Costume Blog Writing Month 1- Introduction

So for anyone not already in the know, August is the Costume Blog Writing Month! This means that there are going to be daily blog writing prompts during the month of August. Knowing me (and the fact that I am currently out of town, and will be for another week) I probably won't get all of the posts done, let alone in a timely fashion. With that said, I'm going to do my very best, and I look forward to meeting everyone else who is participating! Posts done in the context of this writing challenge will be tagged for it at the bottom of the post.




I realize that I have not really told any of the few lucky readers who have followed my blog this far much about myself at all, even on the "About" page. My name is Morag, and I live in Toronto, Canada. I'm currently doing a double major undergrad degree in History and Classical Studies, and I hope to go into Museum Studies in the future. As for my creations, I have always loved crafting. I began to dabble in historical sewing in middle school- the first ensemble I sewed was inspired by the paintings of Brueghel and the like (that's 16th century Dutch, for anyone not up on their art history). My historical sewing specifically took off though when I began volunteering at a local history museum centred around a log cabin that had been restored to the 1860's and which was the home (and workspace) of the Bathurst Rd. tollkeeper and his family in what was once Toronto's suburbs.* Part of my job was as a costumed interpreter in the log cabin, and so I eagerly went on my way to try to research/sew something appropriate (you can see the HSM post for the gown I made for this here).**

An interior of the Tolkeeper's Cottage Museum where I volunteered. Source: http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/05/inside_the_tollkeepers_cottage_at_bathurst_and_davenport/

Although I no longer volunteer at the museum, I continue to do historical sewing, but my preferred time period now is late 18th century. However, given that I'm involved in a Regency dance group, and a friend has recently started an official Regency reenactment group, I am beginning to delve into this era as well- in fact, stay tuned for a post on fitting gussets on 1810's stays! (oh, puns!)

Anyway, that's all for now- hope you enjoyed the post, and look forward to seeing those of others who are participating!


* For anyone curious, the museum is called Tollkeeper's Cottage Museum. Their website is here.


**More difficult than it seems...One does not simply google "what did people living in rural areas but within an hour's walk of the city of Toronto in the 1860's wear?" It just doesn't work that way.