Click to edit Master text styles

Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

‹#›

Schimmelpenninck1800

Please note – examples – not comprehensive but to provide additional ideas.

Block print – relief carved wood blocks – face applied to dye soaked cloth and then to fabric – oldest of printing techniques

Roller print: The first mechanized fabric (a machine using engraved metal rollers 1783 by the 1820 most western Mills use roller prints

Gouache on paper – and opaque water soluble paint- textile designers traditional media – saturated color most closely resembles the look of textiles die- preparing the painted design is the first step in the production of printed textiles – this pattern, painted in repeat to the manufacturer’s specifications, is sent to the mail to be engraved

Paper impression. A paper impression is a form of a printer as proof. After the block plate or screen is in engraved, but before the clock is printed, a copy of the design is run on a paper to check for irregularities.

Canton – known form 1786 – ribbed cloth - the warp passes over several weft threads to form the cords. – in 19th c – manufactured of silk (Canton Crepe – heaver than crepe de chine), and cotton – canton flannel used for sleeping garments and household goods, and linen – called grass cloth made form china grass that looks like linen (ramie)

Check – a fabric made of any fibers in plain weave with a coloured warp and weft stripes intersecting at right angles. 10 swatches of checks woven in RI in 1810 are illustrated by Francis Little.

Changeable fabrics – plain weave with a warp in one colour and weft of antoher. Usually silk for gowns.

Cord – stout heavy woolen or cotton and woolen fabric woven with a raised cord or ridge running in the warp. Between 1810 and 1813 was being made extensively in Bedford England. – Queens cord is the cotton version.

Sateen – an irregular twill weave in which the satin effect is produced by predominant weft threads – often refers to a cotton.

Twill – a kind of weave producing a diagonal effect in the finished cloth.

All Over Set is a formal layout of grids and diagonals – tends to be a static design – when stylized, the repetition becomes more active in the image than the flower itself.

1 and 3 are Gouache on Paper, 2 is a block print paper impression

Block printing – some with a carved fruitwood block coated with pigment, set on the cloth. Range of colors is achieved repeating the process with different blocks.

One on L is England 1805, on rt, France 1800

All c. 1800

This french provincial style – the name means fine grasses – first appeared around 1800 – typified by gaily coloured flowers agains dark green or black backgrounds.

Dress in OHS collection on this style of fabric or provincials (shown later)

First row: England or France 1800-1820 – block print on cotton

Second Row: France 1810-1820 Block Print Cotton, England or France 1810-1820 – block print on cotton

Indigo is a dye rather than a design – bt the patterns printed in indigo – most commonly resist and discharge techniques, have a distinctive look.

First documented in 3000BC in India. By 1770, over a million pounds were harvested in Georigia and the Carlinas for import to England.

1820 France gouache

1810-20 France – gouache

1820-30 French gouache on paper

Wheat - France 1810-20 gouache on paper

France 1810-1820 – Roller Print Cotton

This method is based on steel engravings and yields very small scale designs – small steel rollers are used to impress the image into a largere copper roller – that is then used on the fabric. If the engraving started to deteriorate (because of the softness of the copper) it could be ground down and the image reapplied from the steel roller.

France 1810-1820 – Gouache Print Cotton

WOOL

Garment:

Worsted – lightweight cloth made of long staple combed wool yarn. Name derived form the Village of Worstead near Norwich. The smooth shiny fibers were suitable for embriodery and it is widely used in wool cloths and blends.

Bombazet – woolen cloth resembling bombazine which could be twill or plain weave. Sold in NY as early as 1802. Boston 1810 – advertized printed crimson, bottle green and black.

Broadcloth – made of carded wool in a plain weave and fulled after weaving. Woven on wide loom 54-63 inches. George Washington ordered a sulit of clothes for his inauguration to be made of broadcloth. Mrs Washingotn ordered “powder smoke” coloured broadcloth for a riding habit. Boston 1810 – advertized black, blue, raven, brown superfine from west England.

Cashmere – made of the hair of the Kasmir goat – very fashionable – made into imitation Indian shawls. – close woven, soft, fine and light dress fabric.

Cassimere (Kerseymere) – a medium weight twilled wollen cloth of soft texture. – plain varieties were competitors to broadcloth

Drab – thick stout closely woven overcoating OR an undyed cloth of grey beige colour.

