Caught in the Storm of War . . . Dressing for 1775 New England

This is a fairly short post as I was on such a tight deadline that I didn't take many construction photos. Since this was the 250th Anniversary of the start of the American War for Independence, I thought I'd make something new.  The women participating in the evacuation of the various residences in Minuteman National Historic Park are portraying middle sort women in 1775.  Dress was on the conservative side.  I planned on wearing my satin bonnet which I made as a demo piece in a workshop I taught in January.  The clothing standards indicate that wool stomacher gowns were to be worn.  Fortunately, I've been sitting on about 8 - 10 yards of imported super 360 wool/cashmere tropical weight suiting that I had bought in one of the selling groups on Facebook.  It's amazing as it feels like pima cotton and is very lightweight so I figured it would work for any weather situation.  New England in April can be all over the map weatherwise! 

I made a gown using the the bodice I had drafted in this post.  I really prefer folded robings to robing strips.  The gown was made with a fitted plain sleeve.  This is really a solid mid 1770s plain gown.  I've used this bodice pattern with some variations in a number of gowns, mostly 1760s,  and it's basically my tried and true pattern at this point. 

I wanted this gown and petticoat to be a bit shorter.  I've made this enough times that I don't really try it on until I'm attaching the shoulder strap in the back to be sure the armscye fits. I figured I should at least double check it before I pack it up and head north.

Here's a better photo on the dress form.  Both of these photos are without a shift and underpetticoat so the skirts look a bit flat.

It was great to get this done with fabric from my stash.  I still have 4 yards left so I will probably make something 1940s with the leftovers.

I also wanted to do a nicer middlin' style short cloak.  My original red one is okay but it's more of a lower sort and my others are all upper sort.  I had some black wool in my stash that seems to be between a broadcloth and a plush.  It has a hard edge.  I used Sue Felshin's, which I've used before.  A good friend of mind had made a paper pattern and copied it for me which was a great time saver.  Mohair trimmed cloaks have fascinated me for some time so I decided to trim this one with mohair and to only have a small cape and collar.

The mohair is from a supplier on Etsy.  The fabric backing is woven.  I bought one half a yard and it's about 54 inches wide.  I ended up only using a little over half of what I bought so there would've been enough for a hood had I decided to make one.  Whenever there is fur, one has to be careful to only cut the backing and avoid cutting the fur nap itself.  I decided to try to solve that problem by tearing my strips.  Determining the width of the strips was the first task.  3 inches looked right on the bottom of the cloak itself with 2 inches being better for the cape.  The front edges ended up being 1.5 inches wide.  I snipped through the selvedge and gave it a good tug and was amazed at how easily it tore!  The nap definitely lays in one direction so I had to make sure I applied the pieces going in the same direction.  The mohair is torn on grain and is applied to a curved surface so the top edge of the mohair has to be slightly eased.  

The long edges of the mohair were left raw and the short ends were turned under when pinned in place.

I whip stitched the bottom edge in place but found that process to be a bit frustrating as the whip stitched kept catching the fur.  This took longer as I had to stop and pull the fur out.  I ended up using a running stitch for the remainder of the mohair as I found I could insert my needle under the fur when stitching and go faster.  The last thing was sewing on the black wool tape ties.

I simply love how this turned out--even with the white cat hair on it!

I wore my gown with a medium weight white linen apron and a white linen handkerchief with a blue border.  Sadly I didn't get too many photos of these garments in action but I was very comfortable in them.  I know I'll get a lot of use out of them.

Checking things in the Lexington Historic Masonic Lodge:

Lexington Green--saying goodbye to our militia men as they prepare for the Regulars:

In the kitchen at Hartwell Tavern, Minuteman National Historic Park:

I know I'll get a lot of use out of both of these pieces--especially the gown which can probably be worn year round.  Now to think about linen for the hot Mid Atlantic summer!

Adieu to Mrs. Green--18th century mourning practices

It's always hard to say goodbye.  The time has come to bid Adieu to Anne Catherine Hoof Green of Annapolis.  Died March 23, 1775.  Mrs. Green has been one of our most beloved local women and you can find out more about her at the links below.  The local living historian who has portrayed Mrs. Green for about 15 years is retiring so it was only appropriate to send her off in the style that a woman of her stature deserves.

A walking tour of sites that were important to the Green family.  The tour started at State Circle across the street from the Maryland State House, which is the oldest continually operating state house in the country.

Old Post Office  in Historic Annapolis

From there, the tour progressed to the Jonas Green House which is under private ownership.  The family was so gracious in letting us use their home.  Two of Mrs. Green's sons were mourning in the first parlor where her obituary was read.  Then visitors progressed to the dining room where we had a few displays. I made a presentation about mourning dress and funeral traditions in the 18th century.  Some resources are listed below.

