From: owner-h-costume-digest (H-Costume Digest) To: h-costume-digest@lunch.engr.sgi.com Subject: H-Costume Digest V4 #20 Reply-To: h-costume Sender: owner-h-costume-digest@lunch.engr.sgi.com Errors-To: owner-h-costume-digest@lunch.engr.sgi.com Precedence: bulk H-Costume Digest Saturday, January 20 1996 Volume 4, Number 20 Compilation copyright (C) 1995 Diane Barlow Close and Gretchen Miller Use in whole prohibited. Individual articles are the property of the author. Seek permission from that author before reprinting or quoting elsewhere. Important Addresses: Send submissions to: h-costume@lunch.engr.sgi.com (or reply to this message). Adds/drops/archives: majordomo@lunch.engr.sgi.com Real, live person: h-costume-request@andrew.cmu.edu Topics: Re: SEW: But taker care of yourself! re Swedish & Spanish armies 1740-1765 Re: Austen costumes Re: Various sidesaddle RE: SEW: But taker care of yourself! mid-19thC women's collars Request for more about 1860's collars 1830's Men's Underwear sleeves Re: Request for more about 1860's collars Re: Various Re: Exotic Silks Re: Request for more about 1860's collars Re: Sidesaddle Rocking Horse Re: Primary and Secondary Sources Re: Bloomers RE: SEW: But taker care of yourself! Re: Where to get feathers? Pregnancy Problems Re: SEW: But taker care of yourself! Dickens Web Page ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 10:31:31 -0700 (MST) From: Piano Barbara Subject: Re: SEW: But taker care of yourself! > > Helpful Hints to avoid "Sewing Stiffness" i.e. Strain Injury, and to > minimise mistakes made due to tiredness/sewing burnout. BIG BIG THANK YOU FOR HINTS. I just had a three day weekend and spent so much time at the sewing machine I had to do lie on the floor stretches to get the kinks out of my back and neck at the end of each day. I love the alarm clock/eye exercise hint. I'm making a sticky note to hang above my sewing machine TO DO IT!!!! Barbara Piano ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 12:33:43 -0500 From: lrp@westol.com Subject: re Swedish & Spanish armies 1740-1765 I'm trying to locate information on the Swedish and Spanish cavalry uniforms for the period between 1740-1765, and perhaps even as early as 1720. I've gone through all of my sources, and don't read Swedish well enough to order anything via inter-library loan. Anyone out there know (or care) about this material? Thanks, Les ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 10:37:59 -0700 (MST) From: Piano Barbara Subject: Re: Austen costumes This felt like a good sending on which to attach this question. We have a graduate student in the department and she was wondering about red cloaks. She observed that the four sisters in _Persuasion_ wore red cloaks and two of the Bennett sisters also wore red. Her question is: was red a color of the times and did it have some significance? Or is it a movie device? thanks in advance for any comments or discussion on this point. Barbara.Piano@spot.colorado.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 12:29:08 -0500 (EST) From: Gretchen Miller Subject: Re: Various Excerpts from internet.other.h-costume: 18-Jan-96 Various by Mrs C S Yeldham@ggr.co.u > The original dresses were also made from finely woven wool, > not cotton muslin - shows the problems of recreation! I wouldn't be too sure about this--the Austen books talk about buying muslin for dressmaking, and, I think refer to Indian muslin once or twice toodles, gretchen (grm@andrew.cmu.edu) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 14:01:10 -0500 (EST) From: strickif@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu (Ivy Strickler) Subject: sidesaddle Not about clothing, but may be of interest to some. When I was in England, we toured Hatch House, a fairly substantial mansion west of London. They had on display a side-saddle rocking horse! Absolutely adorable and just the thing for the very proper four-year-old. Ivy Fleck Strickler Phone 215-895-1637 Drexel University Fax 215-895-4917 Nesbitt College of Design Arts strickif@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu Philadelphia, PA 19104 "Never forget that life is like a Fellini movie, and you're getting to see it for free." