Cedar Creek 2010

Just some miscellaneous pictures I never got around to uploading.  This was my Emily's first camping experience and she LOVED it!  Other than the late night and the sugar "crack" high that hit her around 8pm, we had a very successful weekend.  We are working on getting little Emily a bit more authentic and she is starting to love her new things!  (Although we did revert to a boy's frock and trousers on the last day of the event.)

Yay!  Bangs pulled back and hidden within the bonnet. 

(Which lasted about 15 minutes)

Emily's skirt is made of the left over dress fabric from my dress (being worn at this event by my friend Caitlin).  It features two very deep growth tucks which can easily be let out as Emily grows taller (any fading where the stitches were would be covered with some pretty black velvet ribbon or rouching).  She also wears a full sleeved white cotton bodice (back hook and eye closure) covered by a large black cummerbund rounded at the top and pointed at the waist, topped by a black velvet jacket adorned with frog closures.  Emily is wearing a crinoline petticoat, not a hoop.

My friend Caitlin and the Red/Black Boots

Camp life - Jacket and Bonnet are nowhere to be found . . .

You can see the wide black cummerbund worn over the white cotton bodice.

Food is always a big hit with the little ones.

Here we've at least covered up Emily's bodice and skirt with a simple cotton pinafore.

Back view of Caitlin's Dress - I LOVE this silhouette  

Resting in the tent.  (Have not abandonned the bangs entirely yet.)  What I love about this picture is the the black and grey striped stocking peeking out from under her skirt.  You can see the detail of Emily's white cotton bodice (back closure) and a few of her wooden toys.

Mommy and Emily playing games in camp.

Victorian Suit

Emily (1yr old) and Peter at Cedar Creek (or was it Anteitam?) , 2007

Don't you love the plastic bottle and the cars in the background? Very authentic, no?

This was the first outfit I made for Peter in the hopes that he would dress out with me for an event (This was the only one he's dressed up for - 2 years ago!). I use the Buckaroo Bobbins coat, trousers and vest pattern. The shirt (I think) was a Past Patterns, but may also have been the Buckaroo Bobbins (I had it in my collection for a while).

From my memory, the patterns all worked up very nicely. I definitely suggest using all the interfacing and padding as the pattern suggests (or did I get this from another book?). It really helps with the shaping. I find that the coat patterns can often run narrow in the shoulders and across the chest - this is a great place to use a muslin mock up first.

The shirt was collarless and I didn't have time to make a collar, so Peter is wearing a black silk cravat loosely tied. That and his big "gambler's" hat make him look more Wild West than Civil War, but the look is still accurate according to my research.

I have just made him a collar (again from Buckaroo Bobbins). The collar was very easy to make. It called for interfacing, but since I didn't have any available at 2am when I was sewing, I just put an extra layer of white cotton muslin in -worked perfectly.

Front of collar with black cotton "tie"

This is a fold-down style collar I see a lot in pictures. I'd like to add a wing tip or stand up collar as well for a different look.

Back center with button hole. The small pearl button is attached to the shirt and the collar buttons on here so it does not "ride" up.

Now it's all ready for the next time he'll dress up and come out with us. . . .