Stitching Up History

Ojibwa and Mic Mac Hand Sewn Regalia in Elk Update

2020-07-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

I'm getting ready to start these projects back up now that I have the room and space to do it. Please feel free to comment and share your project!

Sew Your Own DIY N95 Type Forever Safe Mask Sewing Tutorial

2020-05-03T13:46:00.001-07:00

Sew the safest, washable, long lasting homemade mask with my do it yourself tutorial. Based on the Florida University pattern judged best fitting for all persons including those who wear glasses or have facial hair. 95% virus proof when properly cared for. Long term mask for daily wear at work or in public

2020-04-24T20:48:00.003-07:00

This is my Rendering of the 1618 Plague Doctor Mask. It is made from Orange Tan Elk Hide.

Sewing Perfect Continuous Bias Tape Strips, No Sewing, Glue or Fuss

2020-04-14T17:53:00.001-07:00

I’m sewing protective masks for Coronavirus and have seen sewers using the bias tape foot but joining the strips with sewing or glue. I show how to join your strips quickly, neatly and easily as my Mother showed me as a child with no glue, stitching or ironing before sewing using the Bias Tape Attachment. I’ll be making another video about the masks I am making so subscribe and you’ll see the next steps in making a reversible, washable reusable mask with Pelon Non Woven lining for extra safety. These masks will last months, if not years and are easily maintained.

Fabric Destash to Restash The Vintage Textiles Roll Out of Bed

2020-03-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

Celebrate with me the moving of my fabric from my inaccesable under bed storage system to the upper cabinets in my new reorganized ewing/craft room in my RV that I live in full time.

Before: All my fabrics were stored in my RV under bed storage. I couldn't access them alone.

I refolded and rebolted all my textiles stowing them in my
upper cupboards in my Sewing/Craft room.

Lovely old Vintage Cottons

More cottons and a fabulous fabric, Unknown Content, if you know if
this gossamer gold checked textile, please let me now. It is transparent.

Matt Hamilton Woolens from his vintage ware house. They don't make this kind of wool anymore. Also some cottons.

stashed!

Sorted and folded

Woolens Away!

OK, this brings tears to my eyes. Some of you will understand.

Rebuilding my Historic Kitchen Costumes

2020-03-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

This half bolt of incredibly beautiful cotton India block print has been through several rebuilds and outfits, it was first a huge 5 yard Colonial skirt my Sister hand stitched up for me at Grand Portage Rendezvous in 2006.

It then was taken apart and a shirt for my husband was made from it and the rest used as a Irish working woman's weskit and 3 yard skirt.

Over time the boning in the weskit began to curl and the bottom tips flipped up every time I sat down. I also spent a lot of time tugging it down into place, since I had miscalculated the length of my waist when I made it. It also puckered between the eyelets as the boning got tired. I temporarily fixed it by adding more eyelets but I knew I had to do something to save one of my favorite outfits.

This got me thinking that if I got out my dress form, I could attach the skirt to the weskit, which would pull the boning straight by it's weight, and bring the dress into better conformity with the actual fashion of the day.

I pinned the skirt backwards on the form and split the seam down the back, putting the weskit on over it.

I then invisibly whip stitched the weskit bias to the skirt from the outside, turn the edges of the skirt in about two inches down the split and matching the front points of the weskit with the turned back skirt edge.

After hand stitching the two together from the front, I turned the garment inside out and remounted on the form, cut off the excess fabric and whip stitched along the edge of the weskit bottom to assure a strong joining.

Here I am in my redone outfit, with my new skirt and wonderful stays made by Pat Lund. The colonial stays are spiral metal boning and actually help me with back support as I toil through the day. This outfit is 5 years old and has seen weekly heavy duty in my kitchen. In fact, I wear it every Saturday, cooking, hauling water, pounding stakes and in general abusing it in every way known to working woman kind. This rebuild keeps it in my working wardrobe for years to come.

Vintage Kenmore C Cam Decorative Stitch Tutorial Model 158.1781

2020-03-06T23:02:00.002-08:00

Demonstrating how to use Decorative Kenmore Vintage C Cam Stitches to add structure and beauty to your garments. My Kenmore Sewing Machine, model 158.17811 is a convertible to free arm, portable machine I bought in 1976 and have used to sew everything from leather, wool and canvas to silk. Watch for more vintage sewing tutorials from Stitching Up History soon, subscribe here, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to keep up with my sewing adventures!

Summoning The Creative Muse and She is Me?

2012-06-20T19:46:00.001-07:00

The Muse, She's usually naked. Distracting, I'd think...

Helena "Morning Dove" Artist and Fellow Tribal Arts Promoter forever tilting at the windmills of recognition for All Things at One Time Lost who's Ghostly Agents cry out to be Rediscovered in a Meaningful Manner, had an excellent recent post about Iban Women Weavers:

For more details from an Iban woman's perspective, check out:
"Songs of my Foremothers"The definitive, classic pua kumbu

This particular quote struck me hard in the face:

"The more powerful a design, the closer it brings an Iban to the spiritual world, and the more dangerous it is for her to create, for she is actually summoning the spirits, ancestors and beings she is portraying and weaving them into her work. As the shaman serves as mouthpiece for ancestor and guide spirits, the Iban weaver is a channel or vessel for the sacred speech she weaves, and in so doing becomes a sort of demi goddess herself."

I have been experiencing precisely this very thing, it doesn't feel as if I am communing with or assuming a Deity of any kind, it's more like being driven to do something without knowing why, as if you can hear a voice no one else can and you simply must act on the suggestion or pay a large price emotionally.

When I was recreating a 300 year old Native dress I had no idea how I was going to close the shoulder and as I was musing on it I suddenly found my hands moving and making the difficult stitching with ease, I was done before I even realized I had begun. "It begins Thus.." I clearly heard in my mind.

I remember turning to my Husband an telling him that if this was possession, I guess it is not such a bad thing.....until I had to take time down to attend other business.

Suddenly I was depressed and angry, as if not of my own accord. I felt frustrated and bewildered in trying to attend to modern things, as if I had forgotten how to function in the modern world.

I finally called a truce with the force, promising it my full attention when I could return to the tasks laid before me by this persistent Ancestor.

It's almost as if someone is living Rent Free in my heart and is petulant if I try to have my own way. I don't feel endangered at all by this habitation, in fact, I have been able to experience some remarkable moments of clarity about how this Person, (as She once was), lived and functioned in Her own time. This is well worth the price of having another voice adding it's opinion to my endeavors.

I understand her impatience, after all, I am also human and may eventually pass without getting across what this messenger brings me. She feels it is important enough to hijack my thought process and as I learn I am beginning to agree.

It's like two people from completely different worlds trying to have an important conversation without the commonality of language.

I could be completely delusional, I am, after all, a Very Rational Person, (or VRP of the Doubting Thomas Type), who doesn't know quite if I should believe what is happening to me.

It could be great hubris on my part, perhaps I want to so much I am summoning it out of my need to succeed at something original and difficult for anyone else to comprehend. Who Knows?

