The Workbasket........a la 1855

Several of my dear readers in bloglandia have asked about shoes recently. Shoes are always, and have always, been favorites amongst us women....don't ask me why! Tomorrow being Mother's Day here in America, I thought it fitting to share with you a pattern for a lovely little pretty Watch Case, courtesy of page 553 of the June, 1855 issue of Godey's Lady's Book.


As you can see, no pattern is really needed, these are so simple to contrive! There are not even any instructions given in the Lady's Book, just the illustrations you see above. These were very popular thru the 19th century, this particular little shoe is intended to hold a lady's pocket watch when not in use, but they are very charming holding anything really~ from little dried or paper flowers, to real ones picked out of your flow'r bed. You could also add a bit of stuffing and a little silk covering, and have a very cute pin keep. What a perfect little 'needful' you could whip up for a cherished Mother's Day gift tomorrow! I made this one up today in about an hour~



Mine is made of silk in my two most favorite colors~ blue & brown together. You could make it up in a SNAP if you just wanted to use pretty paper instead of fabric.

What you will need~
pencil
paper
snippet of fabric for sole & vamp
little ribbon scraps for trim
glue
thread & needle

1. So you may start by drawing you out a shoe shape. I used the one in the book, but you could draw your shoe with an even pointier toe, or a stubby flat one. First draw the sole shape, as if looking at the bottom of your shoe.

2. Next, draw out the shape of the vamp~ which, as you can see by the illustration, is the same shape of the sole, but widened a bit~ the wider you make the vamp, the larger/deeper the little pocket will be on your shoe(where you would put your foot into)

3. Assembly~ If making entirely of paper, just glue your vamp to the sole around the edges~ takes about 2 seconds! If you are making of fabric, I prefer and think it easier to decorate/trim the vamp first, before attaching it to the shoe sole. You want to bring the edges of the vamp over the sole, and fold over to the BACK~ and glue it just around the edges. Once this is done, then I take a scrap of paper, cut the same size & shape of the sole, and glue this on the back, hiding the edges of the vamp & making it look nice & tidy.

4. Add a little string or wire hanger from the top, add what pretty trims to your heartes' desire, and voi~la! finito!

Have fun~ and Have a Happy Mother's Day!

Coming to TDIPT May 15th............

I hope you will stop by The TDIPT Mercantile on the 15th May to see the new dollys and wonderful Primitives there from so many talented artists! My Little Mollye Pickett will be there....
along with one of my Grande Dames, Frau Milla Goethe, my biggest dollye ever! She stands 31" tall, (a bit over that on her stand), and is a reproduction of a c1825 German Mache Beidermier Ladye Doll.
She has very intricate sculpted mache hair in the popular 'Apollo Knott' of the era, and is dressed entirely in antique textiles. She wears 3 strands olde natural coral beads around her neck, and has inset antique brown glass eyes~ Doesn't she just look so happy! Hope to see you there!

*** photobucket wont let me add my usual slideshow of closeup views, so they are allready listed on my alternate blog, http://diamondkfolkart.blogspot.com/ *******

History's Mysteries.......... I love this hood. I have had it for quiet some time and always have wondered who wore it, and when. It is in almost perfect condition, and expertly hand made of silk, so most definitely was donned for some special occasion, then carefully packed away. Below is a line drawing, taken from an extant garment, 1702, and is called a 'Camlet Hood'. I am amazed in the fact that it looks so much like the one I have here at the Museum. I have scoured and scoured all my resources, and can find no plain explanation of them. From its construction it is obvious they were either worn during the front half, or the very last, of the 18th century, when hair was worn close to the head. But then again, poorer folk and lesser classes would have always worn their hair close to the head, so they may have been common the century thru. My example belonged to a wealthy ladye indeed, from make and materials

The way the bonnet is gathered at the crown of the head, in the back , is a common trait of many 18th century hoods and bonnets attached to cloaks & mantels. The most intriguing aspect for me, are the long lapets down the front. This hood is made of a mushroom brown lightweight silk on the outside, with matching chin ties that are now torn off short, but still original. The inside is lined with a luscious raspberry pink silk, with the area from the chin ties out to the front edge being finely hand quilted in pink silk thread. The seams up the back & over the shoulder are piped in pink silk, with matching silk covered wood buttons.

It measures a whopping 46" around the face!

Inside hand quilted silk lining, you can see the miniscule piped front edge there to the left in the photograph

The condition is nearly pristine, with slight water stain to the crown, and a nickle sized area of wear to the lining of the right lapet. The fact that there are no fold marks in the silk, makes me wonder if it was worn with the sides folded back, or kept forward. The illustration shows one similar being worn with the lapets folded back, and I have a feeling this one was probably worn the same way, especially with the matching piping on the outer seams. The fact there are no creases in the silk, are more likely attesting to the fact it was worn for a special occasion and then packed away.

The outer silk, while extremely fine and an expensive textile in its day, is still pieced together to make use of every little scrap. This side lapet is 3 separate pieces of silk seamed horizontally.

Closer view of the over the shoulder seams & button trim

I believe the term 'camlet hood' to be descriptive of the type fabric used, and not the actual 'type' of hood. Camlet was a fabric originally of camel hair, worsted with wool or silk in the 17th century. As I understand, towards the end of the 17th century, goats hair became more common, and have read many 18th century advertisements for super fine silk camlets. There are several 18th century estate inventories listing hoods and bonnets of red and black camlet, and is also sometimes spelled camblet.