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 10:28:05 -0700 From: Orinda Spence Subject: RE: SEW: But taker care of yourself! At 08:53 AM 1/18/96 CST, Lassman, Linda wrote: > >A friend of mine went to her Chiropractor for treatment of an injury >suffered in a minor automobile accident, and in her discussions with him, >she mentioned that she did a great deal of sewing. He recommended that she >put a piece of 2x4 under the back legs of her sewing chair; this would shift >her posture enough to straighten her neck and spine and thereby reduce the >occurrence of Sew-er's Neck. She reports that it really has made a >noticeable improvement. I just have to say a few things about pain. I do lot of handwork. For a long time I had tennis elbow, stiff neck, bad hips, eye strain, you name the pain I had it. All this changed when I moved my "work station" to the living room into a chair that fits me, with a 2X8 for a foot stool, because my legs are short. Then I got one of the lap desks that has the cushion on the bottom, so I am working with my arms more extended. Also, since I leave the TV on sometimes, I glance up at it once in awhile. Another thing that I did was get bigger lensed (is there such a word as "lensed") glasses, so that the no-line bifocal has a larger area to see out of. At any rate, I have been pretty comfortable for a while. Now, if I could learn to go to bed earlier without my brain being on overdrive dreaming up new projects. Orinda Orinda Spence, fancystf@initco.net http://www.ibb.com/fancy.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 14:00:57 -500 From: "Carol Kocian" Subject: mid-19thC women's collars Sorry, Vicki, I asked a museum curator friend about this & promptly did not post a reply. Vicki Betts wrote: > Mid-nineteenth century (late 1850's-mid 1860's) ladies' collars > were sewn to fabric tapes, which, in turn, were basted into the > dress. What did this tape look like? Was it usually cotton or > linen? How wide was it? Was it a twill tape? I assume that it > was white, unless a mourning collar. The answers to the detailed questions above are yes, yes, yes, yes. The idea behind using the tape was to reduce wear & tear on the collar from being stitched & re-stitched into the dress. The collar was whipstitched onto the tape, and the tape was stitched onto the dress. This way, (I presume) tape that was worn from frequent stitching could be replaced by stitching to the collar merely a second time. Also, since the tape went under the edge of the dress, you would not notice if it was getting worn. > Was there a raw edge where the collar attached to the tape, Another solution was to use a folded tape or a folded piece of fabric. The fold would go around the collar, enclosing the raw edge. > or was the seam felled, or was the tape inserted between the top > fabric and the bottom fabric of the collar, and sewn in. These techniques are not likely because it would be harder to replace the tape if necessary. > I do not get to see that many originals in Texas, and would appreciate any > input from other more fortunate sections of the country. I don't know about the cutwork collars Vicki mentioned. This kind of costuming detail, unfortunately, is best studied by viewing in a museum collection. -Carol Kocian ckocian@epe.org -Carol ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 14:36:03 -0500 From: reaves@tuvok.marian.edu Subject: Request for more about 1860's collars Here's a little clarification about how I pin my bobbin lace collars to 1860's or modern clothing. My collars (antique and modern) do not have any tape sewn to them. Most of the collars have intentional pattern gaps or loops at the center front through which I can pass the bar of a brooch, catching the underlying bodice fabric for stability. The collars are either 100% cotton or 100% linen, and they don't tend to slip much on natural fibers. Mystery readers, Patricia Wentworth has her main character, Miss Silver, wear her "real Honiton" lace collar the same way. Broiderie anglaise and Ayrshire collars I've seen are mixed: some have self-tape while others do not have tape. Matching sets of collars and cuffs (at least, all the ones that I've seen in collections or photographs) don't tend to have tape. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 17:21:52 -0600 From: broday@ns.luk.net Subject: 1830's Men's Underwear Please tell me what European men wore for underwear in 1830's. I've looked everywhere and all I can come up with is the obscure term "inexpressibles" or "unmentionables" which tells me nothing. Also, if you know, what did it look like? I am writing a book and need this information to make it real. I know American men wore longjohns or union suits. Did the Europeans? Thank you, Linda ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 18:44:50 -0500 From: JENMED@aol.com Subject: sleeves Greetings one and all. I should like to know if, when sleeves for women's gowns were tied to the bodice, it was customary to have complete ensembles made or did they use say, very detailed and luxurious sleeves with several dresses, in order to not go broke because of the expense of making more than one set of such sleeves? And in closing, I'd like to say how much I enjoy this list though I don't have much to contribute. Thanks, Jen ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 19:30:33 -0500 From: Sanni1@aol.com Subject: Re: Request for more about 1860's collars In a message dated 96-01-18 16:34:45 EST, reaves@tuvok.marian.edu writes: > >Broiderie anglaise and Ayrshire collars I've seen are mixed: some have >self-tape while others do not have tape. Matching sets