The Industrious Lady

1860's Men's shirt placket Tutorial Men's shirts, it seems so easy. Cut a bunch of rectangles, put in a neckhole, sew a few seams and voila, there's a shirt.  Well..... Not exactly. While men's shirts from the era were considered an easier item to make, our modern brain that have been trained to sew using cut out patterns and step by step instructions, those simple geometric shapes can very quickly become very, very complicated. So in the sake of education and not ending a sewing day in tears, lets break down one of the hardest parts of the shirt.... the dreaded placket. This is the overlapping front neckline opening that closes with buttons.  To compare it to modern terms, most dress shirts and flannel button ups will have a full length placket, a strip of doubled over fabric that is added on either side the front. The one on the basic standard issue shirt is much the same, but it ends about eight inches down from the top. You should st...

Civil War Era / Victorian Black Mourning Dress SM AS IS From the Seller This CW Era dress has a bodice made from black silk, lined in tan cotton, it has light boning and hooks down the front. The bodice has an over laying fabric of sheer, light weight gauze with a small window pane woven pattern. This silk over laying fabric is in terrible condition. It has dome shaped, crochet buttons over the hooks down the front, The black silk has repairs under the arms, some small tears and frays as well. The skirt has the window pane fabric over cotton, there's numerous tears in the skirt as well and what isn't torn is very fragile. There are 3 panels attached at the waist of the sheer fabric trimmed around the edges with a border of silk taffeta. These panels are not bad, there's a longer, wider one in back and shorter ones on the sides. they are backed with a cotton gauze fabric. The dress has dropped shoulders with self piping in the seam and ivory la...

FANCY STRAW BONNET with SILK RIBBON and ORIGINAL VEIL From the seller Brown fancy-weave straw, black velvet and metallic cord with high brim decorated with cloth flowers beneath a dotted net veil having embroidered hem, pink embroidered black taffeta ribbon, trim and ties, woven bavolet. 9 x 15, includes custom mount. (Buckram lining torn and repaired) very good From the Industrious Lady Straw hats were worn during the summer as a lighter alternative to a heavy silk or wool bonnet. The veil worked as a sort of antique sunglasses to help shield eyes from the sun. These types of bonnets were mainly stylish, and sat too far back to shade the face to the veil would provide a bit of protection from the sun. 

FLORAL BROCADE SILK 3-PIECE ENSEMBLE, 1860 From the seller : Black silk with polychrome floral brocade, back-lacing off-the-shoulder bodice with deep point; full skirt with box pleats; boned basque having narrow pagoda sleeve with white silk lining edged with furbelows and bottle-green ribbon. B-32, W-20, jacket L-23, skirt W-22, L-43. Tag indicated bought from Massachusetts dealer Boughner. Janet Arnold cataloging notebook notes "Worn at the Veiled Prophets Ball in St. Louis". (Alterations in progress, bodice lacking stays, short sleeves removed, trim detached from basque, shoulder seam separated, splits to waistband) fabric-excellent, dress good. 1680 From the Industrious Lady How rare to see a dress that is not only a fancy dress ball costume but also has two bodices. Having two bodices was a common practice during a time when fabric was extremely expensive and a skirt wold take up several yards, and fabric back then was only 22" wide as oppos...

1860's Civil War Era Silk & Wool Wedding Gown From the Seller 1860's Civil War Era Silk & Wool Wedding Gown: This 1860's dress is made of a silk and wool blend in a butter/cream color. The style is from the Civil War Era. It is trimmed in ivory silk ribbon and has silk satin buttons covered with a fine tulle. She was quite petite. The bust is 32, the upper waist is 25 and the slope shoulders are 18 inches across. The sleeve length is 19 inches. The front length from the waist to the hem is 38.5 inches and the back length from the waist to the hem is 54 inches. The bottom of the skirt measures 157 inches around. The skirt is totally lined in polished cotton which has some age discoloration but is till sturdy. The outer dress has some spots scattered on it, but nothing offensive. See photos. As you can see from the pictures this dress makes a lovely display. The dress is a one piece garment. There is one button missing from the bodice and...

Early Antique Civil War DRESS Fringed Sleeves The From the Seller An early Civil War era dress with fringed sleeves from Pennsylvania. Measurements are an estimate: Shoulder to bottom edge 55 inches Neck back to bottom 58 inches Sleeves 18 inches Under armpits across dress 18 1/2 inches Made of silk Some tears, bites to hem binding Selling as a collectible piece Estate find  From the Industrious A lovely gown from the turn of the decade from the late 1850's to early 1860's.  The skirt is fully lined, the front has three darts, and closes with hook and eye but has decorative buttons. The back bodice fabric stripes show how matching patterns wasn't as important as conserving fabric, even on high fashion dresses like this matching stripes wasn't that big of a deal. So for those of us who have been left bawling clutching a glass of wine staring at those pieces that just don't ...