For now I am content to be On Board for the Great Adventure, Crazy as a Loon or not, as it intrigues me to no end to be on the receiving end of knowledge I have no rational explanation for it's existence in my mind.

Life is a strange thing.

I thank you for this article, it perhaps is the first time I have read of an explanation for what happens to me and I would like to think it is real...I have been compulsed at certain times of my life to get tattoos and designed them myself, I don't talk about them or show them, they are just for me. Makes one think....even one like myself, who does not believe in such things, and yet I do ponder on this poorly staged Great Pageantry we call Life.

I am no stranger to ordinary superstitious fear, having almost lost my spark of life several times only to regain my strength and continue on my path after beseeching any and all supposed Creators for more time to finish what I must do. I imagine we are all overblown with our own importance.

There isn't much that can frighten me now, It's pretty much all happened to me so there are few surprises lurking in my closet, other than the fear that someone I care for will be cut short on their own journey and their song left unsung. I so hate a Bad Ending.

After considering all things I am left with the knowledge that can only try to muddle about towards my addled sense of blind destiny, grasping at the invisible hands that beckon me hither and bid me look and learn.

Not a bad thing really. I could be an avid Golfer. Now That's Crazy!
I've prattled on long enough, I hope maybe I'll find someone who, like me, is more knowledgeable and can help me on my way, it is, after all, a bit strange...living this unearthly way. until then I great comfort in the idea that All Will Presently Be Revealed, (Or they will finally lock me up).

Two Hide Strap Dress Project Progress

2012-06-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

Front side, sleeves on Fringe all cut!

As you can see, I have just about finished up this project and am also making another strap dress that is of the same design but more Ojibway than Cree.

The sleeves have turned out just marvelous, They are truly a masterful design!

They provide total arm and back coverage, ( a complaint with other sleeve designs), and dont require a strap across the front to hold them in place!

I added simple cuffs to mine and have yet to decide if I will leave the edges raw or turn them, or welt seam them and line the jacket....we'll see....

The cuffs were not on the original and I had a Facebook comment saying my personal changes seemed wrong!

Back Side, note how well the sleeves drape! Eureka! 20 years of research just paid off!

All I can say to that is that I plan on wearing this dress and I don't believe in copying.

Native Women were expected to make each dress their own, in their own way. It was not, after all, a UNIFORM.

I always note my custom changes and provide information for those who do want a carbon copy.

Also, if I was making a dress for a museum, I would do it their way, not mine.

I hope you have enjoyed this project and hope to hear from you as you try and attempt your own version!

More to come when I have more time to write...need to cut some more hide and get the sleeves made for the second dress!

Shiela's Saura Two Hide One Shoulder Dress In Action at Ft Caroline

2012-05-29T12:14:00.003-07:00

Add caption

Nothing makes a Seamstress feel better than seeing her creations at work and play!

Her is Sheila at Fort Caroline portraying a Sauratown Native American Woman in the dress we designed for her.

It is a One Hide, One Shoulder Two hide Elk Dress of the South Eastern Variety.

Warning: Artists at Work! Old Antique Dress Form Punked Out!

2012-05-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

My Little Corner of The World, Two Hide Dresses I Working on, Plus Shell Jewelry to match!

Doyle Hand Carving more Conch Shell Jewelry For Our Projects!

Just in case I don't have enough to do besides finishing 2 Two Hide Strap Dresses complete with leggings, sleeves and Headdresses, I am also refurbishing a small dress form I picked up a couple months ago in Florida.

I was going to just strip her for parts because she is so tiny, (maybe a size 2 or 3), but she grew on me so I striped her naked, (her covering was rotting off), and am going to paint her up and use her as a jewelry model.

This is a project best done outside with a stiff breeze because she was full of dust and mildew. I started by removing the cover by tearing it off piece by piece, then scrubbing her with a fingernail brush to remove the dirt inside and out.

She is made of pressed cardboard so washing was not an option.

Now she is sitting in the sun for a day or two to kill of the residual mold and mildew, while I try to decide how she's going to be painted!

I will probably seal her first with a little spray kilz and then spray paint her a beach themed neutral color that wont clash with the shell jewelry.

I am tempted to try some of those new stone textured paints but I'm afraid that as much as she is moved about and shoved odd places to be stored the texture would flake off.

Well, we'll see once I get to the store. We have an Ace Hardware in town so I am in Hardware heaven, I used to work at one years ago and I love all the neat things they carry for us DIY folks, plus their staff is very educated and helpful, (if I must brag so myself, Ace was my favorite pre College job!).

Update...I have finished Matilda's makeover and she looks Grand!

now I have to gather and reshoot just about every piece of jewelry I have made.

I am going down to the beach for a photo shoot, there is a great river here with a nice sandy stretch to stage things on.

If you want to see the makeover you can click on this link to read all about it!

Square Notch Fringe On The Two Hide Strap Dress

2012-05-18T05:10:00.000-07:00

If you look closely you can see the shoulder lacing in Artificial Sinew

Adding a tape measure eases cutting concerns

Cutting Fringe on your Two Hide Strap Dress is one of the most rewarding and scary things you can do.

Rewarding because it finally starts to look like a Native dress, Scary because you cant undo a mistake once you cut.

It helps if you keep a few things in mind:

Square notches are made by cutting ever other fringe off

Larger Patterns at the Bottom, smaller patterns on top, I made my square notch (Roman) fringe 1/2 at the top and 1 inch at the bottom, but then repeated the 1/2 inch pattern at the hem to bring it all together.

Design should be individual and well thought out. I wouldn't copy the museum dress design exactly because it is not my dress.

Design is an individual thing.

The original dress had elements of a pinked edge as well as small fringing on the fold over flap. I decided to go with Square notch all around.

1/2" and 1" Square Notch Fringe Cut

I taped my edges with masking tape, (remind yourself to get it off quickly, leaving it on overnight will result in a pounding headache trying to get it off).

I also rounded of the corners of my flaps to eliminate the squared edges, (remember, I made my fold over flaps 28" insted of 22" so I had quite a bit of edge hangover, which suits me fine).

Detail of Large Square Notch, fringe is straight across, skirt is folded funny

Square notch fringe is made by cutting wide fringe and then cutting out every other fringe. It only looks good if you grasp the fringe you are going to cut firmly and pull it taught before nipping it off at the base with a smooth curved movement.

Practice on scraps first!

After fringing you need to place 6 laced fringes into the fold over flap every 4" going all the way through the body of the dress to secure the flap, start your measurement at the center of the flap, 2" then fringe, 4" then fringe, 4inches then Fringe, 4" then fringe.

Repeat for the back.

Try your dress on and have some fun in it, there is still so very much more to do, laced fringe on the bottom and adding the deer tail, (if you didn't make it in the flap to begin with). Then you have to fringe the side seam welts in your choice of design or trim them flush altogether, (your choice).

Six Laced fringes are placed 4" apart across breast, holding flap down

28" flap was a good idea, covers those upper arms!

Looks great from the back too!

Lovely!

