Civil War Era Dress for my Mom

My Mom is dressing up with her friends in Civil War Era garb for a town event.  She asked me for some help.  Skirts are easy to make so I agreed to make her a skirt and then she could use a blouse out of her closet or from the thrift store for a top.  But the hoop skirt would be a problem.

Because I made my wedding gown I had some left over supplies:

I used an extra petty coat of mine to "turn into" a hoop skirt.  I threaded steel boning through one of the bottom pleats.  It is not perfect in that it doesn't really hold the weight of the skirt but it is what I had.

The Skirt:

We borrowed a corset from a friend.

But then I couldn't help myself.  Why not add a pattern matching nightmare and more work than I really want to do...?  I wanted to do something special for my Momma.  Plus she sat by me and kept me company when she couldn't help with the project.  Also looked after her grand-baby so I could sew.  I did make her sew a blind hem on the bottom tier of the skirt!!  That's 7 yards folks. :)

Bodice with out the sleeves

Sleeves are on

Working on the bodice with my baby on my back

Mom sewing the hem

That is all folks!