Inspiration

Skirt fabric: Homespun cotton fabric from JoAnn's. I bought the whole bolt and cut 5 panels to produce a  full 225 inch skirt. For now, it's gathered on a ribbon, but I'll eventually pleat it onto a waistband.

The bodice pattern: Simplicity 3727.

As always, I'll tweak, pick and choose the pieces I'll use. But this looked like a pretty good base from which to start.

Front Bodice piece cut and center front embroidered. I decided to make the bodice out of a cotton sateen. It has a nice sheen but will still be cool. I'll need to assemble the other pieces before I embroider the entire bodice, but I wanted to get an idea of what this is going to look like.

Bodice pinned. I couldn't resist getting a sneak peek at what the bodice will look like with the black embroidery. Loving the contrast.

Next, I have to tailor the bodice. I cut it too big, as usual, and will need to take in the seams along the back and sides to make it fit properly. Then, once I get a good fit, I'll be embroidering the same design around the bottom perimeter of the bodice.

The embroidered upper sleeve, the lower edge trimmed with a band of hand-pleated black cotton sateen. The upper sleeve ended up looking nothing like the one in the pattern. I didn't want so much fullness at the armscye, and I also wanted the upper sleeve to be more of a cap sleeve length, versus the longer elbow length.

Another shot of the bodice. The next step will be working on the undersleeves--white cotton muslin with white embroidery.

I added a band of plaid fabric, cut on the bias, and trimmed on either side by a band of the ivory sateen to the bottom of the skirt. I'm pretty pleased with how it looks.

Close up of the skirt trim.

Close up of the embroidery for the undersleeve cuffs. I purchased this design online. Wasn't sure how it was going to look when I bought it--not all embroidery designs are created equal--but it's very pretty and runs well.

How things are looking...

I found this very pretty Venice lace collar on eBay. Is it historical? I can't say. It's very possibly NOT. But it's dainty and pretty and resembles the hand-tatted and hand-crocheted collars I've seen sold on costume sites for a LOT more money. In other words, it's good enough for me...until someone tells me it isn't :)

The black lace shawl is an antique, and it's lovely, but it does need to be repaired in a few places. The price I paid reflected that. I'm a little afraid to try. So, the holes remain for now. I have more time yet to figure out how to mend it without making it look worse.

One thing I would like to comment on: the availability of books on the subject of Civil War era clothing in our library. I don't know yet if it reflects an overall lack of books published on the subject of if my library simply hasn't seen a need to buy books that have been published. I found some very nice books with full color copies of Victorian fashion plates, but none that dated earlier than the 1870's. With so many people interested in Civil War reenacting, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Of course, perhaps it's because those people represent such a small number overall, that the market is too small, that books that have been proposed were turned down by publishers. Who knows? In the meantime, I'm leaning heavily on what I can find on the internet--mostly photographs of other reenactors and movie screen shots (as a general rule, not very historically acccurate).

(Right-click on images to view high-res photos)

1860's Bodice and Cotton Plaid Skirt