This project is starting to look like something and is very comfortable too!

Cutting the Top of The Two Hide Strap Dress

2012-05-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

Two bodice pieces and 4 welts

By now you have sewn the side seams using the welted whip stitch used in all other pre contact hide dresses.

The post on this is here.

You have left the top 10 inches of the sides of the dress open for arm openings.

Turning the dress right side out now you will cut two rectangular bodice pieces 22"x6" and four 12"x 2" welts that will become the support for the laced closure.

Sewn body of dress with bodice and welts positioned

Note: I have football players shoulders so I cut my bodice pieces 28" long to be sure the bodice capped my shoulders completely. This departs from the original, but the intended wearer probably was blessed with petite bird like shoulders, as is not the case with me.

I decided better to be safe than sorry, I could always have trimmed off the overage if it was too wide.

Another view showing the overlap on the 5" skirt

Bodice laid over welts already in place

Bodice folded up to reveal welts

Here is the Shoulder welts and neck welt in place on front side of dress flipped down to show it.

Front and Back properly pinned

Top flipped down to show proper pinning

This picture clearly shows the 5" overlap of the dress skirt, as said before, my hides were too short to make the required 46" so I had to add an additional length of leather to complete the length.

The overlap is sewn into the side seams holding the flap down securely.

Now comes the part that is a bit hard to explain and even harder to show in pictures, so I have taken lots of angles to try and get my point across....

Turn the Dress Right side out.

Fold down the front dress body layer to get it out of the way for now.

VERY IMPORTANT! Here is something I added but did not get a picture of, I also cut two 1x10" Neckline Welts and placed them between the shoulder welts and the skirt body to shore up the neckline and eliminate the stretch and bulge of the original.

They are placed in the centered of the body of the dress at the neckline and then the shoulder welts placed overlapping them one inch on either side. Placing them between the welt layer and skirt body layer insures they are innermost next to the skin and held into place by the shoulder
welts. DO NOT OMIT THIS STEP, see large photo below.

Lay the 2x12" Shoulder Welts wrong side down on the wrong side, (inside) of the back of the dress, having the shoulder welts flush with the outside edge of where the bodice fold over flap edges will be and overlapping the center neck welt 1" on either side. (this is for the 28" version from here on).

Lay the bodice 6"x28" piece right side down on top of it and pin across.

Repeat for front of dress reversing order of assembly, (I know this seems complicated, but trust me, when you get to this stage you will see what goes where, just keep pinning it and flipping it over, asking yourself, "Is this right?"

Flaps lifted to show correct placement (neckline welts not shown)

Here are a couple of shots to show how it should look at this point. (You can see the shoulder and neck welts, they are sandwiched in between).

How your back flap should look measurement wise, look at the square board, you can see my museum notes too!

Another shot of the assemblage

Flap folded up showing a slice of the neck welt in center! Look closely!

Success at this point is sweet...but there is so much more to go! Note knee sock belt, Classy!

Here I have flipped up the front fold over flaps on both front and back, this is what you should see, with the addition of the two neck welts placed under the shoulder welts and centered on the neck with a one inch overlap of the neck welts that I did not add until after this picture...sorry!

I was still wrestling with placing the neck welt reenforcement in, since it was not on the original dress, (or cut out later when the dress was altered), and eventually common sense won out and I put them in.

As an after note, it was a good idea placing the neckline welts, the neckline shows no sign of bulging or stretching, which the original did. They lend tremendous stabilization to the neckline. I'm just sorry I only got one picture of them in place, (and not a very illustrative one at that).

I decided to take a picture of the pre sewn back flap with the measurements clearly drawn out on the square board, (See large picture below). You should have an 8" centered neck opening and then 7" on either side of the 22" dress body itself.

Underneath the 10 inch neck flap overlaps one inch on either side of the 8" mark.

The rest of the bodice flap is either ends at this 22" mark, or if you made the flap wider, (as I did), the flaps and welts expend out o the picture but are welted flush to the ends of the flap too, regardless of how wide they are.

note: This handy square board is sold at Joannes for $7.00 and worth it's weight in gold, they are 3'x72" and I can cut them to pieces, draw on them, throw it out and get another instead of buying an $80.00 quilters square board that isn't as big, harder to fold up and stash and will get ruined in no time anyway the way I run through projects!).

Now, whip stitch through all layers on first the front and then the back.

Stitch temporary lacing joining the front and back shoulder welts leaving about a half inch gap filled with your lacing, (you will redo the lacing afterwards, or just leave it as I did, it looked so good!).

Throw the dress on the form and take a look at a 500+ year old dress design come back to life!

Another Important Note:
The original dress had the deer tail sewn as an actual part of the front and back fold over flap, 5" wide and welt sewn onto the 22" wide front and back fold over flap at the edge of the 22" width. (see Photo above showing my notebook, you can see the tail is actually part of the fold over flap itself).

Since I decided to make my shoulder fold over flaps 28" wide the deer tail would have been over the shoulder and down the arm at a weird angle. I decided that for my dress I would make a deer tail and sew on later at a more favorable spot.

Two Hide Strap Dress Top Delemma Resolved

2012-05-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

Left Shoulder Laced tightly with Boot lacing

When I first started researching this dress long ago, I could tell something was amiss with the top of the dress when I received the photo on the right from the museum.

Tradition says the sleeves were always worn on the outside of the dress so they could be removed as the day warmed up and tasks for which bare arms were called for arose.

Right shoulder showing original Lacing holes

If the outfit was worn as displayed, you would first have to remove the entire dress before removing the sleeves. Also, the sleeves were highly decorated which would be senselessly hidden by placing them under the bodice.

This did not hold with oral tradition. Many early authors observed that the sleeves were easily shrugged off when hard or dirty work was at hand that would damage or soil them. The way the dress was displayed in this photo by the museum did not agree with this oft repeated testimony.

Yoke showing the later notched out neckline

When I finally examined the dress myself in person I could spot the problem of why the sleeves were placed on the inside of the dress right off.

The lacing was threaded and snugged up through the thickest part of the fold over creating a stiff lumpy mass of leather that the fitted sleeves would not cover without some discomfiture.

I could also see that it was not the original intended design because of the ill placed leather strap thongs where lacing once existed on the right shoulder. Originally he top of the dress was joined by lacing both sides of the shoulder as was evidenced by the holes left from the lacing in the welted flap.

In order to wear the dress properly, one would have originally laced at least a two inch gap between front and back piece. The the yoke of the dress would fall lower on the breast and not bunch at the shoulder and neckline. If worn as shown, the neck of the dress would literally saw you off at the neck line and the bulk of the two welted seams jutting off the shoulder would make wearing the sleeves on the outside impossible. Something had been done to seriously alter the original design of the dress.

Two inch shoulder welts in place, narrow welt at neckline

An alteration was made by taking the lacing off one shoulder and replacing it with two leather straps, tightening up the lacing on the other side so it did not cut the shoulder and then cutting out the neck larger by cutting down one inch through the fold over seam and then across to the other side of the neck, then stitching the two newly created raw neck edges together with running stitch and pinking the edge on both front and back.

