pornography is a fact of life, it's better if the "Church" supplies it and can then control it?

I'm not sure that I qualify as one of the older women but I'd like to encourage you to delve into the Word and see what God says about children. After all, it matters little what I say if it doesn't line up with what God says. Families are being made a shipwreck, the Church is rendered ineffective, and society crumbles when we don't take God's plan seriously enough to apply it. I don't believe anything supersedes God's directive for Mother's to mother their children, not any career, not any "ministry", not anything. There is no higher calling for a women but to be allowed the privilege of training and discipling the children God has given you.

While in the hospital I had lots of conversations with the nurses and the midwife about many topics but I was astounded by the amount of anti-child comments that were made to me. Unloving and ungracious comments to even think much less to voice to someone who was in effect a complete stranger. They were speaking of their own children (teenage daughters were really singled out though) as a hassle, a trial, the ultimate low point in parenting. How would you feel if that's how you were viewed? And we wonder why they grow up and seem to be drifting, anchorless, confused and angry. I'd question a lot too. If we don't view the "least of these" as He does, we can't start claiming promises and expect everything to turn out like we want it to. It has to worth the effort to us to get the reward. Kelly has some thought provoking things to say on this same topic, I also recommend A Full Quiver by Rick Hess.

Welcome Little Stranger

Asa Bedford Graham

September 22, 2009

6:28 A.M.

8 lbs 12 oz 21" long

Long looked for, come at last! We decided to get the show on the road a little early this time. We knew he was going to be big (albeit, not that big!) so we opted to have him by my due date as normally I go at least a week and sometimes 2 weeks over my due date. I am so glad that we did as he easily could have topped 10 lbs! He has a 14.5" head which is my biggest ever (no problems though with that, thankfully!) but I wouldn't have wanted him any bigger, as it is he can't wear the smallest baby caps that we made. :-/

And the gowns........... well, instead of wearing them for 3-4 months as I'd hoped, I think I'll be doing well to get 6 weeks use out of them. Oh well, I like to sew, right? :-) They fit perfectly right now.

I came home yesterday afternoon, I hate being away, that's the hardest part. We did manage to keep him with us the entire time and in addition to everything we knew we were going to refuse (antibiotic eye drops, PKU test, Vitamin K shot, Hep B shot) there was a ton of proceedures that we hadn't anticipated. They wanted to heel stick him to blood type him, heel stick him to check his blood sugar levels, heel stick him to check his bilirubin levels, give him a hearing test, give me a rubella shot...... anyway, we escaped unscathed! They were really nice about everything though, I couldn't have asked for better. Still, there's no place like home! We are so thankful to be able to enjoy the blessings of a baby in the house again! :-)
Thanks for all of your well wishes and prayers.
Paris

All finished!

It is with great satisfaction that I can write "my sewing's all done!", great relief as well as I was nervous that I wouldn't have it completed and then what would I do? I finished the final little gown at the end of last week, it is a really beautiful terra cotta color and not pink like the photo seems. I put calico buttons on it, I don't know if that's a no-no or not but white china gets boring.


Following are photos of the baby sacque and bonnet that I finished a while ago. I know a lot of you have already seen it but my family hasn't. The outside is light blue tropical weight wool, the lining is champagne colored silk poplin and the embellishment is peach silk embroidery

Katie has been sewing more little caps and if I feel like it I'd like to make a fancier cap from Batiste. I guess that I just can't knock it off with the sewing!

:-)

The boys gathered about 60# of apples today. We will eat a lot, dry some and make apple butter for the year. Early apples don't make good cider so we'll wait to press until October, I think. This weekend we did another 15-18 dozen ears of corn and we are *hopefully* done with corn now!
I am 39 weeks on Wednesday but since I go late I could actually have close to 3 weeks left. I am so eager to meet our "little stranger"!

Corn and a nightgown

Katie finished the baby's nightgown yesterday. It is flannel on the inside and smooth on the outside (I'm sure there's some technical term for that). We drafted the pattern ourselves and I'm pretty pleased with how it looks. It was Katie's first try at a placket and I think she's really glad that it's over, lol. She did offer to sew another though, so maybe it wasn't a horrible experience after all!

We're big fans of composting and adding manure to the garden in the autumn, it has really increased our soil fertility. Our neighbor who is a conventional farmer has soil that's pretty well dead, his yields are about half of ours. Here are some examples of healthy soil and what it will produce. Below is the first of our corn harvest. We grow open pollinated corn and grind it for cornmeal; this was not by any means the largest ear, merely the first to ripen!

