1861 Girls School 

Good Morning!
I hope you are all having a lovely day! We had a big storm hit Tennessee last night but it's been made up for in a bright sunny morning!
     I realized I have yet to talk about the reason why I've become so involved in historical sewing and how I got involved in reenacting.  Well it started out when I was eight.  My family and I moved out to Tennessee from Oregon. (yes, I am by blood a northerner but by the grace of God I'm more than half southern ;)) I didn't know much about the civil war since my history mostly consisted of the gold rush and world history at the time.  I remember I went to a few plantations with a school group when I was eleven and immediately fell in love.
     A year or so went by and we took another field trip out to the Rippavilla plantation near Columbia.  My what a beautiful house! After our tour, the guide and I started talking all about civil war history and my interest in reenacting.  He mentioned a week long girls school nearby in Columbia where girls from all over the world would stay with host families. During the week they would dress up each day in dresses of perfect bell-ness and participate in classes throughout the week with a grand ball on that Friday.  He had me at week long dress up.  I went online and sure enough there was a girls "school" which was held one week each year in July.  I wanted so badly to go, however my parents told me it would be to short of a notice to participate in that summer.  Then began my year long process of preparing to go the next summer.
     I gathered all of my belongings with not much as to what to expect for the week.  My was I in for a treat! The days consisted of waking up and putting on a hoop and dress, heading to breakfast, a class or two then off to the church for morning prayers.  The day would go on with classes such as needlework, social graces, equestrian lessons(side saddle), tea etiquette, period hair and clothing, music and singing, and to top it off a group of gentlemen called the Jackson cadets would escort us to dance practice in the evening! On Thursday we had a tea where parents, friends, and siblings where invited to show off what we had been learning.  At the end of the week we had a test to see how much we recalled then we were sent off to prepare for graduation and the ball!
     Some twenty odd girls lined up to cross the road in row of beautiful white ball gowns with a gentlemen in tails at our sides! It was something I could have only dreamed about!  Even though I have only been involved with the girls school for three years now, it seems like it has been forever.  The teachers there are like second families and the girls I've met are more like sisters.  I am happy to say I will be attending this year's class of 1861 X.  The original teachers have moved to a beautiful 300 acre "campus" just outside of Columbia, Tennessee.  The girls will be staying on the campus instead of staying with host families which will make it feel more authentic.
     This is the link to the new "campus":1861girlsschool.com
     All of the information regarding this years 1861 X class and future classes is on the site.  If you have anymore questions about my experience or what goes on I will be more then happy to share and answer questions! This is a once and a lifetime experience and I ask that you share this wonderful opportunity with any young ladies you know!

The 1861 Girls School Campus and Staff

The Class of 1861 W

Yours Truly,
Shayla P.

Little Trinkets

     I've been hunting the web for a few weeks to add to my small but growing collection of civil war fashion.  This includes things like a decent bonnet, a sun hat for the summer, any jewelry that isn't to expensive, possibly a new corset, oh and shoes! One can never have to many pairs of shoes! (Maybe that's just a girl thing but I only have two pairs of shoes which include a pair of granny boots with a 1" heel that can be difficult to walk in at times, and a pair of well worn white ballet slippers which desperately need replacing!)
     As I continually went through the endless lists of websites and eBay products I finally found a perfect little trinket!

I found it on sale for under $14! I plan on putting a picture of someone in it soon, although I'm not sure who. Maybe my sister, mom, or grandmother. I found it from a wonderful eBay seller I've followed oldmillmercant.

Happy trinket shopping!

P. S. More pictures are coming soon of the Merida inspired dress! It's currently in progress!

1860's Merida Inspired Day Dress

I'm incredibly excited about my latest project.  Two of my favorite things: Disney and ball gowns! Recently I've been thinking of ways to incorporate the styles of the Disney princesses into dresses that I wear to reenactments.  The one that's really been stuck in my head is Merida from the movie Brave.

Not only is her red hair incredible but I love the meaning behind the movie too. I played around with a few sketches but I'll probably end up doing a walking/tea dress with a puff of sheer fabric, similar to what she wears near her elbows.

       So naturally, I decided to start with fabric since I believe that once you have the color the rest just falls into place. I went to my local fabric store with high hopes of finding a navy in either a sheer, silk, or light cotton. I was extremely disappointed! They had nothing! Needless to say, it was a very sad trip home.
      The next day I was running a few errands and decided to pop into my local interior fabric shop, known that they had the best prices(always under $8 a yard!) and it wouldn't be to far off from what the ladies of the victorian era would have used(minus a few blends of course).
After an hour of shopping and trying to figure out what the best option was, I chose this beautiful light and silky fabric:

Now in interior design there is apparently no need for stating what type of fabric it is as long as it looks good. In this case it was good enough for me. Now I know what you're thinking.
"Why, Shayla! That looks nothing like the picture or what you where going for!" And yes it is different from the picture, however, it is almost a sweet mixture of her ceremony dress.

Now I just need to start sewing! Yay for my days off!
Happy costuming!

1860's Plum Fall Dress

Last fall I went to an Alumni Weekend for the Atheneam Girls School and I simply had to make a new dress to wear! After a few days of research I found a pattern my inspiration, I do believe on Pinterest.

I found the perfect pattern from Period Impressions, called the Zouave Outfit.  This is what I used for the jacket. I decided I wanted to add a different shade of violet velvet trim to the cuffs and waistband.
 

   
       The shirt I had already bought from Ebay(Unfortunately it has been over two years ago and I'm not sure who I bought it from).
         The skirt was made from 5 yards of the same material I used as the jacket and I Cartridge pleated the skirt from a tutorial on Historicalsewing.com (a very handy site with more tutorials). I did not use panels like I probably should have but I've learned recently it really does make a difference if you use panels or not.  I then added the green ribbon around the hem and above the cuff for more detail. My origanal idea was to use a Greek pattern but being my first dress I didn't want to over complicate things.
          The end product was beautiful! It is my first day dress(you can tell if you get picky) I loved the way it turned out.  I'll probably adjust one or two things later on but for now it's just my lovely plum dress.

Welcome!

        Hi there! I'm Shayla, and just a little introduction to me, I've been trying to figure out were I need to be in the wonderful adventure of life for the past year. I've found a strong passion for acting, theater, civil war reenacting, history and anything in between. My strongest interest currently is period fashion which, for me, is anything from 1500's to the 1950's.

I'm a hopeless romantic and I know it. Anything that has to do with love, history and fashion is something you can find me all over. I'm not a professional seamstress, although my grandmother was. She, however passed away before I could get to know her tricks of the trade. I've been left with the jean of sewing but I've been learning things as I go, which means I am by no means a expert in sewing or historical/ period fashion. I do however, spend to much free time studying and doing research on different eras as they are "needed" in my life.


That about sums me up, now let me tell you about the blog.


First of all, thank you for reading this, it means a lot that you took the time to stop by.

Second, this blog is dedicated to my mother and late grandmother who have inspired me to continue in sewing and push through all the ripped seams and uneven hems.

Lastly, this blog will show you what I've been up to in the reenacting and costuming worlds. You will mostly see Civil War (1855-1865) reenacting that I do, but you may see one or two surprise posts with different events that I go to.

Thank you,

Truly yours,
Shayla P.