WOMEN'S CLOTHING & NEEDLEWORK NOTES
on
Brokenburn: The Journal of Kate Stone 1861-1868
Information on Kate Stone from the Book
Twenty-year-old Kate Stone was a member of the planter class in Northeastern Louisiana when the Civil
War began in 1861. Her mother was a widow, and she had five brothers and a younger sister.
Brokenburn plantation covered over 1,200 acres and had "about 150 slaves," so Kate would certainly
have been considered among the elite in her area.
In 1863, Kate and her family were forced to become refugees, moving to Texas for a few years.
Kate's story reflects both the material culture of the planter class (silk dresses) as well as the hardships of
the refugee forced to leave almost everything behind and rely on gifts and the purchase of used clothing.
These notes are intended to help reenactors portraying a woman in Kate's circumstances (or in
other conditions- Kate mentions people of many social classes) during the Civil War in East Texas,
Louisiana or perhaps adjourning states.
A few brief observations & generalizations of interest to lady reenactors
1) Kate's family has a sewing machine, something that is usually not considered common until after the
Civil War.
2) Although Kate is obviously upper class, she and her family members seem to almost constantly be
working on a sewing or needlework project. It would be interesting to be able to compare her activity
during the war with her work BEFORE the conflict; certainly during war-time there were more demands for
uniforms, gloves and socks. As portrayed in this Journal, Kate is certainly not a lazy young "belle." She
seems to be constantly working on a sewing project.
Even her brothers knit, although Kate does not seem to have been brought up knitting socks or gloves. At
20, she is still learning to knit some basic garments. Kate also begins making palmetto hats, and she
sometimes sews or embroiders gloves made from buckskin or fawnskin.
3) The family appear to have started experiencing cloth and food shortages fairly early in the war. If Kate
is correct, they suffered serious food deprivation (by modern standards) at times.
4) Kate DOES get a few new dresses during the war years, yet she still laments her lack of clothing and th
family seems to stay busy reusing old fabric and dresses. I wonder if having new dresses (other than
homespun) would have been possible at all for those in a lower social class without as much capital. In
1863, the family starts to use homespun fabric.
5) Kate meets many Texans of a lower social class than herself; these people dress in ways that Kate
feels are old-fashioned and even laughable. The costumes and manners represented here are NOT the
ones seen in Godey's Lady's Book. (Nor are these passages particularly complimentary toward all
Texans.)
5) Kate eventually has to give up her mourning attire because she simply can't find enough black cloth or
garments. This may be of particular interest to reenactors.
6) Dresses are constantly being made over into new dresses, men's shirts, or "comforters."
7) Kate mentions embroidery several times. I wonder if a lower-class woman would have had the money to
buy the embroidery silk for this.
SOME SPECIFIC MENTIONS OF CLOTHING, FOOD AND NEEDLEWORK
This annotated list is intended to help lady reenactors quickly find some of the many mentions
of sewing, fashion and needlework in Brokenburn. The book provides some interesting
information on life for an upper class refugee, as well as type of food available and prices for
fabrics and clothing. I have not yet included ALL references to sewing for the troops.
p. 15 Mamma sewing and Kate embroidering
p. 18 soldier's blankets with pockets at the top for soap, combs, etc.
p. 32 As members of the planter class, Kate's family has a sewing machine. Kate sews chemises on it,
leaving a servant to do the handwork.
p. 38- Kate gets a new hoopskirt & makes red, white and blue rosettes for the military company
p. 47- Kate's mother can knit 1 sock a day. This also mentions other knitted garments.
p. 48. "dragging skirts"- whether this is literal or figurative isn't known.
p. 49. Knitting, uniform shirts, sewing machine
p. 51 Riding clothing "calico and remains of green habit" and "riding skirt of rags and tatters."
Kate considers knitting gloves very hard. Kate had obviously not been brought up to knit socks or
garments.
p. 52. Knit comforter
p. 53. brought calico, made a dress. Kate's brothers also knit! One is knitting a white yarn necktie.
They buy red flannel for one of the boy's underwear.
p. 54. Kate's mother learned to knit as a child and is know teaching others.
2 calico dresses for Mama.