Without actually getting into the time machine I am still waiting to be invented, this bit of history will remain a mystery to me!

Day Dreams

I can remember as a child how I would sit and ponder things....whenever my mind decided it had had enough of reality. I never knew exactly when, and it seems like it was always the 'wrong' time....like when I had been told by Ma to go and get something, or to do something. I would honestly start out with good intentions, but my mind would have its own agenda and soon I would be laying down in a field of flowers out by the big olde chimney looking up at the clouds.....instead of doing the dishes.

Mollye Pickett asked so sweetly this morning to wear the Grande straw bonnet that she found packed carefully away in a box up in her Grandmother's attic....and it fit her so perfectly. She has worn it proudly all day, out picking strawberries in the fields by the Olde Towne Road, but alas time has come for her to put it back..........yet she hesitates. I called for her to come help me get the little ones ready for bed, and when she didn't come promptly, I came up and caught her gazing deeply into the olde hatbox. I wonder where she is, and what wonderful adventure she is on?

Girls Gone Wild!!!!! I would certainly call the print of these fabrics 'wild'... but truthfully, they were all the vogue in the mid 19th century. This was what you were to be with the 'in' crowd, and from cut and fit, some little girls Mommy or Daddy paid dearly to have them made up! These are 3 of my favorite little printed cotton gowns. The two to the extreme left are either sisters, or 2 gowns belonging to one little girl, as they are same size, and were brought to me together as a set. They were a bit large for Emma to model at 6 yrs old, so probably fit a girl of 7 -9. The gown on the right is for a girl 10-12, note the more adult styled deeper neckline.

The fabric of each of these gowns was most likely printed on a roller. Printing with a large copper engraved press had been done since the 1750s. To speed up this process, they seamed the copper plates together into a tube, and roller printing was born. The actual Mechanism was patented by Thomas Bell in 1785, and was powered by water and could print an amazing 6 colors at the same time! As I understand, it is pretty much the same as current machines, except we now can print 16 colors at once, and the rollers are engraved by computers, instead of by hand.

The dress above is likely mid to late 1840, the bodice in unique transition between the popular gathered fan front, and a fitted waist in a deep V point. The stitching is perfectly minuscule and even, definitely made by a skilled seamstress.

Having made a fan front down sized for dolly myself, I know first hand why this fashion was so popular for children for so long~they were very forgiving in the fit of the chest, and could be altered easily and unnoticeably for a growing child. Most the alterations would be on the inner lining, letting that out, and they would not have to do anything to the actual outer dress. looking closely, you will note the subtle difference in construction between the above dress, and the one below. Above, the bodice is gathered into a deep fan at the wast, with separate fitted side panels, giving the wonderful illusion of a smaller waist, and the fan gathers reach completely to the necks edge, being bound down flat a bit before, by a wide corded piping. The upper sleeves are made up entirely of wide tucks, also seen at the hem.

This bodice of this little dress is made of a single panel, gathered into a fan and caught at the breast under a flat fitted & piped yoke. The upper sleeves are capped with a scalloped frill. Both dresses hook up the back with alternating hook & eyes. All have wonderful hidden side pockets, that I just can't help myself but to wonder what they once had stuffed into them!

Winning the lottery!!

No~ I don't gamble...but if I did, I should think that the way I felt when I found this little c1855 Ambrotype would be exactly how one would feel winning a million dollars in the lottery! I have collected and studied children's basket purses for years and years. I have over 100 examples of them here in the museum~ a good variety of different shapes, paint patterns & sizes. I am never so bold as to say I know everything about them....but I will say I probably know more than most.....and can absolutely prove that they are NOT! Chinese export baskets, but American American American! Certain shapes are more rare than others, some I have examples of in daguerreotype images that I don't have a physical specimen of....yet! I have seen boat shaped footed baskets with little tassels...I'd love to find one of those! Anyway, I'm rambling~ I was T*H*R*I*L*L*E*D* to death when I found this ambro, as it is a new shape I had not yet seen, and painted! Fragile as they are, quite a few have survived and can still be 'hunted' successfully. ( by the way, I am always interested in buying, if anyone should run across one I do also pay a finders fee...) Another reason of my liking this image so very much is her dress.....just look at that precious roller print! Most definitely printed on a lightweight challis. I adore early printed textiles....I start to humm the song from 'The Sound of music' when I think of them......'These are a few of my favorite things.....Printing on kerchiefs, and light printed aprons.....soft woolen dresses hand printed with flowers.....' you get the idea! I have some pictures of my favorites I will share with you, just as soon as Blogger will let me put them on!

With Much JOY & Gratitude I am so Happy to Announce!!!!

I have been selected as one of America's top 200 artists and will be listed in Early American Life's 2008 Directory of Traditional American Craftsmen! I cannot begin to express my joy & gratitude at this HUGE Honor. It is a dream come true for me, and I must thank all of you who poked and prodded me into entering~ you know who you are! I will do my utmost best to live up to the standards setforth before me, and to continue to provide excellence in workmanship, as well as service! THANKYOU all so very much~ I am too happy for words!