Marna Jean Davis- Clothing Historian
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Domestic Lady's
​Dressmaker

Kay's Housekeeping Dress

2/22/2019

2 Comments

 
INTRODUCING
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When I began drafting this pattern my goal was a good basic pattern that was useful for ladies doing impressions of middle and working class ladies. Something that they could do their housekeeping chores in or be at ease on a summer day. 

The pattern can be found on my Etsy site
​https://www.etsy.com/shop/WickedStepmothers
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​The first dress I looked at in my collection was one that matches patterns from the 1880's in both Butterick and Demorest fairly closely. It was well made, but definitely created by the home seamstress- using scraps from another dress to create the half lining in the bodice, and the hem at the skirt. One of the key things about this dress is its extensive use of machine sewing. There is very minimal hand sewing on it. Another point making it a good dress for household chores is the fact all trim is "sturdy." The trim on the dress is a printed fabric rather than a braid or lace that has been applied flat by machine to the dress. This is an easy replication done by choosing a historic reprint with a striped pattern and cutting it up into strips for the same look.

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1885 Butterick house dress/wrapper
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1883 Demorest housekeeping dress
Historical notes are an important part of my pattern. In it I talk about many of the shortcuts in sewing used by the woman making workwear in the late Victorian timeframe.  This image shows the half lining in the extant dress- it is not hemmed at bottom and extends to about the hip line.
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Collar attachment on the extant dress from my collection.

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Machine stitched hem from extant dress. One side of the sleeve is sewn together, the separate hem piece is sewn on and sewn down by machine, as is the trim and ruffle.  ONLY then is the second of the sleeve seams sewn.

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Back view of extant dress in my collection.
There are 3 sets of box pleats in this particular dress,
at center back seam and the side back seams.
Dresses from this timeframe usually had at least one center back pleat, but the side back ones were somewhat optional. It allowed the skirt to fall over a small bustle and give you movement room.

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The second dress I took features from when designing the pattern was this cotton sateen dress in my collection. This dress is likely from the first half of the 1890's. It has the full sleeves of the 1890's, but it has a full width set into the back of the dress from about two inches below the waistline on the back and side back panels. 
Like most sateen dresses this one is fully interlined.
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)Back of Sateen dress
The seamlines and skirt width on the dresses were actually quite similar and it was easy to be able to turn one master pattern into several options using primary sources in my possession. My final pattern ended up with an early 1880's style sleeve, a late 1880's style sleeve, and a practically full 1890's sleeve (full enough to be fashionable, not so full to be in the way). Cutting guides are included to shorten the shoulders to a more appropriate 1890's length, and for a gathered back, a pleated back and a gored back skirt.
We gave the pattern a test run with a class of 13 people at the Texas living history conference the end of January 2019 and it was a rousing success.  I came home and made minor pattern notes (mostly labeling cutting lines or stitch lines more clearly and started the final editing of pattern directions and the compiling of good historical notes. 

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These are the two dresses I made for myself from the pattern. They are comfortable and I was so pleased when little girls ran up to me on the street in Grapevine TX telling me how pretty my dresses were! 

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Aprons- Insight into an Exhibit in Grapevine, TX

2/9/2019

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I was absolutely thrilled to be contacted to do research for an apron exhibit to be featured in the visitors center in Grapevine, TX .  The goal of the exhibit was to show how aprons represented different skills and trades in Grapevine. 

​In late January 2019  I got to see the research come to life and it will be available for viewing through the end of February 2019.
​The exhibit features the Millican Blacksmith Shop, Cotton Ginners Museum, Settlement to City Museum (printing), Nash farm and the Grapevine Vintage Railroad operating on the old Cotton Belt Route.
NashFarm.org And GrapevineTexasUSA.com



One of the challenges of putting together copy and research for an exhibition is, you can't turn it into a book, it is meant to be a quick learning experience to inspire you to find out more. I decided for those who want a "bit more" I would blog about some of the reproduction aprons we used (the light level is too high in the area for originals) and a bit more about the dating and history of some of the images.
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​ As you enter the exhibit this image is featured.
This is 1890's and seems to be ladies canning peaches. The aprons here are pretty typical of late Victorian everyday wear aprons.  A simple long rectangle gathered to a waistband that covered most of the skirt.
I could imagine this happening on the porches at Nash Farm when I acquired this image for my collection.

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Many of the original aprons like this I have seen make use of selvage edges as the sides of the apron, leaving two less hems required when making an apron.

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By the King Cotton panel in the exhibit, you will see this 1870's image of two millworkers.
​These would be the ladies who worked in spinning mills turning the raw cotton into yarn and fabrics. The leather belts they are wearing over their aprons are specific to their trade and have a sley hook and a small pair of scissors. The reproduction of this style apron was made with a "pinner" bib front. Of note, sewing machines were very much in use by the 1870's and this apron features bias tape put on the apron with a machine bias binder that allows you to apply curved bias bindings on an edge with one pass of the machine, speeding up the work. This binding foot was included with many antique sewing machines when they were purchased.
​This apron was designed using images, and aprons I had studied in the past.

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The red striped apron by the farmhouse panel is what is known as a kitchen apron. It provides fuller coverage for the kind of messy work that can be found in the kitchen.  This apron pattern was first seen in the Butterick pattern catalog in 1885, but similar ones were found in the earlier 1880's.  This apron pattern could still be found in the Diamond Cutting System in the 1890's as well.
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1895 Diamond Garment Cutter

Also on the farmhouse panel is an image of two ladies at their housework.This image is taken from a tintype in my collection and probably dates to the second half of the 1870's. It shows other types of bibbed aprons being worn.  
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From 1880 Butterick catalog
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By the needlework panel you will find a knitting apron. This was modeled after an original in my collection. It is meant to be a portable "pocket" that holds your needlework or knitting. If you have to put it aside to tend to another chore, simply remove the apron and it is all neat and tidy for the next spare minutes. The original apron is a white barred cotton. The strings are not made long enough to tie, but instead would pin together. I chose slightly wider ribbon on my reproduction and a sheer ivory barred fabric.

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Original knitting apron detail
Detail of knitting apron showing lace and machine stitching used in construction. Fabric is cotton. This style of needlework apron is shown from the 1860's through the turn of the century.
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Original knitting apron
I hope you get a chance to visit Grapevine and see the exhibit and stop by Nash Farm and say Hello!
below are a few images of me and my visit to the finished exhibit.

Views from Grapevine, TX- Aprons of the Past

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    Painfully obsessed clothing historian,
    mom,
    ​decendant of long line of farm women and seamstresses

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  • Home
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