Sprigged & Spotted

Tag: material culture

  • Revival of a Treadle Sewing Machine – 1910s “Minnesota Model A” [Restoration and Use]

    Revival of a Treadle Sewing Machine – 1910s “Minnesota Model A” [Restoration and Use]

    The Magic of Man-powered Machinery

    Machine head of a 1910s treadle sewing machine. Restored, threaded, and used for sewing fabric in the 21st century.

    I try to remind myself to be grateful for modern conveniences. While I have been known to romanticize the past on occasion, there is something undeniably miraculous about watching the trail of stitches emanate from under the foot of a 110-year-old treadle driven sewing machine.

    I happily concede that electric motors, in their various applications, have spared humans an immeasurable quantity of proverbial elbow grease. In industrial settings, electric sewing machines increased production capacity many fold. On the other hand, for the casual home seamstress (or seamster), the addition of electricity traded some of the one-ness with their machine for a margin of efficiency. Only a few minutes might be shaved off for someone making one-of-a-kind garments compared to the hours saved by a factory worker sewing piles of identical seams assembly-line style. Anyone who has turned yardage of fabric into a unique finished wearable garment understands that much of the time spent “sewing” is actually dedicated to pressing, cutting, pinning, seam-ripping, and hand-finishing. Stitching under the foot of a sewing machine is but one part of the larger list of tasks.

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  • Dress Fabrics of the 1830’s, 1840’s and 1850’s: A Reference.

    Dress Fabrics of the 1830’s, 1840’s and 1850’s: A Reference.

    I enjoy sifting through museum collections online. It feels a bit like a treasure hunt and is way healthier than doom scrolling on social media. I’m grateful to the institutions who have made so much of their holdings available to members of the public like us. And, I want to share the gems and show them in context of other related items. In this case, I hope if you are trying to get an idea of textile trends in mid-19th century America, you will find this resource useful.

    Historic Women’s Dress Fabrics of the Mid-19th Century

    Historic Women’s Dress Fabrics of the Mid-19th Century.

    Explore more 19th Century Clothing through Photography

    Though 19th century photographs could not document the vibrant colors of people’s clothing, we can learn a lot from the display of patterns, textures, and styles of construction as they were worn by real individuals. Browse my Pinterest board for interesting images of 19th century people.

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  • Traditional Trades & Professions Quiz – Level 1 (Easy)

    Traditional Trades & Professions Quiz – Level 1 (Easy)

    Test your knowledge of historical trades and traditional jobs. “Level 1” features terminology which should be familiar to many English speakers, but some questions may still prove tricky. See how well you can do.

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  • 6 Reasons Why This Historic Photo of St. Louis is Amazing [Mid-19th Century Sunbonnets, Part 3]

    6 Reasons Why This Historic Photo of St. Louis is Amazing [Mid-19th Century Sunbonnets, Part 3]

    In Part 2 of this series, I concluded that despite scarce photographic evidence, American women who participated in the movement West in the early to mid-19th century really did wear sunbonnets on a regular basis. Surviving physical examples, newspaper references, and written recollections help to paint a picture of the frequency with which sunbonnets would have been in use. While researching the topic, I came across a rare and unusual photo taken in St. Louis, Missouri in 1848, showing a large group of women and girls wearing sunbonnets. After looking at thousands of daguerreotypes in online collections, this photograph stood out as unique and compelling.

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  • Romanticized Myth or Pioneering Reality? [Mid-19th Century Sunbonnets, Part 2]

    Romanticized Myth or Pioneering Reality? [Mid-19th Century Sunbonnets, Part 2]

    If you haven’t read Part 1, start there.

    The Sunbonnet: Genuine frontier clothing, or inaccurate cliché?

    Picture in your mind a woman of the 1800’s living on the American frontier. What do you see? She is probably riding in a covered wagon or hanging laundry nearby a log cabin. This woman is likely wearing a printed cotton “calico” dress, an apron, and a sunbonnet.

    Perhaps the enduring popularity of iconic stories written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Mark Twain, including Little House on the Prairie and Huckleberry Finn, have aided in the perpetuation of this image. Surely other pop-culture touchstones, such as the TV version of “Little House” and the Oregon Trail computer game of the 1990’s, have contributed as well.

    Many generations after falling from use, the pioneer woman’s headwear has nevertheless remained intact in our imaginations. But, is this durable image of the bonnet-wearing American woman leading a life of hardship on the edge of civilization based in truth? Or, like the iconic double-horned helmet which we erroneously associate with Viking warriors, is the sunbonnet merely a persistent modern myth? I had to find out for myself whether the cliché of a pioneer woman in a sunbonnet is based in reality or fiction.

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