Working in the Garden

I started this post a couple of days ago, but I don´t want to re-write it, so most of this is from 1 September:

Today my mum and I have been working in the garden. My family have only lived here for less than two years, so the garden is still a work in progress. We moved three gooseberry-bushes from a very shadowy place to a more sunny one, we re-plantred phlox by the mossy old stone wall, and moved the hollyhock to a drier place, they having almost drowned this summer. It was very nice to be out in the country, and do some gardening. It makes me happy, to work in the soil, fetch water and other such things. It´s like getting in contact with another part of yourself. My ancestors have been farmers at least back to the 18th century, probably much longer, so I suppose it´s in my blood…

I have also washed a fabric today, that I bought a while ago, which is eventually going to be made into a 19th century dress. I haven´t decided on the decade yet, but somewhere between the 1830´s and 1860´s. I have to do some research as to what decade the fabric would be most suitable for. It´s not going to be a nice dress, but an every day lower middle-class dress. That is the class I usually like to portray when I do living history, no matter the period. It enables me to have somewhat fashionable clothes (though simple and modest), and still being able to do some work. Just sitting in a corner, doing embroidery and looking pretty is not really me.

That was the old post, this is written today:

My corded petticoat is coming together nicely, so far. I have finished the side-seams, and I am very happy with them, they are completely flat! I will have to do something to reinforce the openings in the sides, so they don´t tear when put the petticoat on, or takes it of. I have started with the cording, and so far I have made almost three rows. It takes a while, the cords only being 2 millimeters wide, and them being sewn in by hand. It´s nice work though. You don´t really have to think about it, so you can watch a movie or have a conversation at the same time. You also see that you get some result from the work, with every new row of cording being added. And, I can tell that this is going to work very well; after only three rows of cording, the hem of the fabric is already somewhat stiff.

Now I have to figure out if I should just continue as I have done, all the way to lower hip-level, or if it is period correct to group the cording, to make a nice pattern. I have seen other re-enactors do this, but haven´t seen it in extant corded petticoats. I have read something about it though, somewhere… might have been the Sewing Academy…