WOOL

Garment:

Flannel - made of woolen yarns - open weave to be slightly spongy in texture.

Jersey – the finest wool taken out of other sorts of wool by combing it with a jersey comb – used for stockings (knitted) – since about 1835 – synonymous with a knitted sweater.

Lustrene – in the 18th C a woolen cloth with a smooth finish produced by hard pressing. Other examples are in silk or, much later, cotton (late 19th c)

Merino – cloth woven from the wool of the merino sheep – 1809 Ackermann repository merino crape in gray – mouring habits (1810) pale blue with white stripe (1812) - described as elegant in its appearance – even for full dress or evening wear.

Serge – a twilled cloth with worsted warp and woolen weft. Lighter and narrower than broadcloths, better quality than kersey.

Shalloon - a cheap twilled worsted. Could be hot pressed or unglazed. In 1801 they were defined as full twill stuffs (twilled on both sides) - this class of goods formed the material for female dresses/.

Stuff - a general term for worsted cloths. Stuff is “twilled or plain” while Merion is described as a better quality of stuff inn the ordinary varieties.

HEAVY:

Bear skin; eight that course one cloth with a shaggy nap – used for overcoats. Eleven swatches of bear skin, dark brown and black heavy shaggy wool, are enclosed in a packet of letters dated 1804 among papers related to the Nathan trotter family of Philadelphia

Beaver cloth: a stout woolen cloth with a raised nap resembling beaver fur. That known as patent double cloth was made for winter wear.

Blanket: a white woolen cloth used for bed covers, petticoats, and heavy outer garments. Some twilled, some plain. Rose blankets -19th c – corner stitched stars.

Coating – thick heavy woolen cloth with a long nap.

Rateen –a thick woolen stuff, twill woven - some prepared like broadcloths – other not sheared, others where the hair or nap is frizzed.

Bows and Ribbons 1820-30 Roller Print on cotton

Butterflies – symbol of joy – France 1810-20 gouache on paper

Bisected circle is called split pea – in oval, it’s a coffee bean.

Fr or Eng 1800-1810

France 1820-25 – Roller Print on cotton

Fine lined geometrics that bend or twist in a stripe pattern. Said to have been created by accident in 1820 by cloth twisting when running through the rollers (in an English factory).

Row 2 – 1810-20 France –roller print on cotton

Circular devices that have a certain formality. Popular in late 18th and early 19th century and often relate to the aristocratic neoclassical and empire styles.

1815 France Gouache on paper

Pinwheels are set of spokes radiating from axis. Age old shape appears in prehistoric art. Suggests whilling movement.

France 1810-20 gouache on paper.

Betilles – muslins or white cotton cloths woven in southern India - in 1815 Ackermann published swatches of Japanese bertillia finely woven the white cotton with tiny cross bar patterns A thick sort of muslin.

Calico – Cotton cloth up many grades and varieties first made in India and later in the west – in commerce a sort of cloth resembling linens and made of cotton – the name is taken from the back of the Calicut – western calico’s first appear in the mid seventeen hundreds – duty first charged 1774.

Chambray – a type of gingham, plain in colour and weave, often having a coloured warp and white filling. In 1812, 11 cases of cotton goods including chambrays were offered for sale in Rhode Island. Also appear in 1807 and 1808 in Barbara Johnson’s album

Corduroy – coarse durable cotton fabric with piled surface like velvet, raised in cords. Hasn’t changed since late 18th c. How “kings cord and queens cord” differed is unknown.

Denim – washable strong, stout twilled cotton cloth made of a single yarn – often dyed dark brown or blue.

Dimity – refers to any number of harness loom, patterned fabrics. In 1812 Ackermann presented a swatch of stamped dimity – for furnishings….

Drill (or drilling) – a heavy linen (or later cotton) cloth in a twill weave. Used as part of uniform for the army (trousers)

Gingham – a striped cloth woven with multiple stranded warps and wefts noted for its toughness of texture. In west – was of pure cotton woven with dyed yarns often in stripes or checks. Popular in the Americas – OHS has a lilac and white

gingham dress dated 1810.

