August 26, 2019

The Kirsten Project | Förkläde (Apron)

August 26, 2019/ Jessica Quirk

One aspect of this project that I didn’t foresee finding a lot of inspiration was Kirsten’s red and white striped apron. However, once I started digging I uncovered that this particular item of clothing has a deep connection to the traditional clothing of the Dalarna region of Sweden and is still worn today as folk costume during Midsommer festivals. I found a lot of information from the blog Folk Costumes, which sites original sources (many in Swedish). The Digitalt Museum also has a wealth of information on traditional costumes - all of the above images have been sourced via their site.

In addition to the extant aprons and photos, the work of Carl Larsson again influences the simple red and white stripes of the fabric. Here are just a few of his pieces where you can see the traditional förkläde.

Kersti’s Birthday Party by Carl Larsson 1909

Lilliana feeds the fire, carl larsson 1918

These red, white and black aprons are woven and often passed down through generations. We see mention of Kirsten’s mama being a weaver in Happy Birthday Kirsten on page 11. “The Swedish women wove their blankets and bed coverings on looms.“ For my apron I was really hoping to find fabric like one of the swatched above, but in the end decided to go with more of a white ground and red stripe, similar to the illustrations of Kirsten’s apron throughout her series. I feel like I hit the jackpot when I found a Swedish woven tablecloth in the perfect size to make a beautiful apron. I can’t wait to show you in my final photos, but in the meantime, click through this gallery to enjoy some more images of these gorgeous aprons!

August 26, 2019

The Kirsten Project | Kjolsäck (Loose Pocket)

August 26, 2019/ Jessica Quirk

Like Kirsten’s apron, her spoon bag or loose pocket, called a kjolsäck, is a link to her Swedish origins. These are only a very small sampling of pockets from the Digitalt Museum, so if you’re interested, I really encourage you to see the amazing array of kjolsäck. Another source of the history of the kjolsäck can be found here (and in Swedish!)

Although I can’t locate any original pocket that is clearly used as the inspiration for Kirsten’s pocket, I do see many elements that are used from existing kjolsäck such as symmetrical designs, embroidered dates and initials, hearts, and red binding. Most examples are black and red, but there are some extant pockets in a red, white and blue color scheme. We can only imagine this piece was designed to pull together the doll’s costume in her colors and simplified to meet the demands of mass production.

For my pocket I used the same design as the doll’s, but added a little more detailed embellishment. I wanted my version to look like what may have inspired the miniature kjolsäck worn by Kirsten. I had a lot of fun making it and can’t wait to reveal the final piece with my complete costume!

August 26, 2019

The Kirsten Project | The Art of Carl Larsson

August 26, 2019/ Jessica Quirk

Thanks to a tip from the Kirsten series illustrator, Renée Graef, I have been spending a lot of time looking at the work of Swedish artist Carl Larsson. I’ll be sharing more of his pieces as they apply to different portions of my project, but I picked out these specific works because of their pastoral quality. I can only guess which pieces the team at Pleasant Company used while they developed Kirsten, but they certainly inform what farm life like may have been like for Swedish immigrants in the 19th century.

Kersti’s Sleigh Ride, Carl Larsson, 1901

August 17, 2019

The Kirsten Project | Dress Inspiration

August 17, 2019/ Jessica Quirk

dress, late 1830s, metropolitan museum of art, daguerrotypes of women and girls in mid 19th century dresses

The real root of The Kirsten Project has been for me to try to untangle the mystery of how each aspect of Kirsten’s costume came together and to make my best guess on what Pleasant Company used as an inspiration, all while staying true to early photos and extant pieces of 1850s fashion.

Luckily, when it comes to Kirsten’s dress, we know exactly where to look… remember the early catalogs and the girl sized dresses you could buy to match your doll? On Kirsten’s page an ecru printed dress was shown with the following copy:

“This antique dress was Pleasant Company’s inspiration for Kirsten’s wardrobe. Made with loving care more than 125 years ago by a mother that took pride in tiny stitches, it’s hem faced in coordinating fabric, a practical, thrifty way to use precious scraps of material, but such a pretty touch that we did it on purpose when we recreated Kirsten’s dresses for you.”

This extant dress is also shown in the “Peek Into the Past” section at the end of Kirsten Saves the Day and in Welcome to Kirsten’s World 1854. If you look closely you can find picture credits (right behind the title page back at the front). This dress is from the Wisconsin Historical Society and thanks to a gift from Pleasant T. Rowland herself (the creator of Pleasant Company and the American Girls), the entire children’s clothing collection is available to view to the public. God bless the museums that post their collections online - it’s a priceless resource for costumers like me! It took me just minutes to scan through the collection before I found the dress that inspired Kirsten’s! The description of the dress reads:

“Ecru-colored cotton, printed with a half-drop pattern of small red and brown radishes on a ground of small scattered brown spots; hand-sewn; slightly above natural waistline, with inset self-fabric band, 1.5" wide, with pattern going the opposite direction from the rest of the dress, and piped on both seams; bodice is gathered into the waistband in a section in the center; calf-length skirt is cartridge pleated into the waistband all the way around; long and full bishop-style sleeves; 1.5" pleat taken in above hem of skirt; narrow band collar; various calicos used to line hem of skirt, waistband, and bodice; center back opening closes with 5 white cone-shaped glass shank buttons from neck to waist, and two metal hooks and eyes at the waistband.”

women and girls in printed dresses, radish print child’s dress, 1853-1857, wisconsin historical society

The signature elements I will recreate in my adult sized dress (which are also very similar to the dress shown above from The Met) are: dropped shoulders with piping on the armscye, full sleeves pleated into a cuff, fan pleating at the center front (gathered in the girl’s version), piping at the waistline, gauged/cartridge pleats to attach the skirt to waist and finally, a printed hem facing that differs from the body of the dress. I’m using a sewing pattern that has been made from an existing dress dated between 1856-1862.

While the original dress is ecru with a small radish print, Kirsten’s dress is described in Meet Kirsten as “patterned with little red flowers” and has a blue background. My guess is that the blue, paired with the red stripes of her traditional Swedish apron, created a very American look for Kirsten. This shade of blue was also pretty popular in the 1980s when the character was created. While there are a lot more examples of brownish tones during this era, as seen at left, some blues do survive. I’ve created my own adult sized print based on the description of Kirsten’s dress, illustrations from her series and from the doll’s original printed dress. I can’t wait to reveal it to you in the final photos of this project!