The Green House

From my presentation notes (Blogger isn't letting me cut and paste):

 

Newport Mercury 1-9-1775

Interesting article about a more simplefuneral procession: 

Newport Mercury 10-1-1764

Other ads about mourning materials being sold:

Maryland Gazette 6-14-1764

Providence Gazette 6-6-1764

New York Mercury 5-18-1767

This one is a particular  favorite in that it advertises hair plaiting for mourning jewelry.  We typically see plaited hair jewelry in the early 19th century though there is a piece that belonged to the Handcock family from the 1790s in the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Extant baker's wrapper dated 1828

I ended up making funeral biscuits for the participants to snack on:

Other photos from the house:

Parlor with casket

Local minister and Mrs. Green's sons

Some items printed by Jonas and Ann

Mourning gloves and mitts

                                                                      Mourning Jewelry

Me with my display

From the house, we proceeded to St. Annes where we learned about burial traditions, who prepared the body and how it was prepared.  The Greens are buried at St. Anne's in unmarked graves.

St. Annes

Our last stop was The Reynolds Tavern across the street.  The tavern was founded in 1747.  We had a toast to Mrs. Green.  The tavern prepares a punch based on the familiar 18th century recipes.

Punch at the Reynolds Tavern

I had so much fun doing this event.  I've always been fascinated by funeral/mourning customs so this really enabled me to delve into the subject and to show off some of my collection of mourning accessories.  It was also a nice way to say goodbye to Diane in her portrayal of Mrs. Green.

I would encourage you to read the first article in my resource list that profiles her life.

Memento Mori by William Michael Harnett

Resources:

Books

In Death Lamented:  The History of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry

Mourning Dress:  A Costume and Social History

Articles

Ann Catherine Hoof Green--Maryland Archives

The Handsome Tokens of a Funeral:  Glove-Giving and the Large Funeral in Eighteenth-Century New England

"Often concerned in funerals:" Ritual, Material Culture, and the Large Funeral in the Age of Samuel Sewall--Colonial Society of Massachusetts

The Era of Excessive Mourning

The Colour of Mourning--All Things Georgian

Momentos Mori:  The Materials of Mourning--Colonial America 1607 - 1763

Colonial New England Funerals

The Lowest Ebb of Misery: Death and Mourning in the Family of George Washington

English Funeral Food

Recipe for Funeral Biscuits

Virginia Gazette March 1, 1737

Other primary accounts from Maryland State Archives

2025--Catching up on small projects and one big UFO!

I realized I hadn't posted anything here yet in 2025.  January and February are typically pretty busy--getting ready for our skill building weekend end of February.  I figured I'd just show my projects thus far in a single post.

1.  Satin bonnet.  This was my demo bonnet for a workshop I taught in MA early in January.  I've always wanted to do a satin bonnet so it seemed like a good time to get one done.  I really like it.  The duchss satin has so much body that it stays poofy!   I ended up trimming it with some shot silk taffeta I had on hand. 

2.    Miniature bonnet for Miss Prudence Pennyweather.  It was a fiddly little project but I like how it turned out.  Miss Pennyweather seems rather pleased.

3.  Mini quilted petticoat for Miss Pennyweather.  I started this last year but decided to get it done.  It was a fun little project.  I will be making a worsted English gown to go over it.

4.  Round eared cap.  Forgive the terrible photo.  This was another workshop demo project.  It's made of the same handkerchief linen that the partipants were given.  It'll be a nice middlin' sort cap.  Not pictured were all of the flower breast knots made as samples for the same workshop.

5.  Black trim for my fancy cap.    This is one of the accessories done for the gown I just finished.  I had trimmed this cap similarly with blue taffeta trim in the same style.  The trim is pinned on.  Needed the black so I figured I'd just do it again!

6.  One of several taffeta breast knots.  I love making these things.  I think the taffeta just works better than ribbon but it involves hemming the long edges.

7.  Silk gauze double ruffles with French lace.  Obviously I made a pair of these.  I dislike working with silk gauze.  It's too springy and doesn't finger press like organdy does but I wanted the ultra sheef fabric for these. I love how frothy they are!

8.  Silk gauze half handkerchief to go with the ruffles.

8.  Black taffeta sack.  Finally finished!  This gown has been almost finished since fall of 2023 and living on my dress form.  It needed some trim and the hem.  The petticoat was seamed and needed to be hemmed and pleated to the waistbands.  I'm debating whether or not to add some trim to the petticoat at some point.  I like it the way it is though.  It needs to be pressed.  I'm really tickled with this one as I've always had a soft spot for black dresses regardless of the time period.  This year seems like a good year to wear them! 

Bodice detail

Sleeve detail

I guess now that I've written all of this done, I've gotten a fair amount done!  I was feeling lazy and unaccomplished. LOL.  Now on to the next projects on the queue.