The Library Ghost

    The ratio of dressmaking manuals to tailoring manuals seems larger than in some periods, with a flurry of publication in the mid- to late years of the decade.  I assume this has something to do with the rise of the sewing machine and home-dressmaking; in addition, women's garments are mainly tailored in the late 19th century instead of draped, so there isn't as great a distinction between the two trades as there once was.      By the way, if anyone has the name of the printer for T. W. Byrnes' book (or any of the others which are missing info), I'd love to know. General information      Christner, D. C. The International Encyclopedia of Scientific Tailor Principles . Philadelphia, PA: S. M. Larzelere, 1885.      Kirkwood, Louise J. Illustrated Sewing Primer with Songs and Music . New York, NY: Wynkoop & Hallenbeck, 1881.     Ross, Mrs. Harry A. Studies in Plain Needlework and Amateur Dressmaking . Ba...

    Apparently Caulfeild and Saward are completely legitimate names, and the two of them have produced a frankly alarming number of books explaining needlework terminology, all in the same year!  There don't seem to be many macramé books before this point, though I understand it was quite popular throughout the second half of the nineteenth century; perhaps patterns were shared primarily through magazines rather than books. General information     Caulfeild, Sophia Frances Ann, and Blanche C. Saward. The Dictionary of Needlework, Vol. 1 . London: A. W. Cowan, 1885.     Caulfeild, Sophia Frances Ann, and Blanche C. Saward. The Dictionary of Needlework, Vol. 2 . London: A. W. Cowan, 1885.     Caulfeild, Sophia Frances Ann, and Blanche C. Saward. The Dictionary of Needlework, Vol. 3 . London: A. W. Cowan, 1885.     Caulfeild, Sophia Frances Ann, and Blanche C. Saward. The Dictionary of Needlework, Vol. 4 . Lond...

    I'm very excited to include a shoemaking manual in this post!  I normally don't deal with leather in sewing resources, even though it does involve needle and thread; there are usually a few patterns for embroidered silk or linen slippers, and nothing more.  (Ignorant as I am of both leatherworking and shoemaking, I can't say whether it's a useful manual, but here we are.) General information      Rosevear, Elizabeth. A Text-Book of Needlework, Knitting and Cutting Out with Methods of Teaching . London: MacMillan and Co., 1893. Dressmaking      Heller, Louise M. Scientific Sewing and Garment Cutting . Boston, MA: Silver, Burdett & Company, 1898.      Löfvall, J. H. How to Cut, Fit, and Finish a Dress . Boston, MA: Alfred Mudge & Son, 1892.     Vincent, William D. F. The Cutters' Practical Guide to the Cutting of Ladies' Garments . London: The John Williamson Company, 1892.    ...

    Traditionally, the Tudor era runs from Henry Tudor's defeat of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485) to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603.  In practice, most "Tudor" media pieces focus on the reign of Henry VIII (he of the six wives) or on that of his second daughter, Elizabeth.     NB : Amanda Hallay has a few unusual ideas as to the why of fashion, some of it totally unsupported by textual evidence; however, she does a good overview of the what of fashion, so I've elected to keep her video in the lineup. General information      Hallay, Amanda. " THE ULTIMATE FASHION HISTORY: The Elizabethan Era ." YouTube . Posted November 28, 2015.     HistoryExtra. " How CLEAN were the Tudors? Ruth Goodman on 16th-century hygiene ." YouTube . Posted December 30, 2025.      Marchant, Katrina. " Sumptuary Laws: A History of What Not to Wear ." YouTube . Posted May 16, 2025.      Voorhies, ...

      The mid-nineteenth century in Britain covers the first three decades of the Victorian era.  The United States struggles through the American Civil War, while France endures the fall of the Second Republic, followed by the brief Second Empire .  Further east sees the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire's loss in the Crimean War, and the unifications of both Germany and Italy.  General information      Durbin, Holly Poe. " Crinoline Era Consumerism ." YouTube . Posted October 18, 2020.     English Heritage. " Fashion Through History: Episode 1 – Victorians ." YouTube . Posted February 9, 2023.     Glasscock, Jessica. " Nineteenth-Century Silhouette and Support ." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004.      Oshinsky, Sara J. " European Revivalism ." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolit...

