When Life Gives You Lemons: Widows In the Civil War Love stories come with all kinds of surprising twists and turns. Handed down through my own family is the fascinating story of a Civil War widow – with a quirky happy ending. As the tale goes, Sarah Jane Dukes […]
Making a Hoop Skirt
Those fabulous Civil War-era dresses came by their bell shape honestly — yards and yards of fabric, with some generous help from a hidden hoop underskirt. Sewing an overskirt is easy enough — so how hard could it be to make a proper hoop petticoat? I started my adventure with an online pattern, found here. It was, well, a […]