Nankeen – a cotton cloth of plain weave originally sold at Nankin in China – made from yellow variety of cotton. By mid-18th c was made in Manchester using ordinary cotton dyed yellow. Referenced to shippers/merchants in Boston (1809), Used for waistcoats and trousers.

Percale – a fine cotton originally from India where it was sold white or dyed blue. Manufactured in England in 1670, France 1780 – Ackermann 1816 “Perkale, as they call cambric muslin, is now almost the only thing worn in morning costume”

French 1815-20 – gouache on paper

Associated with the designs of Province – hot and sunny and people of the area wear gaily coloured prints as part of traditional constume. - these prints mark the beginning of the large scale commercial textile printing industry. Produced by the thousands in the early 1800s – staple of industry and hugely popular. Were exported in great quantities.

Gaily coloured geometrics printed in quantity in early 19th century as yard goods for ladies wear. – may be worn with the provincial florals (if you are portraying a provincial native.)

Fr 1810 -1820 gouache on paper

Also in stripes

Plaids and florals often worn together in traditional provincial costume. (roller print) and plaids

Cambric: a fine white linen cloth in plain weave - maroon printed cambric appears in Ackermann’s repository

Canvas: A very clear unbleached cloth of hemp or flax – wove very regular in little squares

Lawn – a delicate linen used for shirts, handkerchiefs, ruffles and aprons. In 19th c lawn resembles cambric only thinner and finer.

Ticking – Linen twill – used for aprons and bedding. Blue and white and tan and white varieties date from 1775.

Silk – Cloth woven from the shiny smooth filaments reeled from cocoons, especially those produced by the silkworm. Silks were always high cost luxury items – their sheen was imitated by glazing and pressing.

Levantine – a stout and very rich faces twilled silk, quite soft. Two swatches of black levantines are on a sample card sent to Benjamin Shreve in 1819 – described as particularly handsome ribbed fabric

Lustring – a light crisp plain silk with a high luster – trader book for 1797-1809 includes swatches of figured lustrings

Pongee – a thin soft clothing and curtain fabric of Chinese origin – raw color is tan – in 19th c dyed other colours (this is type of fabric used for military colours) – colors referenced 1809-1815 include yellow, buff, pink, light blue, white, straw, and black.

Sarcenet – a thin transparent silk of plain weave – swatches of figured satrcenets are included in a early 19th c. sample book – two of green twill date to 1820

Sinchaw - a silk imported from China from the late 18th c. “Prices current in Canton 1807…

Taffeta – a variety of silk or silk/cotton goods. Made in all colours, some glossy, some changeable, some striped or checked. Unusually “wavy” luster.

Tiffany – a thin transparent silk

France 1810-20 gouache on paper or paper impression

1810-20 France gouache on paper or block print on cotton

Coral and seaweed – organic version of all over grid – popular in 19th c.

Fr – 1825-30, 1820, gouache on paper or roller print

France 1810 – gouache on paper

France 1810 gouache on paper

England 1810 block print on cotton

Feather – fr 1810 gouache on paper

France 1810-15 – block print cotton

Bombazine – into in late 16th c. – silk warp and worsted weft 2:1 twill weave. Usually associated with mourning – in black or grey – but Ackerman 1809 included reference to superfine orange bombazine for dresses – yellow silk and orange wool in a twill weave. Dull finish

Circassian – material of mohair yarns in a fancy twill weave – later mixture of wool and cotton used to imitate cashmere shawls – 1813 Ackermann “for dresses of various descriptions, also for surtout coats”

Crape – a light transparent stuff in the manner of gauze made of worsted wool or raw silk. Dates to 1700 – early crapes are usually wool or wool silk blends. In 19th century begin exploring with blends. Merino and silk in in pink and grey noted in Ackermann’s repository for 1809. Silk processing patented in 1822.

Grenadine – an open silk or silk and wool textile used for dresses – 1809 source said its not a shiny silk - 1800 source called it a superfine barracan

Satinet – very thin sort of satin used for gowns – in Mass in 1810 made of cotton mill warps and woolen filling so overlying the former so it could be finished like a wool cloth. Manuafctured in new Jersey in 1825, Some made of cotton, some of wool, others of blends.

