Impressions Ladies dresses - question re buttons and button holes

luinrina

2nd Lieutenant
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Jul 30, 2018
Location
Germany
I've been sewing a camp dress for myself for the last couple of weeks and that's the finished result. :smile:

IMG_6931.JPG


And a close-up from the bodice.

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As you can see, the buttons and button holes are still missing. I've been wondering now how to close it - left over right or right over left? Does anyone know for certain? I've been looking online but haven't yet found something definite. This dress which I saw at the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee closes left over right.

IMG_5730.JPG


Clara Barton's dress in this picture also closes left over right. Furthermore, even though it's for men, the uniforms I've seen at the Tallahassee museum also closed left over right.

I've been looking at other ladies' pictures but haven't been able to discern anything that would answer my question. So I was wondering if some of our fashion-knowledgeable members (@JPK Huson 1863 , @Mrs. V ) have an answer or can direct me to one.

Thanks a lot in advance! :thumbsup:
 
I've been sewing a camp dress for myself for the last couple of weeks and that's the finished result. :smile:

View attachment 355148

And a close-up from the bodice.

View attachment 355149

As you can see, the buttons and button holes are still missing. I've been wondering now how to close it - left over right or right over left? Does anyone know for certain? I've been looking online but haven't yet found something definite. This dress which I saw at the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee closes left over right.

View attachment 355151

Clara Barton's dress in this picture also closes left over right. Furthermore, even though it's for men, the uniforms I've seen at the Tallahassee museum also closed left over right.

I've been looking at other ladies' pictures but haven't been able to discern anything that would answer my question. So I was wondering if some of our fashion-knowledgeable members (@JPK Huson 1863 , @Mrs. V ) have an answer or can direct me to one.

Thanks a lot in advance! :thumbsup:
Well, great question! I have all of mine closing right over left. Mostly because thats the way my brain wants to button something! Nice work btw. What pattern did you use?
 
That's wonderful, even if I'm always amazed when anyone can sew anything at all. All those gathers at the waist! Does that take forever and ever? Seems to me spacing those correctly so it all falls so beautifully would be incredibly difficult, no?

So photos are are no help when figuring out what would have been ' normal ' because images so frequently seem to have gotten reversed ( I'm only saying that because you see belt buckles, in images of soldiers etc. with ' US' reversed ). Godey's might have some answers? Hang on. Wonder if it didn't matter?

Here's a blouse from 1862, closure may not be buttoned but looks right over left ( and there's probably a hook or button beneath that bow ).

blouse 1.jpg


Hate to post yet another blouse, the images are just better, bigger and better able to see closures. This is earlier, 1854.

1852 blouse crop.jpg

Same, right over left. Still, especially with women making so much of their own clothing I'd have to think it was personal preference, no? Lefty here as is my daughter. IF I sewed, better believe I'd make a dress that wasn't frustrating to button!
 
According to my resident expert, Lori, it all depends on whether or not you dress yourself. If you dress yourself it would be left over right, if someone else dresses you it is right over left. Additionally, pretty much the only dresses that would have buttons are the casual dresses, sometime referred to as a camp or house dress. More formal dresses are generally secure with hooks and eyes and meet flush, with no overlapping of the seams.
 
That's wonderful, even if I'm always amazed when anyone can sew anything at all. All those gathers at the waist! Does that take forever and ever? Seems to me spacing those correctly so it all falls so beautifully would be incredibly difficult, no?
Thank you! :smile: Gathering wasn't that difficult and it's quite easy and quick to sew. You just have to watch it when pinning a gathered piece to a non-gathered piece to evenly space it. I had more trouble with pleating the skirt as the pleats constantly wanted to escapte my hold before I could pin them in place. That was quite a struggle. :cautious:

So photos are are no help when figuring out what would have been ' normal ' because images so frequently seem to have gotten reversed ( I'm only saying that because you see belt buckles, in images of soldiers etc. with ' US' reversed ).
Point taken! I never considered that pictures were reversed so even if I could discern something, I would still wonder if it's as it's shown or should be seen mirrored.

According to my resident expert, Lori, it all depends on whether or not you dress yourself. If you dress yourself it would be left over right, if someone else dresses you it is right over left. Additionally, pretty much the only dresses that would have buttons are the casual dresses, sometime referred to as a camp or house dress. More formal dresses are generally secure with hooks and eyes and meet flush, with no overlapping of the seams.
Thank you! It makes sense there would be a difference between dressing yourself or being dressed considering the time period we're talking about. So I think - since the dress is supposed to be a camp dress - I'll have to go left over right.

I'll try and see if I can find some online pictures of period dresses in museums. Hopefully some are with buttons.
 
According to my resident expert, Lori, it all depends on whether or not you dress yourself. If you dress yourself it would be left over right, if someone else dresses you it is right over left. Additionally, pretty much the only dresses that would have buttons are the casual dresses, sometime referred to as a camp or house dress. More formal dresses are generally secure with hooks and eyes and meet flush, with no overlapping of the seams.

