A Grey Wool 1860s Dress

My grey wool dress is one of three dresses I wore to a local reenactment in 2008. Despite my loathing of sewing points, I decided to make three on this bodice--two sharp points in the front, and a shallow one in back. The collar and cuffs are made of very fine handkerchief linen. The cuffs are just strips of fabric folded and basted in. The collar pattern was based on the neckline of the dress and made of a double layer of linen.

The dress is made of tropical weight wool from B. Black and Sons and lined with polished cotton. The ribbon trim is from Dharma Trading and I dyed it bright blue with their dyes.


I wanted to bring the dress a little further into the 1860s than my other dresses. The skirt is cut very slightly gored. The difference is small, but typical of skirts just barely moving out of the straight panel phase. I'm wearing it over my Laughing Moon elliptical hoop as well.

My bonnet is the low brim bonnet from Miller's Millinery.


The ribbon trim simulates a jacket, a style that was popular in the 1860s. It's just box pleated and sewn down the center. The lightweight ribbon springs up and gives it quite a bit of texture.


As usual, I used my 1860s base pattern for the dress. To make the points on the front, I cut my front bodice pieces extra long, and then drew in the shape of the point I wanted. I added seam allowance and cut. It was a little frightening, but anything to avoid a muslin! The darts are boned so that the points stay flat. The buttons are false, and the dress closes with hooks and thread eyes. Though metal eyes were more typical, thread eyes were found as well and are my preferred closure.