This was a poor solution at best, the neck cut out was not deep enough to be effective and the resulting weakness of not having the re enforcement of the continuous welted seam joining the dress and flap caused the neck edge to bulge out and still cause irritation, (sweat stains in the adam's apple area tell the whole story of how this neck edge still abraded the throat, as well as an afterthought dart was cut and sewn perpendicular in the center of the neck hole in the front under the flap to try to reduce the resultant bulging).

I can't fault the original seamstress for this problem, she was obviously an expert and very meticulous in every detail of the garment and accessories, how this neck design problem came to be was probably a result of the person who later wore it and realized it wasn't comfortable enough for them, (especially when they used boot lacing to replace the original soft brain tan lacing), and then took it upon themselves to redesigned it. The original seamstress would have taken the garment apart and remade it correctly, rather than cut out the seam that re enforces the entire top of the dress yoke.

The decision that the remake was amateur was further enforced when I realized the lacing was at some time replaced with commercial boot lacing and not the soft brain tan lacing that would have been used in the first place.

I came to this conclusion after months of deliberation, (This being the sole reason for my not charging right into this project), I finally put myself in the shoes of the originator and realized that as talented as she was, she would never had made this amateur correction, she would have simply opened up the welt seam, add a wider welt and use it for the structure on which the lacing wends. That way the lacing would span perhaps half an inch and the integral structure of the garment would remain in place and at the same time making it more comfortable for the wearer, yet retaining the lacing design of the original.

It was difficult for me to make this decision, after all, I was departing from the original design. But when design weakness so obviously shows itself, one can't in good conscience repeat the purposely and ignorantly created flaw.

I know the creator would have corrected it herself had she been given the opportunity to do so. Perhaps the dress was gifted, or passed on to a younger relative who through time made the horrific adjustments of adding leather boot lace and adding leather thongs through innocent ignorance.

The garment shows the dress was well worn, perhaps by two or three generations in succession and the needed talents of sewing were found wanting in later generations. We will probably never know the real story and I can't entirely fault their ignorance because at least they had the wherewithal to passed the garment on so that today I stand am able dumbfounded before it. I am eternally grateful to them for keeping it safe in any form for me to study and try to humbly reproduce.

The thought of extending the welts to two inches on both the front and the back flap on which to tie the lacing does a couple of good things for this dress.

First, the lacing gap is only a half inch wide and so does not dig into the shoulder and negates any future digging in or sagging, (or replacement with boot lacing).

Second, the bulk of the welted seam drops lower across the front of the breast, allowing the sleeved coat to ride naturally on the shoulders and not get lumped up on the thickness of the triple leather seam.

Third, the welt is a single layer that drapes across and down over the tip of the shoulder smoothly, creating a soft capping, whereas the triple bulk of the fold over jutted angrily off the point of the shoulder a poked out at an alarming angle making the sleeves impossible to wear on the outside of the garment. (This explains why the museum placed the sleeves improperly on the inside of the dress instead of outside where they would normally be).

Taking liberties with design is not something that I do lightly, it took me months to allow myself to go forward with my decision to change an obviously flawed part of an almost perfect garment.

Now that I have done this, I take all blame and any complaints that I have somehow made this garment less faithful to the original, but I know in my heart that now that I have done it, the original seamstress is smiling down on me from somewhere that I did my best to remake the dress in her image of beauty and serviceability. And the sleeves now fit smoothly over the dress where they belong.

Cutting Hide on the Body of the Two Hide Pre Contact Strap Dress

2012-05-12T07:08:00.000-07:00

Cutting Hide outside is always a good idea!

Cut two pieces of hide for the front and back skirt

46" Long
22" Wide at the top
38" Wide at the bottom

Note: I had to cut out a 22"x36" skirt top and then add a 15" long piece at the bottom, overlapping 5", as my hides were too short to get the full length, (this was commonly done). The 5" overlap will be used to create a scalloped edge later.

Cut two 3" x45" Welts

Cut two 28" wedge shaped placards, 5" wide at the bottom and 1" wide at the top.

45" welt and Wedge Placard in place aligned with hem

Welt and placard pinned to back edge of skirt

Cut two additional welts 29 inches long and 5" wide at the bottom and 1" wide at the top.

Wedge Placard Folded

Wedge welt placed on top wrong side down

Place the hides right sides together, trim any obvious edges until the two hides match up perfectly, if the sides don't line up and aren't straight, you will have bulges and puckers along the edges.

Fold back the top hide to reveal the side edges and place your long welt on the hide right side to back right side aligning with the hem.

Place you wedge Placard on top of the welt right side to back right side and align with hem trimming all pieces so the match up straight and even.

So the order would be Bottom skirt piece right side up, then long welt right side down, then wedge placard right side down.

Pin both wedge placard and welt to the back of the skirt to the top of wedge placard, placing your pins about 1/2" in and running parallel to the edge.

Be sure your edges are straight and even

This is how the wedge placard should look when pinned properly

Wedge placard apex where everything comes together

Fold the Placard Wedge over so the edges line up the length of the wedge.

Place the 29" tapered wedge welt wrong side down over the folded wedge aligning the edges, trimming all edges to match.

Fold the Top Dress skirt piece over all layers and pin wedge placard, wedge welt and skirt top together from hem to within 10" of top of skirt 1/2" inch from edge and pins running parallel to edge.

Trim all pieces to be flush and straight to each other.

Repeat procedure for the other side of dress skirt.

Notes:
I cut the hides for the skirt dress neck of the elk side up so I could take advantage of the gradual wide tapering width of the natural hide.

This gave me the advantage of the hides being thinner at the top which would be desirable since you want the weight of the heaviest part of the hide at the bottom to pull the dress straight and the lighter part above since it will be cinched at the waist, having less bulk by doing so.

This would differ from the tradition of hanging all hides neck down, but I have noted exceptions to this rule when it came to multiple piece skirts such as this one, hides were placed and cut according to what ever shape and thickness best suited the design and made best use of the materials at hand.

Recreating A Two Hide Pre Contact Ojibwe/Cree Strap Dress

2012-05-11T08:20:00.001-07:00

Two Hide Strap Dress

On Display

Dress Body

I am so excited to be finally recreating the Ojibwe/Cree Strap Dress I examined at the Chicago Field History Museum.

This dress has never been seen in any pictures in full color, so for the first time any where, feast your eyes on the beautiful Vermillion Red painted Dress, Sleeves, Hood and Leggings!

The painting was done by using just the fingers as a brush, so you can actually see the fingerprints of the creator in the paint.

Leggings

Words cannot describe how grateful I am to The Staff at the Museum for giving me full access to this garment, I was able to measure and photograph every detail to be able to bring you this step by step recreation that will take place over the next couple of months.

I also made a video about documenting the details of construction and will be releasing that at a later date.

This dress was collected in Canada in the 1890's and has been cataloged as being both Ojibway and Cree.

