Civil War Costume part 1

Hi! I'm back! My latest project( among many) is a Civil War dress. I have been fascinated with that time period and other historical time periods since I was young. When I was little, my Mom made my sister and I simple pioneer dresses. Mine was a blue calico and I also was given some Justin brand lace up roper boots to go with it. I thought I was so cool wearing the outfit out back in our acre of woods, playing make believe in my little playhouse. My neighbor often came down to play dressed as a cowboy. I played the damsel in distress a lot. Haha. Sad was the day when I outgrew it. Now that I am older and have skills in sewing, I thought is was about time to make a historical outfit. I bought the quilt inspired fabric from a civil war fabric line while I was on vacation. The costume is still a work in progress, but I was so excited I had to show it to you. Because I didn't have the pattern with me when I got the fabric cut ( silly me ) I was short a 1 1/2 yards. The pattern shows having a large skirt as was the style back in the day, but by not having enough fabric to make the same size as in the pattern, I was able to give a slightly modern twist to an old pattern. In the pictures above I don't have the petticoat/hoop skirt underneath the skirt so it is not poofy yet. There is even a bustle to wear underneath on top of the petticoat. Fun! One of the things I changed about the pattern is making the armhole bigger. Because I have broad shoulders it was too tight around my armpits, I cut away about 1 inch all the way around and having the 5/8 seam allowance, it feels a lot better and I have more movement. When I finish the costume I hope to have a photo shoot around some old buildings and proudly show off my hard work.

Callie