    Please keep in mind that the folks at Gentleman's Gazette , while enthusiastic about their subject matter, do occasionally make inaccurate claims like "wigs were infested with lice" (they were not; head lice drink human blood and would starve to death in a hairpiece) or "girding one's loins is about turning a robe into a loincloth" (it is simply about putting on a belt or girdle; the loins are at the lower back and hips, where the belt sits, and not the pubic area).  I have attempted to use only the most accurate of their articles and videos, but take anything about pre-1900s history with a grain of salt. General information Timeline, silhouette, miscellaneous.      English Heritage. " Fashion Through History: Episode 6 – The 1940s ." YouTube . August 19, 2025.     Hallay, Amanda. " HISTORY in COLOR: The 1960s ." YouTube . October 7, 2020.     Itzcovitz, Natasha. " Explaining 1960's Fashion ." Natasha Itzcovitz...

    My recollection is that I worked on lots of things, but finished very few.  We'll see by the end of the post whether that holds up!     I worked on knotting a string of pearls, which is really surprisingly difficult when it comes to getting the spacing right.  I stopped at the length of a choker because I do not have the patience to make one of those opera-length ropes!     I fixed a number of things in the mending pile, including the shoulder strap on my 1920s chemise (accidentally disconnected while struggling to remove a corset).  Remember to reinforce your attachment points, and use a buddy to help you out of a corset if you plan on tight-lacing!     The American Duchess post about an embroidered pocket from Colonial Williamsburg provided the initial inspiration for my blue pocket (the second of two so far); after dropping the project for about a year, I finally finished the embroidery and bound the piec...

     I've decided, chiefly in order to make myself feel more productive, to document all the craft-related things I completed last year (2024 post in the works).     First of all, I Frankensteined a pair of Regency breeches together for a friend out of some charity shop slacks, using the material from below the knee to form the fall-front.  The material was probably polyester or poly-cotton, but they were for a costume party, so I'm okay with that! You can see the pinned fall-front near the top of the photo (apologies for my friend's hand).     I used a sewing machine for what was essentially the first time to make a bread roll warmer, using Tried & True's pattern and tutorial . The fabric is a Charley Harper print, with muslin backing.       I also made a pair of bowl cozies on a machine using Craftsy's tutorial , which were great for using up leftover fabric prints from mask-making. The bowl cozies, one empty...

    The 1830s in Western fashion were full of tall, looped hairstyles; enormous puffed sleeves; and high-waisted gowns with flared skirts.   The low, sloping shoulders would hold sway into the 1860s, and the bodices already look quite separate from the skirts, in contrast to the earlier part of the century.     I cannot explain the lack of color images from certain parts of the decade; if anyone knows of any fashion magazines that have been digitized for 1830, 1834, or 1835, please let me know so I can add them! 1831      —. " Dinner Dress. Evening Dress ." La Belle Assemblée , no. 77 (May 1831).     —. " Evening and Morning Dresses ." The World of Fashion and Continental Feuilletons , vol. 8, no. 87 (Jul. 1831).      —. " Evening Dress. Opera Dress ." La Belle Assemblée , no. 75 (Mar. 1831).      —. " Evening Dresses ." The World of Fashion and Continental Feuilletons , vol. 8, no. 84 (Apr. 1...

    I thought I'd throw together a generic overview of western fashion, as a kind of introduction post to the period-specific introduction posts.  It covers the post-Roman era through the mid-20th century. General information     Le, Mina. " Chicago (2002): the history of showgirl costumes ." YouTube . February 13, 2021.     Rudolph, Nicole. " How much clothing did they *actually* have back then? " YouTube . June 15, 2024.     Rowe, Kaz. " Why the Medieval Aesthetic Never Dies: The History of Medieval Revival Fashion ." YouTube . April 27, 2023.     Rudolph, Nicole. " The History of Standardized Sizes in Womens Fashion and Why They FAILED ." YouTube . May 16, 2021. Accessories      Cox, Abby. " A Fashion Historian Explains the History of the Handbag ." YouTube . January 26, 2023.     Cox, Abby. " Flappers, Y2K, & Capitalism are Why Women "Don't" Have Pockets ." YouTube . Jan...