Aleks also trained the pole beans to climb the corn stalks. The problem now is that the corn stalks are 10-12 feet high and the beans dangle high overhead. :-)

Happy Day

I have been eagerly awaiting a package this week and today it came! My dear, sweet friend Sarah Jane had inquired about making a baby gift for us and so I had her make a few baby petticoats, however, she also wanted to sew something for me. That was such a treat! I had her make a wrapper so that I would have something comfortable to wear now and afterward. I put it on and it was *perfect*, she is a very talented seamstress to do such an impressive job on a garment she's never sewn before, for a person she's never made anything else for! So, I endeavored to get some pictures of it for you to see.

We were doing tomatoes today and Katie took this while I was watching the little girls run around.

This is the quintessential "belly shot". I look like I swallowed a medicine ball. :-/

And these are the adorable, tiny little petticoats. They are made with a yoke and snug right up under the baby's arms for added body warmth. The one on the left is cotton and the one on the right is wool. They tie in the back for the greatest possible adjustability, I love to look at them, they're so sweet!

4 down......

I've completed 2 more gowns for a total of 4 and that only leaves me 1 more to do! I will leave the 5th and last gown until everything else is done though since it's the least of my worries. The white gown has a tucked front and the skirt is pleated, it reminds me of a tuxedo so that's what we call it, the "tuxedo gown". I will finish up the last bits on the chemises by next week and hopefully the sacque (the bonnet is already done) and that's it!!! I'll be done with the baby's layette with time to spare! I need to order some diapers, I had quite a few newborn sized fitteds but I loaned them out and they never came back. I need another wool soaker or two and some diaper pins...... but I am truly almost ready. Your 9th baby might as well be your first; by the time you have that many most of your clothing is worn out and has to be replaced anyway. I made some diaper rash cream last week with comfrey, plantain, chickweed and shepherd's purse. We also use it for wounds etc. and I want to make a batch of unscented soap to use on the baby, I'd like it to be done before I go to the hospital so that I can give him his bath. I don't want him leaving my sight the entire time. We are printing out our "refusal of care" forms worded the way we want them instead of the standard form that implies that you're negligent for refusing. We basically refuse everything: eye drops, vitamin K, hib shot, PKU test, all of it.


We picked up 15 dozen ears of corn yesterday and will get 15 dozen more on Saturday. We are drying it all like we did last year, I want a total of 60 dozen by the time it's all said and done. Katie did all the corn yesterday, the younger ones husked it and she did all the blanching, cutting, and stirring it every 15 minutes in the oven. It's easier for me to sit and sew than it is to bustle around the kitchen these days ("bustle" seems kind of comical considering how slow I am these days :-)) We missed "sewing hour" yesterday but Katie did get another baby cap sewn this week, it's like the other only in a bigger size.

We also brought home 40 zucchinis. I really like zucchini but you can only eat it so many days in a row so we looked for other recipes and found Zucchini Pickles, I hope that we like them! I will add zucchini to our relish and I suppose if I can't find enough ways to use it then the animals can have it.

I noticed that the cicadas started singing a few weeks ago, a sure sign that Summer is waning along with the goldenrod in bloom. Public school started this week although we won't until after Labor day. Usually I'm all excited and so ready to be doing school again, this year however, I'm not ready! It came too soon, the garden is rather late this year and the baby's coming and I need more time! We'll be gathering apples before long to press into cider and making sugar beet syrup as well. Will there be enough hours in the day? To every season there is its own work and unique pleasures. Here's to you enjoying and appreciating yours and us to enjoying and appreciating every moment of ours!

Projects projects everywhere....

We have a "Sewing Hour" after lunch where the girls and I work on our projects. Today I was working on the baby's wool winter bonnet, Tabitha was stitching on her tea towels, and Rebekah was practicing her techniques on some designs that I drew (the little girls went to town with Dad). Katie whipped up this adorable little cap for her project. It is a double layered flannel newborn cap, isn't it too cute for words? It has a 3 piece body like some from the Wisconsin Historical Society collection. She finished it with twill tape ties, I can't wait to see how it looks on the baby!

In our family the girls are required to be competent with hand sewing before they are allowed to use the machine, I'm a big fan of samplers! I like the quiet time spent with just the girls and I while they work on such important skills. The boys work on some project with Dad or Aleks while we sew, today it was building movable turkey roosts.

We picked this bed up about 8 years ago from somebodies garbage, Aleks has been using it but because it's a 3/4 bed no standard mattress fits it. I needed to get Abby out of our bed and used to sleeping with Elisabethe so we decided to make a straw tick to fit the frame. The bed is square nailed and dates from the 1860-1880 range, I think. It was originally red, then black, then yellow and most recently green. ;-) Anyhow, Katie sewed most of the tick together and then we filled it and made it up so you could see it (yes, it's outside in the picture but it's too dim in the bedroom to see). I thought it would be a hard adjustment for Abby but she loves it! Elisabethe took it much harder, she is used to sleeping with Katie and she was a little tearful about leaving Katie to sleep alone. Isn't that sweet? ;-)

This white gown is the latest completed baby article. I'm sorry that it's so hard to see details but white on white is tricky. There are 4 vertical rows of 100% cotton lace on the bodice as well as some lace on the sleeves.

