January 22, 2020

The Kirsten Project | Girls’ Dresses of the Mid 19th Century

January 22, 2020/ Jessica Quirk

In the late 1820s, women’s fashion shifted from the once high empire waistlines (think Jane Austen era) back down to the natural position. From then until the 1860s, details like sleeves and necklines morph and change, but not as drastically as before or after that time period. A small waist and a wide skirt are the hallmarks of the better part of the 19th century. For children and young teens, one of the popular dress silhouettes we see relatively unchanged from 1820-1870 is the open neck, short sleeve, knee length dress as shown above and below.

It makes sense that if I dress isn’t threadbare by the time the wearer outgrows it, it would be passed on to a younger child. Our ancestors were pretty good at making precious clothing last and unlike today, nothing was disposable. Even the most ratty fabric could be recycled and sold to the Rag and Bone man, who would in turn sell it to a factory to be remade into new (albeit low quality) fabric, called shoddy.

So while women’s sleeves, waist shapes (flat versus pointed) and necklines shift, we see at least one girl’s silhouette remain relatively static. This style of dress, characterized below, is what I imagine a historical version of Kirsten’s birthday dress might be:

Wide Neckline
Gathered Bodice into Waistband
Short Sleeves
Knee to Mid Calf Length Hem

I have seen examples of this style of dress worn plain or layered over a undersleeves with a chemisette or a blouse. Sometimes the pantelettes are matching, but primarily they are white. Accessories like lace gloves appear on upper class children.

It should be mentioned that this isn’t the only girls’ dress silhouette of the mid 19th century, but it is very common. For my costume, I’ve chosen an adult silhouette that echos some of these style details (here’s an early sketch!) Do you see something in these images that reminds you of Kirsten’s birthday dress?

See more of The Kirsten Project research HERE.

January 20, 2020

The Kirsten Project | Think Pink for Mid 19th Century Fashion

January 20, 2020/ Jessica Quirk

Throughout the mid 19th century (1840s-1860s), pink was a popular color for both women and girls. Here I’ve posted plates from as early as 1846 up through 1962. In Happy Birthday, Kirsten!, our main character wears a pink and white short sleeve dress, with a raised hemline, both typical of a child or young teen’s silhouette. I’ll be going into more depth with style details and fabric in future posts but for now, think pink!

Girl’s Dress C 1845, Toddler Dress Close Up, 1830-1850s, Jumeau Doll Dress 1842-1856, toddler’s pink gingham dress 1860

clockwise from top left: Le moniteur de la mode 1846, le follet 1862, journal des demoiselles 1848, le bon ton1855

Here are a few more extant pink styles, both for women and girls. These have been a huge inspiration for how I can interpret Kirsten’s dress into an adult style!

December 05, 2019

The Kirsten Project | Saint Lucia through the Ages

December 05, 2019/ Jessica Quirk

Kirsten’s holiday story Kirsten’s Surprise centers around her family’s tradition of celebrating Saint Lucia’s Day - a solstice celebration of light honoring Santka Lucia. The holiday took hold during Sweden’s Catholic period somewhere between 1000-1500 and is still honored today with parades and family celebrations on December 13th. If you’re thinking, wait! the winter solstice is on December 21st! (my birthday!), you’re right. There was a change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar for Sweden (and the US/UK) in the mid 18th century, which essentially pushed the calendar forward to account for leap days.

In Sweden, the eldest daughter in each family wakes before dawn and brings a breakfast tray to her family members in the dark, wearing a white (night) gown, red sash at the waist and a crown made of lingonberries and branches with candles glowing. Kirsten’s family celebrated St. Lucia’s day as the start of the Christmas season but her Swedish American cousins have since lost the custom. After a snowy all night adventure to town with her papa to retrieve the family’s trunks and Swedish heirlooms, Kirsten is able to play the part of St. Lucia on December 13th.

For my Saint Lucia costume I’m taking my cues from the artwork in Kirsten’s Surprise, illustrated by Renée Graef but looking through historical photos and illustrations made me so excited for my family’s own St. Lucia’s Day breakfast! Click on any image to view larger!

November 13, 2019

The Kirsten Project | Selbuvotter

November 13, 2019/ Jessica Quirk

Now that we’ve seen some of the classic elements of Norwegian knitting from the Fana sweater, let’s have a look at Selbuvotter, or mittens from Selbu, Norway!

I’ve found a couple different origin stories for this classic black and white mitten, but the one I like best is the story of Marit Gulsethbrua Emstad, a young girl who knit up both black and white wool from her family’s sheep using the 8 pointed star on the back of the mitten. She wore them to church on Sunday in the 1850s and a fashion trend was born. They grew to such popularity worldwide, that by the 1930s over 100,000 pair were exported a year! This motif became known as the selburose and later an icon of Norway in it’s quest for independence. This article from The Atlantic goes into even more of the story and I highly recommend it for more background!

I also found the following press piece that appeared in at least fifteen papers in 1938, including The Los Angelos Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Indianapolis Times, The Star Tribune of Minneapolis and more. The eye catching title of this article was Romantic Story in Knit Mittens and reads as follows:

The black and white Norwegian mittens which have for the last few seasons decorated the hands of American skiiers were original intended for a far different purpose. They were first made in accordance with an old marriage custom and owe their fine workmanship to the intense rivalry amoung the young girls who knit them, says an old tradition of the beautiful Selbu district of Norway. According to this story, girls of the valley were once expected to knit a pair of mittens for each of the guests attending their wedding.

They began the task very young, competing with each other to produce the finest designs. Typical Selbu patterns, such as the large eight-pointed star, an angular figure of a woman or a reindeer, are now knit by women in other parts of Norway and will be included in the handicrafts displays arranged for the great Oslo Exhibition of Norwegian life, which will open in Oslo May 12 and continue to Sept. 18

Socks and sweaters too are knit in Selbu patterns, and with the increasing popularity of skiing, these Norwegian articles are fast achieving international fame.

The above red caption is Google translated (questionably) as follows: “It was no easy matter for a self-made woman to marry in earlier times. According to the wedding traditions, an engaged girl had to start knitting well in advance of the wedding. First, they were to knit neat self-stocking socks for the groom and several pairs of socks for the closest male relatives of the groom. As if that weren't enough, all the men who were guests at the wedding separated a couple of self-propelled women home. These were knitted by the women who were invited to the wedding and delivered to the bride a few days for the guest room. All the mittens were hung on a pole riding a snow on the bridal ceiling while the wedding lasted. The woman knew that all the wedding guests and others would evaluate and comment on the work - it could be honored. so a good impression of the mittens was important and they were knit with file and care.”

If any Scandinavian readers out there want to add in, please help me in the comments! Regardless of where the trend of Selbuvotter started, we know for sure these design elements are what inspired Kirsten’s woolen sets!

For my Changes for Kirsten woolens I took on knitting my own mittens and hat using many of the motifs above - the selburose, alternative male and female figures and the 4 pointed flower with vines. I copied Kirsten’s hat directly from the doll’s version and used the Selbu knitting pattern from Skeindeer Knits for the mittens! They are so fun to make! I can’t wait to show you the completed costume tomorrow! Stay tuned!