Interesting! So now I'm all kinds of side tracked- dressing yourself and being dressed by someone else a matter of whether or not you had a maid? Or does she mean what I see referred to as ' invalid ' gowns? Yes, the flush closures seem fairly common- no expert here, just came across quite a few when looking for examples for this thread.

Great effort, Lu! Really like the design. And you got that done in a couple of weeks.

I'm with @JPK Huson 1863 on this one. Always been impressed with women who can sew.

(Another 'lefty' JPK? Maybe that's the issue :laugh: for both of us)

Yes, and it's been a giant pain in the neck. There was a space of time during which lefties were discouraged? They'd tap your knuckles with a ruler, " No no no, not that hand, THIS one ". Meet one! As a result, worst, most hysterical handwriting ever on the planet. They knocked that off a few years later. Mom was always convinced a certain inability to organize could be blamed on that. NO idea if it's true but I'm going with it. :angel:

Great dress!! Just be glad it isn't the era when clothes were held together by straight pins :wink:

OK, distracted again! Happens daily on CWT. When did we do that to ourselves, please? Sounds painful!
 
There was a space of time during which lefties were discouraged? They'd tap your knuckles with a ruler, " No no no, not that hand, THIS one ". Meet one!
Yes indeed. Mine was my 2nd grade teacher and my mother put a swift end to her meddling. But, the ruler was not out of the question.
 
OK, distracted again! Happens daily on CWT. When did we do that to ourselves, please? Sounds painful!
Women used to use straight pins to hold their clothes together! It's hard to believe but its true. And it wasn't because they didn't have buttons - they did and that's what men used at the time. But women mostly used pins, for a long time. The pins gave a neater appearance, could be adjusted easily, and could be reused from one garment to the next, so they were more economical. They did stick themselves, though not as often as you might think since women,s clothes had lots of layers and the ends of the pins could be left between layers and thus not touching the skin. The place I've seen pins used the most was attaching a blouse to a skirt - but they were used to hold the sides of a blouse together too.
 
Women used to use straight pins to hold their clothes together! It's hard to believe but its true. And it wasn't because they didn't have buttons - they did and that's what men used at the time. But women mostly used pins, for a long time. The pins gave a neater appearance, could be adjusted easily, and could be reused from one garment to the next, so they were more economical. They did stick themselves, though not as often as you might think since women,s clothes had lots of layers and the ends of the pins could be left between layers and thus not touching the skin. The place I've seen pins used the most was attaching a blouse to a skirt - but they were used to hold the sides of a blouse together too.


Thinking about it, it does make sense! I've watched my mother make enough blouses and dresses to see what a pain it can be doing buttonholes much less sewing on buttons. We think we're too busy in this century, I've frequently wondered what it was like when our ancestors had to achieve a day's household chores AND sew clothing for an entire family. Guessing pins would save hours and hours!
 
Interesting! So now I'm all kinds of side tracked- dressing yourself and being dressed by someone else a matter of whether or not you had a maid? Or does she mean what I see referred to as ' invalid ' gowns? Yes, the flush closures seem fairly common- no expert here, just came across quite a few when looking for examples for this thread.



Yes, and it's been a giant pain in the neck. There was a space of time during which lefties were discouraged? They'd tap your knuckles with a ruler, " No no no, not that hand, THIS one ". Meet one! As a result, worst, most hysterical handwriting ever on the planet. They knocked that off a few years later. Mom was always convinced a certain inability to organize could be blamed on that. NO idea if it's true but I'm going with it. :angel:



OK, distracted again! Happens daily on CWT. When did we do that to ourselves, please? Sounds painful!
Servant or slave.
 
Great dress!!
Great effort, Lu! Really like the design. And you got that done in a couple of weeks.

I'm with @JPK Huson 1863 on this one. Always been impressed with women who can sew.
Thank you! :smile: I'm really proud how it came out. I had expected anything but not how it looks.

So I checked some more pictures online of dresses in museums, and those that looked to be working or camp dresses had the buttons closing left over right. I also found an article that basically said the same as @Dave Hull . So that's how I sewed it over the weekend.
IMG_6935.JPG


Et voila, me wearing it - with all undergarments. :D
IMG_6933.JPG


Next project (once I dare go shopping for the fabrics): petticoat(s) to fluff up the camp dress without wearing a hoop. :D Until then I'll busy myself sewing a simple reticule after I dropped the hastily done one twice at Olustee and it now sports holes.
 
Thank you! :smile: I'm really proud how it came out. I had expected anything but not how it looks.

So I checked some more pictures online of dresses in museums, and those that looked to be working or camp dresses had the buttons closing left over right. I also found an article that basically said the same as @Dave Hull . So that's how I sewed it over the weekend.
View attachment 355770

Et voila, me wearing it - with all undergarments. :D
View attachment 355769

Next project (once I dare go shopping for the fabrics): petticoat(s) to fluff up the camp dress without wearing a hoop. :D Until then I'll busy myself sewing a simple reticule after I dropped the hastily done one twice at Olustee and it now sports holes.
Might I suggest a corded petticoat? That will give you volume without the weight of a ton of petticoats.
 
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