It has elements of both cultures so I don't think we will ever really know its exact history, but with my examination, we can recreate this wonderful pre contact garment!

I will be fist recreating this garment in Vegetable Tan Elk Hide and then in Brain Tan, once I work out the kinks in the pattern.

Sleeves

Labeling this as a Strap Dress also takes some liberties with the term, since it is actually tied on one side with thongs and laced on the other shoulder.

This does not make it a true Strap Dress per se as the sides are cut out for the arms at the side seams, where most Modern Strap Dresses are suspended low enough on the breast to not make the armpit cuts necessary.

Hood

There are some mystery adjustments to this garment also that gives one pause to think, originally both sides were laced at the shoulder, this was modified by replacing one laced side with thong straps soon after creation, as the leather for the thongs is sewn into the welted seams and matches the original leather perfectly.

Another mystery is the placement of two tails at the breast line, (one on the front and one on the back), normally one would place one tail on the front at the right shoulder to pay homage to the original one hide wrap around dress that predicated this garment.

Stay tuned as I show more photographs and show step by step how this wonderful garment was created!

Could I be any happier?

Here I Am, Seamstress and Crafter Extra Ordinaire!

2012-03-25T20:41:00.001-07:00

Here I am making some Love Bead necklaces, it's a challenge doing crafts in an RV, but if you stay organized and don't get too carried away with supplies, you can get a lot done in a short time!

Here are the necklaces I have put together, I have been collecting glass trade beads for years so I opted to make some necklaces for presents and such...these aren't anything fancy, but it helps pass the time when the weather isn't letting us play outside.

Eastern One Shoulder Elk Hide Dress

Also, I have made three hide dresses this Winter, two for myself and one for a friend, below you can see my latest creation, we like to work on the messy projects outside, as you can see Doyle in the back round working on his shell carving.

We set our 10X10 Cabella tent up outside under the awning for better shade control, we sure have had a really nice warm Winter to play outside!

Here is a picture we took at Talbot State Park, just outside of Jacksonville. It's remarkable how a beach that is just five minutes out of town can be so primitive and beautiful!

It's been wonderful to fully life life like there is no tomorrow, after Doyle's surgery last year we didn't know if we were even going to have a future together, so we've been living each day like it was our last and having fun while we can.

We've been all over Florida beach combing, visiting museums and doing historical research.

So I guess I've blathered on enough to let you all know we are doing great, loving our life on the road and every day is a new adventure we can't wait to check out!

See you on the road!

Doyle Makes Historically Accurate Conch and Whelk Shell Jewelry and Beads

2012-03-25T08:01:00.000-07:00

Four Eyes Working on a Shell Primitive Pendant

I can remember posting a picture last year of the table top full of shells we had collected on various Florida Beaches and people responding, "What are you going to do with all those shells?", a valid question considering our limited space in our RV home.

Well, this is what Doyle does with them, we have been going to museums and studying pre contact clothing and accessories for years now and Finally Doyle has had the time to take a crack at creating some of his own Pre contact Bling.

We needed some accessories for our clothing I am working on for teaching purposes and what was available out there in internet land was daunting to say the least.

Well made, historically accurate pieces made by our friends, Craig Shell Carver and Dan Townsend were way beyond our reach financially for our teaching purposes, but well worth it if you want the best and we recommend them heartily! They are both wonderful people who share their knowledge with anyone who wants to know more about pre contact shell adornment and are true artists in their own right. But we just needed some educational pieces and so we kept looking...

Pieces available on ebay and such are all mostly fakes from foriegn lands claiming to be originals, (funny how all those originals have exactly the same dirty patina on all of them, and if they are a countries true antiquities, why isn't the government after them for selling thier history?) I have to laugh at the descriptions.."Ancient artifacts from Buddhist Monks buried through the ages only to be discovered and featured here on ebay..." Yeah, right. National Geographic is going to be all over that...So anyhooo...

It turns out my talented and wonderful Mate was at one time a Master Goldsmith and it was no trouble at all for him to dust of his engraving skills and make me some Bling from the Woodland Era Native Tribes. He is truly enjoying his new found hobby and is turning out carved Conch and Whelk shells like there is no tomorrow! Here is some of his work...

Conch and Whelk Shell Pendants he has created this Winter in various stages of completion

These are large conch shell beads that were very popular in their time, they were actually considered currency among Tribal Peoples, and if so, then we are very rich in deed! They are wonderful to hold and wear, there is nothing quite so nice as a real live shell shaped into something beautiful....

Conch Shell and Whelk Beads he is working on

Finished Conch Shell and Whelk Beads

The Master at work outside

Doyle would like to add to this discourse that he always wears a protective breathing mask when working in shell, except when he is wet sanding, as shown above. Shell dust can shut your lungs down forever, (much like asbestos), so if you do plan on cutting shell, take the proper precautions!

Outdoor work area where masterpieces are created

This is just a small sample of the things Doyle has been creating, we collected many totes of proper shell on the beaches of Florida, (a glorious pastime in its own right!), and look forward to may years of creating and showing off his wonderful talents!

One Shoulder Eastern Tribal Elk Hide Dress...

2012-03-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest dress, a nice little number of the Eastern Pre Contact one shoulder variety. It's made from vegetable tanned Elk hide suede. It has a left shoulder cape for covering the left arm on cool summer nights. The cape is not quite finished yet, I still have to cut the fringe into a curved edge as Eastern Tribes did pre contact. You can see on the dress I have already done this.

It's incredibly comfortable and light, I could wear this all day, and I just might! I am making this dress to wear in the kitchen, since this particular leather is actually washable, (we'll see!).

I had a great time making it outside on the porch while Doyle works on his shells...

We have been having such a great time this Winter in Florida, it's hard to imagine going back to Wisconsin, but soon we must pack up and head up for our annual Spring and Summer Events...hope to see you at one soon!

Here are some pictures that this dress design is based on...

Fringe and sleeve depicted were used....a male figure, but would have been worn by a female too

Dagget type fringe and showing length of garment

Another type of one shoulder dress and dagget fringe

Another depiction of the one shoulder design, albiet romanticized..

Eastern Wampanoag Style One Shoulder Two Hide Dress

2012-03-07T05:25:00.000-08:00

Front of Dress

While making Sheila's dress, I was also working on a sportier version of what I thought the well dressed East Coast Native Woman was wearing. It features a shorter hemline and little or no sleeve on the left arm.

I also constructed it from modern leather as there were so many problems I had to work out, I wasn't going to use good Brain Tan on what was mostly an experiment and could have very well have failed in the execution.

I started this dress before attempting Sheila's and I am very surprised how nice it came out. I got a bit carried away with the fringe but it was there, so I cut it, thinking I could always trim it down later if I like. (The blue strap T shirt on the form has nothing to do with the dress, I use it to hold the cover in place and give me a more pinnable surface). I also left the skirt a little longer and the fringe a bit shorter, I like a little more coverage on the leg.

This garment, I feel, at least in construction, if not style, better reflects the day to day wear of the Native Peoples of the East Coast. Of Course, they may have worn it with one breast exposed, but today's conventions require a bit more modesty if one is to go out in public.