I received my milk paint order yesterday but before tackling the cradle we decided to paint this shelf first. It wasn't a priceless antique so if we really messed it up it wouldn't matter. We painted it 2 coats of Federal Blue and I really like how it turned out. Milk paint is supposed to look faintly streaky, that's the nature of it and it feels very chalky to the touch. There were zero fumes and I helped to paint it even. I love milk paint!

A time to every purpose

This has been a busy and productive week for us thus far so I thought I'd blog about the highlights. The green beans and sugar peas are still in full swing, we dehydrate/can some every 2 days and will continue for a few more weeks. I'm expecting our corn to be ready any day now and so then we'll have 30-40 dozen ears to process, but in the meantime we haven't been idle. ;-)


When my sister Dawn brought out the cradle she also brought along loads of comb honey. A man that they know does bee removal and some of the honey he takes out of buildings he gives to them. As you can see, it was not the most aesthetically pleasing honey I've ever seen, so we strained out the liquid honey and got well over one gallon. With the remaining comb we rendered out the wax by repeated boilings and strainings. The house smelled so wonderful during the process!


The final rendered product all ready for candle making or salves. Quite a contrast to the "before" picture, isn't it?

These are Aleks' first Jacob's Cattle beans that he harvested. They are an heirloom dried bean good for baking and soups. They were easy to grow and prolific to boot! He has several other heirloom varieties that aren't quite mature enough as of yet but should be ready soon. After he has all the seed stock that he'll need for next year, we get to eat the rest. The thought of homemade bread with soups and chowders to accompany it almost makes me wish for cooler weather. ;-)

We have been making peach jam quite a bit this week. I made it the same way as the other jams we made: with very little sugar and no added pectin. We added cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and it was delicious (we ate some this morning on cornbread)!

And, on the sewing front: I found this piping cord and I just love its tiny size for baby gowns, the scale is perfect! I used it on...........

My first completed baby gown! I have several white Pima ones almost finished but I was running short on white thread after my chemise marathon so I decided to make up a printed gown.

This gown has a total length of 21" which seems to me to be a more practical length for a gown that will see a lot of use. I believe it was Sarah Jane that mentioned that longer gowns tend to trail about and become very dirty. The skirt is a very full 60" to more easily facilitate diaper changes and the sleeves are plenty wide so little arms will slide in easily. I'm really enthralled with it, I hung it on the jelly cupboard so I could look at it often. :D

So, what do *you* think?

My Mom and Dad sent me out this cradle to use for our new little one. They weren't really sure of the age or even if it was the natural wood or if it was painted. We decided to use a little stripper in an inconspicuous spot to see just what we were dealing with and if it was the "original finish" we would leave it as is, but if it wasn't, we would refinish it. That seemed the safest course as we were concerned about multiple layers of lead based paint. As it turned out, it was multiple layers of paint, 3 to be exact. Brown then black then green. Really bright green! Below is the cradle partially stripped, you can see the green running down the side.

So, we stripped it all the way and sanded it, but the best we could get it is pictured below. We wanted a more accurate date for it so we asked an antiques dealer that we know and an antiques restorer for an age estimate. They place the date in the 1840-1850 range, we also found out that it was definitely homemade, hand planed, square nailed and the original color was green. Since the paint is milk paint that explains why we couldn't get it all out. The restorer said that we now have basically 2 choices: leave it as is, add a light stain and seal it. You will always be able to see the green this way. Or, choice #2, paint it again as it originally was. The original color of milk paint can be viewed here, it is the one called Tavern Green. Or I suppose we could paint it some other color.

Almost nobody likes the idea of repainting it, it runs contrary to our 21st century sensibilities that prefer natural looking wood. However, even though I wouldn't want a whole house full of painted furniture, I do like it for some pieces. When this cradle was built it wasn't fashioned from oak or cherry or another "beautiful" wood, it was made from utilitarian poplar which isn't really considered pretty. It was designed to be painted and brighten the home where it was used, as painted furniture is very, very common from this era.
So, the question is: what do you think I should do? Please tell me truthfully, I really want to know! If everybody thinks painting it would be hideous, then I'll probably bow to your wisdom and not repaint it. I'm starting to doubt myself here. ;-) I'm inclined to paint it mostly so it will look as it was intended to look but I'm afraid that I'll wish I hadn't once it's done. Oh, the indecision!!! Opinions please. ;-)