Loving the Horseshoe Cap!

Recently I posted a pattern for the Horseshoe Cap from The Workwoman's Guide, 1840, along with a trial run.  Well, I've finished my real version!  I made it with lawn and hand stitched the entire thing, if you can believe it!  It took around 5? hours?  I think it's really cute.  The weird thing is, she keeps it on??  I was able to use one of the new sewing techniques I learned from Liz Clark's day cap class and loved it.

On the ruffle on the back, I used a piece of fabric just the width of the cap as I knew I'd be drawing it in.  I didn't want it ending up really bunchy back there.  For the front ruffle, I used a strip twice as long as the front length and gathered it down.  I noticed in period pictures from the Wisconsin Historical Society, that the neck tie looked like twill tape.  I only had really wide twill tape, so I just made some ties with my lawn.

I'll have to remember to pull it just a little tighter around her head.

Short Hair

My new fb friend Jennifer L. shared at The Civilian Civil War Closet a picture of her ancestor who had sold her hair during the early 1860s in Michigan while her husband was a soldier and she was trying to run the farm.  Now, this isn't to say re-enactors with short hair can now all go around with exposed short hair, but it did happen, uncommonly.

Mary and William Ripley with son, David, 1863/4

To Snood or Not to Snood?

Since joining The Civilian Civil War Closet Facebook group, I've learned some more information about snoods/hair nets with ribbons.  Rather than writing a new post, I'm just updating this old one.

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2011: I'm trying to figure out what to do with my very short hair this year for This Is the Place.  I wondered if a snood might be my answer.  I wanted to be sure, though, before I did anything dumb, so I sent Liz Clark my question.

Of course she replied in very good time; and not only that, she put a full post regarding snoods on her site!!

http://www.thesewingacademy.com/2011/03/getting-snoody/

Basically -- in a very brief nutshell, the "snood" part is really the ribbon, not the net, and a snood is something that would really be worn by the upper classes, not the working classes.  So, a snood may not be the thing for me.

2013 update: According to some new Facebook friends from the Civilian Civil War Closet group, the net should be very close in color to one's own hair.

Here is a good picture of a hair net with ribbon from my new Facebook friend Isabella G. (used with permission).

Also, here's one from Ashley Goldsmith's Etsy shop.

I hear you can also find them at Sally Beauty or the Maddhatter or Victorian Lace on Facebook for around $1.00.

Infant's Horseshoe Cap

I had even more fun today trying out the Child's Horse-Shoe Cap from The Workwoman's Guide on page 21.  I've changed the name here to Infant's Horseshoe Cap because the size is more for a baby, rather than a child.  Again, I've used contrasting thread so it's easy to see my stitching.

1.  Cut out your pieces.  It's easiest with a pattern.  I tried drawing a pattern on line, but it just didn't work as well as I would have liked, so I drew one up and scanned it.  The only problem is that no matter what I do, it prints about 3/8" too small. So, when you cut, just make everything 3/8" bigger!  I've marked how big everything should be, so you can compare how yours prints out to a ruler.  Luckily, though, it doesn't have to be exactly perfect (you can see my curves aren't even exactly like the Plate, but it still turns out cute).

2.  Add your runners (small casings for string to run trough to be tied and adjusted), "The cap is made up with two or three runners in front."  Hem the front edge.  (Don't you love that my iron leaked rusty water on my fabric?  So glad I was just testing in muslin!)

3.  Gather the back, mark the center.

4.  Sew the back and the brim right sides together, matching centers.

5.  Hem the bottom.  Allow for a string to be run through.  Add a 1" ruffle all the way around ("the frilling is one inch deep").

From the side:

The first size is little!  Maybe 0-3 months?

Here is my 14-month old in the second size.  Once I add the 1" ruffle and a neck tie I think it will be just right.  I only ran the string through the back bottom, but will along the top front runners, too, in the final product.

