Traditional Orange Pomanders
To me, Christmas just doesn't seem 'right' without the smell of oranges and cloves. In Colonial times, these were actually made in the summer months, when the fruit was in season(but STILL, very expensive), to hang in a closet or wardrobe to freshen clothing. Only the very richest and most privileged souls received an orange on Christmas, as they would have to be
brought from Barbados, Bermuda or Jamaica....packed in wooden barrels, sailing here on a tall masted ship....
Here are some pomanders that I made a few YEARS ago, they are looking a bit shrunken and rough, but still smell wonderful!
So Come and join me as I make some hanging fresh Orange Pomanders for this Christmas- I will slip on some music- one of my current favorite cd's, and PERFECT for an 18th century
Christmas gathering, I highly recommend a "Hammered Dulcimer Christmas"....wonderful Traditional English Carols (well, minus Frosty the Snowman) played masterfully by Mary O'Callahan....with NO accompaniment.
You will need:
Fresh Navel Oranges
whole cloves
cinnamon sticks
toothpicks
1 bamboo BBQ skewer
jute or hemp twine
scissors
I prefer to use the short chubby cinnamon sticks, they fit better with the oranges and don't stick out to snag on things. For Heaven's sake.....do NOT use the nasty artificially scented wooden sticks they pawn off as cinnamon in the craft isle of your grocery....YUK!
The round toothpicks with the sharp tips work best, you will use these to poke a design into your orange. Some oranges have really leathery skins, and you will break the cloves just trying to poke them in without a pilot hole poked first. Find some nice big, long, whole cloves........
TIP!!
If you go to the spice isle, you will see a weensie little couple oz glass bottle of McCormick whole cloves for something between 5-8.00! AKKK......no no no.......we want to have fun, not go broke, so put that down, and go to the MEXICAN FOOD isle. You will find a section of bagged spices, all McCormick still, but in Spanish. The bags of cloves here are just .33 CENTS, and you get waaaaay more in each bag! They are wonderful, top rate spices, don't ask me why they are so cheap, even being the same company. You will find the cinnamon sticks, at a greatly reduced
price here too
Grab an orange, and poke away! I poke my toothpick in at least an INCH, so the juice comes right up to the top and will soak the cloves when you poke them in.~ ohhh they smell so good already! My first pomander I make always bears the 3 circles for the Trinity. You can have lots of fun with these- they make extra special Xmas presents, especially if you poke the intendeds initials into them with the wee tiny cloves
Ok, so once you have finished your design, you can be done if you just want them to fill a bowl or trencher- they make a wonderful display like that....but I prefer mine to hang, so next you will get your big bamboo BBQ skewer, and poke it thru the middle of your orange, all the way thru
The Cinnamon sticks are what holds your orange onto the twine, I use 2 for each pomander. For the first one, on the bottom, take about a 24" length of twine, and make a slip knot over the
center of your cinnamon stick
In this step, you will thread the orange onto your twine. Take your Bamboo skewer, and with a knife, split the flat end up just about 1/2 inch. You will take the loose ends of your twine, and
catch them in the split end of the skewer- then just pull the skewer thru your orange, from the BOTTOM up and out the TOP. Pull it up snug, so the cinnamon stick is touching the bottom of the orange, and the loose ends are now coming out the top of the orange.
Now take a second cinnamon stick, place it at the top of the orange, and wrap your twine around several times, tightly, and tie off. Trim your twine to a few inches, make a knot at the tip, and voi-la, you have a beautiful orange pomander
Enjoy!!!
Of all the wondrous treasures of costume that have survived to this day, I, and many others, hold the simple garb of the working man in highest regard. Even more precious to me, is that of a child. This is what a person wore every day, plain clothing that was worn until it was too small or too worn out, then was remade into something smaller, and then remade into rags or used as stuffing, or precious bits picked off and used in quilts and patchwork~ aprons, pockets, sewing roll ups~ you get the idea.....and especially a wonderful print such as this. BUT somewhere along the line, this little pinafore wasn't worn out, nor was it cut up for use in something else. These are the rare....no........super rare treasures that every now and again, let us peek into everyday living of our ancestors.
Children often wore a frock, or pinafore, over their clothing to keep them clean. ( Notice the placement of the stains in the very first picture~ perfectly in line with my mannequin's hands. Evidentally children have always wiped their hands on their clothes!) In the 18th century this was basically a rectangle of cloth, cut with slits for the arms to go thru, with maybe a drawstring at the neck. very simple. This pinafore is c1830. It could be made from an earlier piece of fabric, as the design has been hand painted to make the greens of the leaves. This was printed on a roller, then yellow was hand applied with a brush over the blue, to make green. It is entirely hand stitched in weensie teensie stitches~ some of the smallest I have seen.....20+ to the inch on one side only.
Beautiful print, and aside from a couple dark stains on the front, in immaculate condition
Original drawstring back, with a single carved mother of pearl button about 5" down from the neck. This button is original, and matches the other two, one on each sleeve cuff.
25" from neck to hem, this would have fit a child of 4 to 5 years old....maybe a bit older if they were very tall and skinny. The sleeves are very full, including the armscyes, which would enable them to fit over the large gigot sleeves of a young child's dress. This could have been either for a boy or a girl
The back opening button closure is reinforced on both sides, as are the armpits....which is quite interesting
Here is a closeup~ a double layer triangular piece stitched directly below the armscye on the inside. Also notice that instead of being placed right sides together and stitched, to attach the sleeve, both the upper sleeve's, and the pinafore's edges have been turned under and stitched neatly, before they were attached. No raw edges to unravel, someone certainly had years of hard wear intended for this when they lovingly made it. Realistically speaking, this was probably a favorite pinafore, and given the high child mortality in the early 19th century, the wearer most likely passed away, and this was kept for Dear fond remembrance.
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I am working on another primitive Queen Anne dolly especially for my 
She says she does not 