Seer sucker – an Indian striped fabric of mixed silk and cotton - name means milk and water. Background weaves varied from tabby for summer to twill for winter. Example from 1800 described as having alternate stripes of pale grey blue silk and stripes of pure white cotton. - other examples are brown and yellow or brown and light blue.

Jean – a linen cotton twilled cloth of the fustian group – 16th c – 1833 in references. Made in white and many colours, also striped. A swatch of striped twill jean with printed blue pinstripes, fashionable in 1810 for men’s waistcoat and trousers is found in Ackermann’s repository.

Valencia – a waistcoating material with a cotton or silk warp and a worsted wedt. Ofen imitated silk patterns. Recommended for waistocats in Ackermann’s R> in 1809

Velvets and Velveteens – a pile fabric made of silk wool or cotton fibers – velveteen is of cotton only and appears under patent in 1776.

Harden – first introduced in 16th c coarse cloth made form hemp or tow fibers used for sheets, towels, bags and work smocks. Workwoman’s guide 1838 recommends its use for putting up beds.

A Lady of Distinction also advised young ladies to wear softer shades of color, such as pinks, periwinkle blue, or lilacs. The mature matron could wear fuller colors, such as purple, black, crimson, deep blue, or yellow.

Some other notes:

Skirt attachments, sizes

90-120 inches – most 4x22 panels (short in front, angled on sides, trained in back)

Pros and cons of trains.

As we discuss patterns, its helpful to know which patterns are easy to use versus those that require additional technical information

Woman's shift
Alternate Title: Woman's chemise
American, early 19th century
Place of Manufacture: Massachusetts, United States
Lexington, Massachusetts, United States
Overall: 119.4 x 87.9 cm (47 x 34 5/8 in.)
Plain weave linen

Inscriptions: Embroidered in chain stitched blue thread at wearer's right breast: "CR/N12"

Classification: Costumes

Object is currently not on view

Linen chemise with neck casing, lawn sleeve ruffles, and "CR/ N12" embroidered in reverse chain stitch in blue thread.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Gift of Miss Ellen A. Stone, 1899
Accession number: 99.664.51

Provenance/Ownership History: Worn by donor's great-aunt Caira Robbins (1794-1881);

Woman's underdress
Historic Title: Woman's petticoat
American, early 19th century
Worn by: Mehetable Stoddard Sumner (Welles), American, 1784–1826
Place of Use: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Center Front: 117.5 cm (46 1/4 in.)
Cotton plain weave, cotton embroidery, cotton twill tape, linen plain weave tape

Inscriptions: Written in ink on fabric label sewn at back: "petticoat 1820-1825 Mrs. B. Welles, Boston"

Classification: Costumes

Object is currently not on view

White high-waisted underdress, drawstrings at neck and waist, narrow shoulder straps, back tie closure, embroidered with large-scale scrolling floral motifs with meandering vine and bands of dots along bottom edge of skirt; hole in skirt at center front

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Other example Metropolitan museum of art – early 19th c.

Ivory Corded Corset
Europe or America, ca. 1810-1830
Cotton with trapunto needlework in scrolling floral motifs, linear motifs and zig-zag motifs.
Constructed with two triangular insets at each breast.
Wooden busk at the center front and lacing at center back.
Installation lace
Silverman/Rodgers Collection
Kent State University Museum
KSUM 1983.3.9ab

Corded Corset 1800-1825

Woman's stays 1820

Alternate Title: Woman's corset
American, 1820s
Place of Manufacture: probably Massachusetts, United States
Place of Use: Lexington, Massachusetts, United States
Overall (closed): 41.9 x 40 cm (16 1/2 x 15 3/4 in.)
Overall (open): 41.9 x 63.5 cm (16 1/2 x 25 in.)
Cotton satin with cotton twill binding and silk thread

Inscriptions: Written in ink inside center at bottom: "C. R. S. No. 3/ I have been instrumental/ in bringing thousands of the fair sex to an untimely/ graves Stays" (presumably written by Caira Robbins)

Classification: Costumes

Object is currently not on view

White stays, wide center casing for busk with two button-stitched holes at bottom, straps fall over sholders and lace to front, bones at sides of bust, sewn-in cords throughout (especially concentrated in front at bust and waist), gores in front below waist, twelve pairs of lace-holes at back, openings in casings for bones to support edges, back, and sides visible inside

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Men and women changed clothes in preparation for the evening meal and possible entertainments to follow.