The difference between the first and second sizes:

Poor Infant's Cap: Easy Make, Easy Wash

I've been wanting to make a new cap for the baby out of better fabric (lawn instead of muslin).  I even learned some new hand-sewing techniques at Liz Clark's day cap class that I've been wanting to try out.      So, I went to the Workwoman's Guide and found this Poor Infant's Cap.  Actually, I gave it that name; it doesn't even have a name in the book.  It was really easy, but it is REALLY small---probably for a teeny-tiny baby!  So, I'm really glad I did a muslin test run first because it definitely won't fit my 14-month old.  As a larger size was not given, I'm not sure that this kind of cap would be used for an older baby.

In my test-run, I used contrasting thread so you can see where I ran my stitches.  Here's how I did it, with both the original instructions and my interpretation.

Original: PLATE 2 FIG 12 13 This is much used by the poor, and is easily made and as easily washed. 

Original: Take of the material a piece 6 nails down the selvage and 3 1/2 nails wide. 
Translation: Cut a piece along the selvage 13.5" by about 8" (my picture does not follow the selvage; it should be cut the other direction).

Original:

Double it, letting D be the doubled part.

Translation: Fold it in half.

Original: Sew up the back from A to C leaving a small hole or button-hole at the top C;
Translation: With right sides together and your fold at the top, stich down one side to form the back of the cap leaving a small gap at the very top (next to the fold) and another small gap half way down.  

Original: make a runner all round the front and behind, at half a nail's distance from the edge, which is hemmed with a very narrow hem to form a frill; also lay in a runner from E to F;
Translation: About 1" in from the edge on the right side of the fabric, sew a small casing along the bottom and front edges of the cap. Sew another casing along the front edge of the cap about about 1 1/4" in from the first casing, stopping a little over an inch above the bottom edge of the cap on either side. Sew a narrow hem along the front and bottom edges of the cap to form a frill. (The frill is very minor. If you cinch up your strings to make more frill, the cap is even tinier!)

Using a blunt needle, run 6 strings through your casings securing one end (see top drawing and below picture for placement). If you are hand sewing, I'd just hand sew my strings into my casings as I go.

Original: next, sew a bobbin at B, letting one end of the string hang outside and the other being pulled through the seam, remains inside the cap. This end is carried up and brought out through the hole at C (see the dotted line in the Plate which represents the top inside); when worn, the tapes, on being tied together at B, draw up the cap into shape, and if neatly arranged and pulled out with the fingers, it looks very neat and pretty. (See Fig 13) Some put a loop of bobbin inside at B, which on being brought out through C, fastens to a button at B, on the outside.

Translation: Run a tape (I used a ribbon) through the little holes you left in the back of the cap. Secure one end at the back center; pull the other end to tighten up the back. Tie the ties together to keep the shape. You can also put a button on the outside of the cap where you can secure your long tie. For ease, I just left two long ties and tied a bow.

Add chin ties.

Yarns for Piping

Yesterday I went to one of Liz Clark's Sewing Academy classes and had such a great time!  I left in such a hurry that I was bummed that I didn't get to visit with a couple of my fellow TITP-ers.  So if you were there, I apologize we didn't get to talk.

Anyway, I was inspired to put up another post here, as it has been quite a long time.  On that last dress I made, I again made piping, only this time I did it better!  In the past I used yarn for my piping, which makes it pretty huge!  This time I used something quite a bit smaller as you can see in the pictures, which is more period-appropriate.  Liz says crochet cotton, very fine kitchen string, or perle cotton is good.

On the left is my old, regular yarn, in the center is the new yarn (trying to remember the size, #2?), and on the right is the smaller #10 crochet yarn, the size that we used to use for making leper/tropical sore bandages.

Again on the left is the regular yarn, on the right is the new thin yarn, the yellow is piping made with regular yarn, and the purple is made with the thin yarn.  Notice the size difference.

The turquoise is pre-made piping, and falls between the two sizes of piping.

Now, if I really want to do it right next time, I'll hand-make the piping, but I don't know if I want to be that accurate!

Learn to sew your own pioneer stuff with Liz Clark!

Elizabeth Clark of the Sewing Academy is coming to Utah not once, but twice in the near future!  Come learn everything you need to know concerning how to dress, sew, and look like a pioneer:  collars, underclothing, patterns & fits, daycaps, etc.  She'll be in Salt Lake April 26-27 and Provo May 23-25.  Register here!  Yippee!