A few pictures of some past Civil War Dresses with Crinolines…

It’s no secret that Civil War dresses are some of my very favorite dresses to make. I love the styles of the late 1800’s and those big wide skirts with crinolines…make my heart beat a little faster. There is nothing as noticeable (to me) as a beautifully styled Civil War dress without a Crinoline underneath. The dress just sort of hangs limp. I thought sharing some of my past dresses with crinolines would be fun for you to see.
Boning is a stiffener that comes on a roll and I generally put it in the bottom edge of my crinolines to hold out the dresses evenly all the way around. It’s sort of like trying to get a hula hoop in the bottom of the casing…

Here’s a close up of a couple of the basic styles I make…

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See what I mean… I DO like making Civil War dresses…and these are just a fraction of the ones I’ve made…

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Thanks for taking a peek under my dresses
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne

12 thoughts on “A few pictures of some past Civil War Dresses with Crinolines…”

  1. I love dresses of that era too, Jeanne! I especially love the 5th dress down, the aqua-ish and tan dress, with the straw hat—gorgeous! Yes, I see the difference too, without the crinoline. My question is, do you put the crinoline on first, like a real person would, or do you put it on after dressing the doll? I have tried both ways, but it is almost impossible to put the dress on over the crinoline, unless I am doing it wrong! Do yours tie in the back like AG ones do?

    We are really snowed in this morning—looks like 7 inches or so. Not looking good for church today!

    1. HI Linda,
      Yes, that dress you liked was a real favorite of mine too. I had a hard time selling that it. The whole dress just turned out exactly as I wanted. My sister sent me the little looped trim from a shop in downtown Gettysburg, PA.
      I usually put the dress on first, but before fastening it in the back, I flip it up over my dolls head and it stays put till I can get the crinoline slid up the dolls legs. After it’s all tied and situated around the waist just right, I let the dress fall back down and fasten it up in the back. If they have boning in the bottom, it would be almost impossible to get the dress over it….save yourself the headache and put it on After the dress.
      Most of the time mine tie in the back, but occasionally I have elastic encased in the waistband.
      We only got a glaze of ice last night but we slid our way to church. I stuck pretty close to my hubby as we walked in. Our snow is melting today so hopefully in a few days we’ll be almost snow free!
      Stay warm and stay safe!
      Blessings, Jeanne

    1. Hi Christine, I love the blue one too. It was copied from a paper doll dress that was a replica from Godey’s Ladies wear… I think I copied it pretty close…

      Thanks so much, Jeanne

  2. Beautiful dresses and crinolines…you are amazing!

    It’s a frozen waste land here in my part of North Carolina today….church was even cancelled!

    1. Hi Jane,
      It’s just a good day for staying in and making soup and watching old movies… or taking a nap! I can’t decide! Stay safe!
      Blessings, Jeanne

  3. Jeannie B. in TX

    The temp is up here so the snow & ice are melting but rain is on the way. Gray skies so it is dull & drab. I think I need to sew something spring-like !
    I love the black & cream dress with the ruffles. Heck, I just love ruffles !!! I have the MA Scarlett doll in the white ruffle dress. She is such a southern belle.
    Today I actually have to make a petticoat for a floor length AG dress. This is a birthday gift for one of the granddaughters. I am doing a full outfit – dress, crinoline, tights, shoes & hat. The crinoline will require some ruffles to set the skirt of the dress out. I won’t do the boning for this particular crinoline but I did learn quite a bit from today’s blog. Last time I worked with boning was a wedding dress alteration for my daughter when she married in 1999. Yikes, what a trial that was. Wedding dresses are tough!!!!
    Thank you, Jeanne for the excellent lesson !!!

    1. Thank you Jeannie,
      I hope you’ve gotten that petticoat mastered by now…and glad you learned a thing or two from today’s post.
      It’s nice that it’s getting closer to Spring. I think we are all tired of the weather, whether we had 5 inches of snow or 95 inches! Bring on the green grass!
      Blessings, Jeanne

  4. These dresses are beautiful and the crinolines are too, even though they have a purpose. My favorite is the brown and blue dress with the spectacular trim and straw hat. I also love the red/taupe dress with the large white collar. All are just stunning.
    Makes me wish I had clothes just like these. I would invite girlfriends over and serve tea!
    Stay warm and be safe from that ice.

    1. Hi Paula,
      Thank you so much for your kind compliments on the dresses.
      Yes, and if we all lived in the Civil War times, we would all come over to “Paula’s house” and show off our new dresses we had just made and then we’d sit on the front porch and drink your tea! Thank-you-very-much!
      Thanks Paula,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  5. All of these dresses are just gorgeous and I agree that the crinolines make a big difference in the look. I have made several but none in the colored fabrics. I like them, though, and may try doing that. I struggle with how to best join the boning into a smooth circle. Do you have any good tips for that?
    BTW, it was in the 60’s here today (South Texas) so maybe the cold weather is finally gone.

    1. Hi Carolyn,
      Thank you for the kind words about my Civil War dresses and the crinolines underneath them.
      I use the flat boning that has the little holes in it and I lap the ends on top of each other then I stitch through them to hold them in place. I’ll have to do a post on it sometime…

      Whew… 60’s…heat stroke weather… we’re supposed to get up in the 60’s and then it’s supposed to drop in the teens again… Someday soon it may get to be Spring…
      Blessings, Jeanne

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