Evening dresses were often extravagantly trimmed and decorated with lace, ribbons, and netting. They were cut low and sported short sleeves, baring bosoms. Bared arms were covered by long white gloves. Our Lady of Distinction, however, cautions young women from displaying their bosoms beyond the boundaries of decency, saying, "The bosom and shoulders of a very young and fair girl may be displayed without exciting much displeasure or disgust

1811-13 morning dress and carriage dress

Ackermanns half dress 1814

Ackermann’s 1815 promenade dress

Morning dress 1813

Morning Dress (mourning) – uses black – somewhat exclusive use

Note cap in white morning (AM) dress

Place: England

Object Type: day dress

Period: George III

Broad Date: Regency

Actual Date: c. 1815

Century: 19th century

Material: Cotton

Dress with chemisette (Milan)

Prussian Blue Block-printed Cotton Gown
Unknown maker and place of origin, ca. 1805-1810.
Made of ca. 1775-1785 fabric, altered from a
1790s gown still discernible in the lining.
Possibly worn in Connecticut.
Collection of the Connecticut Historical Society,
Hartford, Connecticut, 1979.68.864.

Cotton 1815 V&A

Regency Gown (Sense and Sensibility) – and neckline supplements, also instruction on the web to make it a bib front gown.

Square Neckline

Regency Gown (Sense and Sensibility) – and neckline supplements, also instruction on the web to make it a bib front gown.

V Neck Styles

v-neck faux cross over

1816 evening

Globe sleeve

And the use of jackets and petticoats

1814 - 1815

Spencers from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

MET

Cute early american spencer/shortgown (Boston MFA)

Riding habits 1805

RH 1816

Redingote (coat dress)

Fashion in Color – National Design Museum

1810-15 of striped silk hidden button under front placket

Opera Dress 1811

Pelisse 1813

10-15 silk sarsanet pelisse (Bath Eng)

1810-15

ELC – wrap dress can be used for redingote

1800-1830

This is typical of a unisex work shoe for the early 19th century. It was made on a straight last, having no right or left. The uppers were usually stitched by women working in their homes as part of the "putting out system". They were paid so much per pair of uppers stitched. This was during a time when women's work options outside of the home were extremely limited. Cordwainers then put the soles on these shoes in their workshops.

Dress shoe: I believe this pair of hand made women's shoes date from the 1790s to the early 1800s. The flat, square toe slipper is all leather. The uppers are soft (like doe skin) and are detailed with a narrow black faille and have one eyelet with a ribbon tie. The slipper has leather insoles, one has a partial sticker tag with the name Salem, the other words are hard to read.

Slippers c 1800-1815

Gloves were always worn outside the house. When worn inside, as when making a social call, or on formal occasions, such as a ball, they were removed when dining. About the length of the glove, A Lady of Distinction writes:

If the prevailing fashion be to reject the long sleeve, and to partially display the arm, let the glove advance considerably above the elbow, and there be fastened with a draw-string or armlet. But this should only be the case when the arm is muscular, coarse, or scraggy. When it is fair, smooth, and round, it will admit of the glove being pushed down to a little above the wrists.

Longer gloves were worn rather loosely during this period, crumpling below the elbow. As described in the passage above, longer gloves were fastened by "garters".

Reticules held personal items, such as vinaigrettes. The form-fitting dresses or frocks of the day had no pockets, thus these small drawstring handbags were essential.

Parasols (as shown in the illustration) protected a lady's skin from the sun, and were considered an important fashion accessory. Slender and light in weight, they came in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes.

Fans, made of paper or silk on sticks of ivory and wood, and printed with oriental motifs or popular scenes of the era, were used by fashionable ladies (and gentlemen) to cool themselves and enhance gestures and body language. These ubiquitous accessories were constructed in a variety of shapes and styles, such as pleated or rigid. Fans and their use in body language and communication are described in this information sheet from the Cheltenham Museum (click and scroll to page 4).

Fichus

Note jewelry – Mme Senonnes

100

101

Boilly-Checkers-1803

102

103