of collars and >cuffs (at least, all the ones that I've seen in collections or photographs) >don't tend to have tape. > I have several boxes of old lace collars and cuffs. A lot of mine do have tape on them. I have a lovely set (probably 1880s) in a bobbin lace with a fine linen tape on all three pieces. Almost all of my Broiderie anglaise sets have self-tape. Some of these are from the 1860s. A few of these pieces are from Europe (the bobbin set is from England), but most are US. I prefer the ones with tape because I think it puts less stress on the lace when you wear it. It's easier for me to replace the tape than repair the lace.... my eyes aren't as good as they used to be! Sanni ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 16:05:06 -0800 (PST) From: Heather Rose Jones Subject: Re: Various On Thu, 18 Jan 1996, Gretchen Miller wrote: > Excerpts from internet.other.h-costume: 18-Jan-96 Various by Mrs C S > Yeldham@ggr.co.u > > The original dresses were also made from finely woven wool, > > not cotton muslin - shows the problems of recreation! > > I wouldn't be too sure about this--the Austen books talk about buying > muslin for dressmaking, and, I think refer to Indian muslin once or twice I believe she was referring to the original _Greek_ garments that the Regency folks were trying to "recreate". Heather Rose Jones ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 96 15:38:00 CST From: "Lassman, Linda" Subject: Re: Exotic Silks You should be able to find out if any company has an 800 number by phoning 1-800-555-1212. That works in both Canada and the US. Don't know about any other countries, though! - Linda Lassman Winnipeg, Manitoba (formerly of Lawrence, Kansas) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 19:08:18 -0700 (MST) From: cwood@primenet.com (Ysabeau) Subject: Re: Request for more about 1860's collars >Here's a little clarification about how I pin my bobbin lace collars to >1860's or modern clothing. My collars (antique and modern) do not have >any tape sewn to them. Most of the collars have intentional pattern gaps >or loops at the center front through which I can pass the bar of a brooch, >catching the underlying bodice fabric for stability. The collars are >either 100% cotton or 100% linen, and they don't tend to slip much on >natural fibers. > >Mystery readers, Patricia Wentworth has her main character, Miss Silver, >wear her "real Honiton" lace collar the same way. > >Broiderie anglaise and Ayrshire collars I've seen are mixed: some have >self-tape while others do not have tape. Matching sets of collars and >cuffs (at least, all the ones that I've seen in collections or photographs) >don't tend to have tape. > I just wanted to say that while I myself have no particular interest in lace collars, this thread is a very good example of why I enjoy this list so much! The history is in the details, I heard a historian once say and I always find the discussions on the minute details of clothing very entertaining. I always learn something that I didn't even know that I didn't know because I didn't know there was anything to know! (I hope this makes sense!) Looking forward to more! Ysabeau ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 21:24:21 -0500 From: LBowlby@aol.com Subject: Re: Sidesaddle Rocking Horse There is some guy in Ohio that makes sidesaddle Rocking Horses. I don't have his address handy, but if someone wants it I can dig it up. I remember his neighbor made dolls in adorable riding outfits for them. I also remember they were a bit on the expensive side, but really nice. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 22:11:29 -0500 From: Carol Bier Subject: Re: Primary and Secondary Sources All scholarship is of a documentary, analytical, or interpretive nature. It is therefore secondary at best. Why do you anticipate more? If it only uses secondary sources, ites is tertiary. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 02:08:06 -0500 From: Christy546@aol.com Subject: Re: Bloomers For those interested: ***** bloom·er (bl¡¹mer) noun 1. A costume formerly worn by women and girls that was composed of loose trousers gathered about the ankles and worn under a short skirt. 2. bloomers a. Wide, loose trousers gathered at the knee and formerly worn by women and girls as an athletic costume. b. Girls' underpants of similar design. [After Amelia Jenks Bloomer.] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition is licensed from Houghton Mifflin Company. Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. ***** U.S. social reformer Amelia Jenks Bloomer, 33, urges reform of women’s clothing in her magazine The Lily. She will be ridiculed for wearing full-cut trousers (“bloomers”) under a short skirt in public—a costume designed by Elizabeth Smith Miller and introduced 3 years ago at the Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, N.Y. The People's Chronology is licensed from Henry Holt and Company, Inc. Copyright © 1992 by James Trager. All rights reserved. ***** Bloomer, Amelia Jenks (1818-94), American reformer, born in Homer, New York. Virtually self-educated, Bloomer founded (1849) The Lily, a semi-monthly periodical “devoted to the interests of women,” published in Seneca Falls, New York. For six years she remained its editor and publisher, campaigning against sexual discrimination and advocating temperance and women's suffrage. Famous for her stand in favor of dress reform, she appeared at her lectures during the early 1850s wearing full trousers, gathered at the ankle, under a short skirt. These garments, although first worn by Elizabeth Smith Miller, were later called bloomers. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 21:54:06 -0700 From: savaskan@electriciti.com (Julie Adams) Subject: RE: SEW: But taker care of yourself! Did anyone else notice problems sewing during a pregnancy? Pregnancy made my tendons and ligaments very loose and I had terrible tendonitis from smocking and embroidery (but I was bedridden and it was all I could do besides reading and TV for months!) All my joints ached terribly if I was even a tiny bit lazy about resting them. I would highly recommend paying extra attention to Gillian's suggestions and maybe even take more rests if sewing during pregnancy. julie adams ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 00:58:30 -0500 From: Christy546@aol.com Subject: Re: Where to get feathers? In a message dated 96-01-15 19:57:40 EST, sunfire@muskoka.com (Stephen & Krista Fraser) writes: >What I'm after, in particular, is wing feathers of Canada Goose and Wild >Turkey. If folks know of a source for them, or if someone on the list _is_ >a source, I'd like to purchase some. I'm not sure exactly whether or not they carry the feathers you want, but you might try Mother Pluckers. They are in Hollywood, CA or maybe Los Angelos. I don't live in that area to look them up, but I have been there a couple of times with a friend who does live in the area. I was hoping someone from that area might have their info, as I cannot reach my friend at this time. They carry many kinds of feathers, they also make feather boas and such. Christy ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 11:26:13 -0500 From: sunfire@muskoka.com (Stephen & Krista Fraser) Subject: Pregnancy Problems >Did anyone else notice problems sewing during a pregnancy? Pregnancy made >my tendons and ligaments very loose and I had terrible tendonitis from >smocking and embroidery (but I was bedridden and it was all I could do >besides reading and TV for months!) All my joints ached terribly if I was >even a tiny bit lazy about resting them. I would highly recommend paying >extra attention to Gillian's suggestions and maybe even take more rests if >sewing during pregnancy. > >julie adams Oh boy...no sewing problems...I was too busy with migraines and vomitting to even think about sewing! I was virtually bedridden and quite useless for my last 2 pregnancies. But I got some terrific little children for all of my trouble! Krista sunfire@muskoka.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Jan 1996 14:35:25 +0100 (MET) From: Ingela Sjömark Subject: Re: SEW: But taker care of yourself! Hello you all! As being an educated seamstress, I can tell you what 8 hours a day sewing does to your neck. My edvice to you all is that you do as I do: Sew a cuople of seams, then go and iron it. Put the iron as far away from the sewingmachine as possible. But the thing is, sitting infront of a computer can be more dangerous to your health than sewing is. You all have to think about that :-) /Ingela - -- /~~\________________________/~~\ ! oo ! ! ! \__/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\_/ \ (Ingela Sj|mark) \ \ Ingrid S|mmerska \ \ Canton of Frostheim \ \ Kingdom of \ \ Drachenwald \ \ ingela@ludd.luth.se \ \ \ /~~\___________________________~~\ ! oo ! ! ! \__/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\_/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Jan 1996 02:34:32 -0500 From: PiranhaBB@aol.com Subject: Dickens Web Page Announcing my wonderful (IMHO) web page! It consists of pictures from the Dickens Fair in San Francisco. There are great shots of costumed revelers strolling the evening streets of London. For those of you in H-Costume, there is a shot of the infamous black frock coat that he wanted to be transformed to blue. I think it's fine, just a dark shade of blue, very dark. Please email me and let me know what you think. http://users.aol.com/piranhabb/DickensPicts.html Regards, Lisa ------------------------------ End of H-Costume Digest V4 #20 ****************************** A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, send the command lines: unsubscribe h-costume-digest subscribe h-costume end in the body of a message to majordomo@lunch.engr.sgi.com. Thanks and enjoy the list!