Mia's dress being measured and repaired

Back of Dress

Me modelling Mia's dress after repairs

This dresses basic construction comes from a dress lent to me by my friend Mia, who had a dress gifted to her by Tribal Peoples, I did some repairs to it for her and she let me take notes on it's construction for later reproduction.

The dress was assembled using artificial sinew and a simple welted seam up each side using a Tandy sewing awl, as this was how Mia's Dress was constructed.

I left the shoulder fold over on and stitched it up to create a short sleeve, this is what was on Mia's dress originally, but had been cut off before it ever came to her. Hers had also been changed by adding a button closure at the top of the fold over sleeve at one point.

This is one of those projects that only took a coupe days and was made because I had the hide laying around and could see that it needed to be this dress. I didn't have enough leather to make a sleeve or cape for the other arm, but have a lovely white fox stole that should compliment the leather quite nicely. I imagine I will sew on seed beads or pearls when I get the chance...

Left Side

Right Side

Dancing The One Shoulder Dress

2012-03-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

Finally, Sheila's dress is essentially done and gets to wear her dress at the Mt. Dora Powwow in Florida.

Here she is with the shawl removed and tied at the waist.

Every once in a while you meet someone like Sheila, who is just as excited about your projects as you are.

She will take you call at early morn or late at night when you are bone tired and finger sore, frustrated beyond all hope of ever finishing what you have begun.

Just when you are ready to throw in the towel, she calls and has found just what you need, or had found someone to help in the project.

She never lets you quit or backslide, she is always holding the hot iron to your feet.

I look forward to many more years of research with my lovely friend, we already have at least three more dresses to make, a Native Girdle, (belt), a Headdress or two and we want to goof around with a fiber set of shoes too.

What a Gal, what a friend.

Here she is getting ready to take part in the "Round Dance", (Sheila was so excited, she forgot her moccasins, but she looks so good in her new dress, no one will even notice!

This was a great project that I enjoyed more than I can say.

Sheila has been my inspiration and support as I have plodded my way through tons of historical documentation looking for the Sauratown dress, and others).

When I was lost or confused or just plain fed up with the lack of information, or if my path was blocked with paperwork, she pushed me on encouraged my endeavors

Although the true Sauratown dress was probably a great deal more brief in design and function, Sheila wanted this dress made this way to fit her dream and since I wouldn't ever say no to her wishes after all she has done for me!

As you can see below, this dress surely can dance and did!

This dress can dance!

Later we will be adding shell bead work and a headdress, but for now at least, she gets to enjoy the fruits of our labors.

Now, on to finishing my Elk Two Hide Dress!

Fringing and Finishing The Dress

2012-03-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

After marking the boundary edges with masking tape, I cut fringe for about three days.

Sheila really wanted the "dagget" look on the hem, so it was easily marked and added.

Later a row of shell beads will accent this hem, following the triangles.

Here it is, all fringed, Sheila chose not to cut the fringe short, but leave as much of the hide intact as possible.

The upper edge was given a fold over look by tucking the fringe edge up and under.

A strap was added under the fold that wraps under the arm and crosses under the folded edge at the upper shoulder. This gives a little extra hold for the bust edge at the armpit. It can be tied, but is currently just pinned because someone needed to get out and dance.....isn't all our regalia held together with pins anyway? Be truthful now! Honestly, the most valuable person at the Powwow is a person with a pocket full of safety pins!

Here is the dress with the cape over one shoulder, acting as the separate sleeve.

I added another strip of fringe to the fold over edge of the cape to balance out the collar.

And now... to the dance!

Rethinking The Sauratown Dress, a Moment of Clarity

2012-02-27T22:01:00.001-08:00

I love being wrong. Especially when I find out the truth and have a chance to straighten out the record and share that new found knowledge with others.

Something about the dress I was creating really began to bother me. It wasn't like the Sioux to change their clothing to that of others in their region. They were a clannish, tightly woven group separated from all of the tribes around them by language and belief.

It just wasn't like the Siouan Peoples to move into an area and adopt the clothing of the peoples around them, anymore than they would adopt their language and customs. It was well proven that they loved to trade with others, but they adhered to a strict set of beliefs that included their manner of dress.

The dress of the Tribes around them was a loose fitting large hide averaging two yards long by one yard deep that was wrapped around the body and tied at the shoulder, leaving the sides open, (except when tied at the waist), and often dropped off the shoulder to be worn as an apron revealing one, or both breasts and often the backside as well. This suited their lifestyle well and was probably their garment of choice for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

When it came to the Sioux and their style of dress they already had a garment in their past Canadian history that would suit just fine. While living in the Canadian wilderness they wore a one hide side fold dress that joined at the shoulders. At that time they had separate detachable sleeves and leggings, also a hooded coat. They employed a type of sewing used to hold these dresses together, careful, small, welted, whip stitched seams were the hallmark of the of Canadian Northeastern tribes because they needed to keep the cold wind out and provide a solid, stable outfit. In no other area of the Western Hemisphere do we find this type of sewing, especially in the South where clothing was casual and loosely knotted at the shoulder or cinched at the waist.

Their Women were also the very model of modest people from the North, who would perhaps be less likely to go bare breasted at any time, (as the one shoulder dress reqired), since it was not in their hereditary past, as would a Southern Tribal member to whom going naked was a hereditary way of life.

In terms of Native American History, Clark Wissler, Author of the "Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XVll, Part ll 1915" made an extensive study of the evolution of the everyday wear of Pre Contact Aboriginal peoples of this continent. If you want to read this very important work you can download the PDF Here.

According to his studies, the Two Hide Sioux Plains dress came about once tribes moved from East, (where they practiced and agrarian lifestyle), to West and began hunting buffalo and living a Hunter/Gatherer style of life. Freed from agricultural chores and such duties as pot making and permanent home building to follow the abundant and easy to harvest, massive herds Buffalo that had recently overpopulated the Plains provided them with a relatively affluent lifestyle in which they had more time to make and prepare more decorative and flowing clothing, ergo the Great Plains Two Hide Dress.

I had always assumed, (as have many before me), that this migration was from the Hudson Bay area to the Northern Plains when evidence is now mounting that the Siouan Peoples first moved into the Eastern States presently called North and South Carolina during the Woodlands period and THEN migrated onto the Great Plains.

When they moved to the Sultry weathered South they simply removed the accessories they didn't need and had the perfect warm weather dress. Here are two exquisite examples. I want to point out that the text in describing the construction in the first dress agrees with my theory. Please feel free to click on the pictures to magnify them so you can read them easier. They are both post contact, but they reflect a dress that has been in existence for more than 500 years.

How could I prove that this design was the Sauratown Woman's Dress? One dress I had seen in museum collections kept popping into my mind. I searched my archives and came up with the dress below.

This dress was collected from the Sioux in the early 1800's. If one looks very closely at the bead work on the front one can see something in this Yanktown garment that leads us directly to the Sauratown peoples.

