Summer History is the Best History: A Civil War Ball Gown! a.k.a. My Blue Dress

For my Sweet 16 a few years ago, I desperately wanted to go to Colonial Williamsburg, and I really wanted to go in a completely historically accurate dress. I couldn't find a pattern that I was happy with that corresponded with the 1770's, but I did stumble upon Simplicity's Museum Curator collection, and I fell in love with this one. Even better, it was on sale for a dollar at our local Jo-Ann Fabric, so Mommy let me get it. This was in September, my birthday was in February, and the trip (which I didn't know about yet) would be in April.

Since most of what I sew is entered as a 4-H project, we decided that the dress could be entered under the category of 'formal wear' (they don't have a history category...), and I was ready to start. Because it called for so much fabric, and expensive fabric at that, we drove out a little farther than usual and discovered the sewing section of Surplus City. It was incredible! They had so much material, hundreds of trims, and everything else you can imagine. The employees were also really nice, and once we explained what we were looking for, we all spent the afternoon finding trims and fabrics, and just generally having fun. Everything cost so much less than it would have at Jo-Ann's, and it was also much less expensive!

When I started sewing, I knew that this dress was going to be the hardest thing I had ever sewn. I was fifteen, and had only started sewing historical things a few years ago, mostly doing costumes that had zippers and weren't that difficult. I had to learn how to make my own bias tape out of velvet, which was challenging, but really cool once it worked. I got to hand sew 72 rosettes, most of which I worked on during school when I didn't need to be taking notes. :) I learned about different ways to attach trim, and discovered what a nightmare trim can be sometimes. I worked with boning for the first time (although certainly not the last!), and I learned that when gathering a big skirt, it's always a good idea to have multiple lines of basting, in case one breaks.

Finally, the dress was done. It laced up the back and fit perfectly; it never itched and it looked good. I was extremely excited to wear it to Williamsburg, and even more excited because my dance teacher had loaned me a ton petticoats to wear under it, as I didn't have a hoop skirt (we had fooled around with different ideas of how to make one cheaply, but none of those came to fruition). My best friend came with us to Williamsburg, and wore the dress that I had made her a few years before for wearing in Williamsburg (my first Williamsburg dress was the same pattern as her's, although different material). It was one of the best trips ever! We ate at the King's Arms Tavern, and our server told us that in colonial times they would have extra-long tablecloths that tied around their necks like bibs, and at the end of the meal the tablecloth would just be gathered into the center and taken off - and then he went and got us a special tablecloth, and did just that for us! That was the first time I can remember thinking - I want to be able to do this for someone someday; take an already special experience and just make it as amazing as possible. I felt like a true colonial lady, and I can't wait until I am able to help someone have the same experience. We also went on a carriage ride, and visited all of my favorite places. Everyone treated me like I belonged in the time period, and a lot of tourists thought that I worked there!

Even though the dress was from a time period 90 years later than CW, I still felt radiant the entire time that I was there, and I know I'll always love that dress. I have a lot of pictures of myself in the gown, but this is one of my favorites, taken in the DeWitt Wallace Museum in Williamsburg during my birthday trip.