We are reenactors

Husband and I are French and Indian War reenactors. He's been reenacting since he was young, and I have been since 15. I don't remember the story of how his family started, but I started when my best friend invited me to join her family for the weekend. That weekend was a lot of fun! Husband and I actually met at that same reenactment the next year when we were 16. It's funny because that weekend a lady was telling us about how she had met her husband at an event years ago and I thought that was the cutest thing, but enough about us.

I have slowly been working on replacing our machine sewn clothing with hand sewn because only rich people had sewing machines in the mid 18th century (that's 1750s for those of you who get confused by centuries like I do). Sewing by hand can take forever, but I find it relaxing to be able to sew anywhere I want; in font of the TV, in my sewing room, on the couch, in bed, while I'm driving, at dinner (ok, so I admit, I've never done those last two.)

Last fall I began working on a Robe à l’Anglaise (or English Nightgown) for myself as I had had been reenacting for a while and wanted a fancy dress for a Christmas ball we were having.

Underneath the dress is a set of panniers. They enhance your hips and allow more of the dress fabric to be shown. I made my own pair, but do not have a picture. They look like this:

(source)

Every piece of this dress is hand sewn, and while I didn't keep track of how long it took, if I had to guess it would be over 48 hours of sewing. 

This is the best picture I could get of the pleating I did on the back of the dress. The pleats flow down into the skirt of the dress. 

In my sneak peek from earlier this week, I started working on a new waistcoat for Husband. I haven't finished it yet, but I promise it will be done soon.