The shells decorating the top edge are Marginella Prunum Apicinum, or the Common Atlantic Marginella.

They are miss identified as being Cowrie, which is easy enough to do if you aren't a shell collector, but closer examination shows them to be a shell in common use and normally found in burials in the Carolina's during the Dan River, Woodland and the Early and Late Saratown eras and not a shell used by Plains Women on their Two Hide dresses.

Shells from Sauratown Mounds

What were these shells from the Florida Estuaries doing on a dress in Yankton, South Dakota in the early 1800's?

Trade? Unlikely. The Plains Sioux used many types of shell in their garments pre contact, mostly dentalium. In all the dresses I have examined, I have never seen this particular shell used on a single Plains Sioux garment, especially not the Two Hide Plains Dress.

The Plains Sioux did make use of the European imported money cowrie Post Contact in place of Elk teeth sometimes, but cowrie used Post Contact are an entirely different family than the marginella which was used for thousands of years before contact. I have never seen marginella used on a Sioux garment until this one.

Then there were the glass pound beads. Most Plains Sioux used the powder, or sky blue type illustrated in the first side fold dress shown above in the first pictures. Yet the side fold dresses shown here have a deeper periwinkle blue more popular with the South Eastern Tribes and included in their mound burials.

Also, the beaded patterns themselves slightly differ from those of the Plains Sioux but have enough of a similarity to firmly place them within tribal bounds.

Deep Blue Beads found in Sauratown Mounds

Is this dress the missing link to what Sauratown Women wore? It could be. You must remember that generally a closed society that refuses to change its language or customs even when the relocated would also retain the rule of only marrying people within their own tribal lines.

This meant that Sauratown brides were exchanged with the Plains Sioux to diversify the blood line without leaving the tribal bounds. Many tribes practiced this and they were very careful to prevent inbreeding by finding other related tribes and traveling to marry off their young people to each other to prevent this through the "Totem" system.

This dress could actually be a Sauratown exchange bride dress. How else would it turn up on the Plains? Local Women weren't interested in wearing a garment such as this, they had already moved onto the Two Hide Plains Dress, while their Southern Siouan Cousins were more strict in their adherence to tribal custom, (not to mention language), and retained the use of a garment that had served them well for over 500 years.

Again, I feel the Sioux Peoples migrated originally from the Eastern shores of Canada, then to the Sauratown area, then to disperse onto the plains. I stand by this assertion because the original style and manner of creating their clothes reflects those found in the colder Northern regions of the country and show a close assembly affinity to Tribal clothing designs found east of Hudson's Bay, such as the Cree, Ojibway and MicMac. I am not alone in this assertion, as the text in the first photo illustrates.

That the Saura Peoples spoke an ancient form of the Siouan language older than the language used by the then current Plains Sioux, (at time of European Contact), leaves us tending to think they moved to the Sara area and then dispersed to the Plains.

Recent DNA studies seem to bear a Canadian Ice Age origin out, as well as the oral history of the Siouan Peoples, who even while living in the Woodlands Sauratown Phase speak of coming originally from the East, but obviously not from the Carolinas area since they were in residence there at the time of their telling their origination story. Where else could this be and how much further East can you get on this continent than North Eastern Canada?

The Sioux also tell a story of how Elders warned the young people of the tribe against leaving their cornfields to follow the buffalo. We know they did not grow corn in Canada, but lived a hunter/gatherer lifestyle. So this places them in Sauratown and introduced to corn growing before they left for the plains.

Another example of Sioux Dress

I am not the first to suggest that the Sioux originated in Eastern Canada at the time of the great ice age 10,000 years ago and then disseminated to other areas of the country over the next ten thousand years. They were a hardy and adaptable people, nomadic in some cases, agrarian in others, but their original style of assembling clothing speaks to a much colder climate where good tight, welted seams were necessary, as opposed to the South Eastern Tribes to whom clothing was entirely optional and casually constructed at most times.

I think enough evidence exists at the very least to place the Siouan Peoples of Sauratown in the side fold dress. It was an original Sioux Dress, (as these examples clearly point out), and more suitable to the climate than the two hide plains dress.

An excerpt from "The American Anthropologist" Volume 7, Issue 3 reads:

And I quote this: These garments were fastened at the shoulders with leather. they were thrown over one or both shoulders and brought usually under one arm.

This article talks about all the tribes of the Carolina's area and not just the Sauratown people. I feel that since all the tribes around them wore a one shoulder garment that is documented, it leaves the Siouan people wearing the dress attached at Both Shoulders.

Time will bear out my conclusions to be either faulty or truth, but somehow I feel closer to reality placing the Sauratown Woman in this garment than any other.

Now to Create it Sauratown Pre Contact. Coming soon to a Blog near you!

Adding Gussets, Welts and Sewing Side Seams

2012-02-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

Gusset eased into place Right side o

I cut two triangular gussets from a separate piece of leather as well as four rectangular strips of leather 4" wide to serve as my fringe welts.

The most important part of placing the gusset is to get the bottom where you want it then ease it in up the dress until it sits flush and unwrinkled.

Then you turn the dress inside out and place right sides of the gusset and body together with pins on both sides of the dress, checking to see that the dress has not become distorted before placing the welts between the seams and re pinning.

Then you carefully unpin one pin at a time and wedge the "Welts to be fringed" between the gusset and side seam facing each welt right side to right side with the dress body proper. So your layers are, Gusset edge, welt edge, dress side edge, in that order.

I am using the instructions for this tutorial from a previous article I made for making my Two Hide Elk Dress, instead of creating a confusing link, I simply re posted the information used to make the previous garment. (If you get a bit confused, click on this link here and review the original article).

Gusset pinned in place right side out

The Two Hide Dress was also a Siouan Garment and I feel the assembly would have been the same, as they were remarkable and cleaver seamstresses who would have plied their exceptional talents in the East, as well as the Great Plains.

You want to make sure your welts are symmetrical from side to side, (although you can adjust this late by trimming).

Now step back and check to make sure your dress is square and true, that one side flares and drapes as nicely as the other before sewing. Measure from the floor to the bottom of your gusset, nothing is worse than having your gussets knock the entire shape of the dress off.

Inside out, gusset and welts pinned in place

Here are the seams properly faced and pinned with the dress inside out and the welts extending into the right side of the dress on the inside, (you can't see them, but they are there).

This is a good time to make a sharp critical inspection of the dress and placement of the welts by peaking under the dress and making sure they are matched and hanging straight, also I make sure the welts are right side facing right side of the dress for a "finished" look. (You can turn the dress right side out to check this, but it can upset your pinning, I do it by crawling up under the dress on the dress form and looking around, or gently turning up the edge of the skirt).

How the gusset meets at the top

Here I show the top of the gusset where the two sides of the gusset meet, showing three layers on each side of the gusset, namely, left side of gusset, welt sandwiched in between and right side of gusset.

The next picture shows me sewing a whip stitch with real sinew close to the raw edge just far enough in to get a firm bite of each layer...

Here I am whip stitching the left side of gusset

Gusset sewn and pulled flat

Here is the left side of the gusset sewn, then pulled flat. It's barley visible on the left, the raw seam still pinned and ready to sew on the right. This way of doing seams makes a flush seam allowance on the inside of the dress and a flat rounded look to the seam on the outside of the dress, the welt either being trimmed close to being invisible, or fringed. this is a strong, stable seam that will last several lifetimes without shifting of coming loose and was used on every garment I personally examined. there may be exceptions to this, but I haven't seen it yet.

The side seams are sewn by starting at the top of the dress at the armpit area on both the left and right after cutting the left sleeve away from the body of the dress. The left side armpit is cut by extending the sleeve out and cutting flush up the pinned side seam to the area of the armpit, stopping at six inches below the pit or just at where the top of the girdle, (belt), will ride. Sew down the side using the whip stitch shown, leaving the fold over seam area at the right armpit open for now, as well as the bottom of the sleeve on the left to be finished after the rest of the garment is assembled.

Here is the dress turned right side out and rehung on the form. You can see the fringe welts on either side that will be cut later.

I have also whip stitched a additional swath of leather to the sleeve to make it Siouan full length and to fill in where the leather was lacking on the sleeve end.

The Shoulder seam is sewn using the welt seam method starting at the neckline and sewing down the top of the arm seam.

I then added my welts between the layers..and whip stitched all together, then turned, flattened the seam and trimmed the welt to be flush.

The leather across the top is very thick and spongy, very hard to sew easily. This also creates a stiff yoke that adds structure to the dress line itself, but is a total pain to sew and forces you to sew a thicker seam to penetrate to the stable leather.

This will be important once beads and or shell is added, the shoulders must support a great deal of weight without shifting or pulling, but makes the shoulder seam heavy and bulky. Trimming the welt close helps to ease this bulk as well as using an equally thick and spongy welt.

I always match my welt thickness to the leather on the seams, this creates a uniformity of tension and weight that is noticeable. You must always be certain to have your seams very straight, or pucker and sway will translate into a ghastly bulge or swoop when done.

I feel this garment is a good compromise between the Eastern one shoulder dress and what we have documented about the Sioux way of assembling garments. The dress will be longer than Eastern styles and feature a full sleeve on the left reflecting a Matron Elders way of dressing and obviously Fall or Winter Wear. It is being assembled using the Plains Sioux way of finishing seams.

One must also keep in mind with this garment that it is being constructed under the direction of the person who will be wearing it, so it has elements that are slightly different than what I would consider the average, or optimal representation of garments this period.

I have created, in the meantime, a garment that more closely resembles the shape and form of average daily wear of this period and will post this dress and info in my next post. I am also making Sheila a lighter, shorter version of this same dress that I will be showcasing later on.

I would also like to say at this point that the use of the terms "Siouan" and "Sioux" are terms used by researchers from the time of first studies in the early 1800's. I am well aware that these are not the genuine names of the people represented, but names in common use by researchers at the time. Proper names for tribes and peoples are out there, but I retain the use of these archaic terms to make researching for others easier. I in no way intend to offend any peoples by my use of these terms.

One Shoulder Dress a Proper Hanging and Trial Fit

2012-02-26T06:45:00.000-08:00

To start this project out right, the hides are first hung, (head down as Siouan tradition dictates), on the form as you would for a two hide dress. This means you do not just hang one shoulder and sling under the arm and attach. This would cause the hides to hang crooked once they are on the person who is going to wear it. (I see this mistake made with this type of garment constantly!) The hides are folded over about four inches at the shoulder so the hides hang nicely and provide a stabilization by doubling the thickness at the shoulder, neckline area.

We left the hides full length at this time, trimming just so it did not drag on the ground, (having adjusted the form to the actual height of the wearer). This is done so that length can be determined when the dress if done and fully fitted.

Hang the hide with both shoulders attached and let hang overnight to see if they are hanging straight, with no unsightly bulges or sways.

Then pin sides by smoothing the hide down and across the form and securing to the form at the dividing line. (Pinning to the form first keeps the front hide from pulling the back hide and vice-versa, preventing the garment from twisting on the form).

Then you can pin sides to each other, (keeping the form pins in place in case you have to adjust the flow of the hides later), up to about six inches under the under arm, or where you want the top of the bust line to fall. (this dress was worn with the breast exposed originally, but modern times dictate we cover).

This dress should fit the form quite tightly, just enough to be able to slide it off without removing pins. By doing so, you create a sort of fit that helps support the bust without undergarments. (One can try to wear a type of bra or girdle underneath, but it will be difficult and will most likely show).

Then carefully unpin the top right shoulder and let it fall down as in the picture on the right.

The dress will now be true and square at the hem when worn instead of swaying off to the side as it would if you did not secure the garment by pinning the sides before you drop the shoulder.

After this you can remove the pins tuck in the form, keeping the seam down the dividing line of the form, (the median). Pin very securely, especially at the armpit and shoulder, you are about to slide the dress of the form for a trial fit.

Summon the future wearer of the garment and have them wear a fitting, thin cover-up that does not change or bind their natural shape. if they will not be wearing a bra, have them remove it at this time.

Before trying on, secure the shoulder and armpit with industrial strength safety pins. After the garment has been slipped on, use a second set to safety pins to readjust the fit around the bust so nothing is revealed or spilling out, leaving the original safety pins in place so you have a median starting point as you adjust.

Have your subject go outside and wander around, walking, bending and lifting the arms as you observe how the garment moves, making note of corrections where the dress is binding or bulging.

First and foremost, this is supposed to be a comfortable garment, it should not pinch or twist at any point. It should flow from top to bottom smoothly and gracefully.

The wearer should feel at ease and comfortable, as this photo shows, Sheila is really enjoying her trial fit, even though it is bristling with pins!

This photo shows a potential problem, the hides are thinner at the bottom being hung head down, so we will have to place a gusset on the side to allow the skirt to flow without binding, this is easily accomplished as welts to be cut into fringe will be inserted in the seam anyway and the gusset can be added at this time.

If we were to leave the sides open, as some younger women did, it would not be an issue, but our garment must cover, as it will be worn in teaching situations.

Also, this garment must reflect Siouan ways of assemblage, which was a longer, more flowing skirt and a gusset would allow more freedom of movement, as was often done by Siouan Peoples.

Have your model sit and move around in a chair. Again, this insures a comfortable fit and shows potential bulges and sways that will impact the overall look.

Remember, our theory from the beginning, (and has been borne out through research), was that women did not just throw a garment on the ground, cut it and sew up the sides, (as has been suggested by otherwise well researched literature), clothes were made to fit the potential wearer by fitting the garment on the actual person to whom it would belong.

We use a dress form, but in actuality women stood as models and had the garment tediously fitted to them. This is a fact that I have seen in museum garments.

So far so good as far as this dress goes, doing a proper setup on the form and carefully fitting the garment properly has paid off in a good fit, which will save much agony and regret further down the road.

Also seeing your subject happy and comfortable in her future dress is the greatest reward a seamstress can have!