They are having to make one of the boy's flannel underclothes of flannel: red on one side;
yellow on the other.
p. 55. knitting gloves; all boys are knitting
p. 56 light summer muslins
p. 58 Kate making a Zouave jacket & red and white comforter
p. 61 Sewing; altering an old silk
p. 71 Description of a man's clothing
1862
p. 80 mourning garments
p. 86 Kate making linen aprons for Beverly (a child). These will be embroidered.
p. 88. Quilting a comforter. Using cashmere dresses and silk dresses for comforters.
p. 89 Ashes of roses (color) silk
p. 91 Beverly's apron
p. 95 2 blue shirts for brother
p. 97 bride's dress described (possibly not "wedding dress")
p. 103 Mama kept 8 bales of cotton to use for spinning and making fabric
p. 109 food, "Negro cloth"
p. 110 men's clothes
p. 115 making palmetto hats
p. 128-129 Food
p. 145 flour/cake
p. 146 Kate's mother having a loom made. Kate is helping to make the harnesses (possibly the string
heddles that raise and lower the warp threads)
p 147 Kate discusses homespun and silk
p. 150 Knitting gloves
p. 152 Sewing work
p. 153 weaving
p. 159 Making over a dress into a man's shirt
p. 161 Knitted gloves, embroidered tobacco pouch, made dresses into men's shirts
p. 162 new gray silk dress; fabric bought in Vicksburg
p. 180 food, shoes hard to get
p. 188-189 obtaining clothing during their flight from home. Used clothing given (and welcomed) as gifts.
p. 193 food
p. 203 Clothing stolen.
p. 204 linen sheets used for making underclothing
p. 206-207 Buying used clothes; embroidered skirt, turkey-red calico
p. 218 Kate given 2 organdy dresses.
p. 221 passing mention of women spinning
p. 222 food in Minden (now Webster Parish) & Bellevue (then the seat of Bossier Parish) Louisiana
p. 223 Kate describes some of the inhabitants. Hoopskirts popular in Lamar Co., Tx. Shoes are rare.
p. 225 People in the fashions of "three years ago"
Kate describes women walked around barefooted while wearing hoopskirts
p. 229 A Texas dandy described as being "in the height of Paris fashion."
p. 231 Crude footwear and homeknit stockings
p. 232 Calico $6/yd in Paris, Tx: too expensive for them to buy.
p. 234 Diversely dressed crowd at a funeral.
p. 234 plaits of wheat and rye straw for hats
Hiring thread woven into cloth
p. 237 food & housing somewhere near Tyler.
p. 239 altering dresses
p. 240 remodeling a green silk. She will have to take off mourning because she can't get anything black to
wear.
peg shoes
p.241 "Short dresses, large hoops, and top-knotted sunbonnets, the style." (in Honey Grove; this is
perhaps sarcastic)
p. 244 knitting gloves
p. 245 $95 woolen dress (length of fabric to make a dress) was "ugly"
p.248 directions for a new headdress "The Rebel" from Nashville
p. 251-252 Kate's mother making a new bonnet. Kate has had to take off mourning clothes.
Calico fabric for dresses: $55 and $66. She still has "two drill dresses to make over." Jimmy without
winter underclothes and they can't buy any woolen fabric.
p. 256- Kate likes lace or tulle collars; Mrs. Carson likes stiff linen ones.
p. 259 Food
p. 261 Death of Coley; he is buried in a suit given by a friend.
p. 267 Prices in Shreveport, La. Delaine dress: $200; velvet mantle or poplin dress - $1500
p. 268 Black dress with yellow ribbons
p. 276 Fashion magazines. (Frank Leslie's and Harper's
p. 281 A friend of theirs is remaking dresses
p.282 glovemaking from buckskins
1864
p. 286 Down to wearing homespun, both themselves and servants.
p. 291 underclothes very ragged
p. 292 They don't have a party dress, but they "did not bring discredit on the swamp."
p. 293 carriage of dry goods
p. 294 working on flannel shirts for Jimmy
p. 296 finished Jimmy's clothes and 2 dresses
p.301 "lay down the flower-wreathed scepter of girlhood and don the badge of spinsterhood." (Perhaps a
cap?, or a metaphorical reference.)
p.305 Food in Vienna, La.
p. 307 Food; renovating old dresses. Embroidering cravats for the boys.
p. 308 boy's clothes
p.316 Breakfast
p. 331 Embroidered cravets for Johnn. Fawn-colored barege trimmed with black lace. Old white dress
has been dyed.
p. 339 embroidering velvet tobacco bag
p. 342 Sewing gray uniform
p.343 Sewing for soldiers
p.343 Embroidering cravats for friends (female)
p.347 blue linen and homespun for Johnny & Jimmy
p. 351 making clothes for the boys, plaiting straw for hats
p. 352 quilting a silk comfort
p.354 Food "fat of the land"
p.356 gloves of white buckskin & embroidered
p. 357 palmetto caps and black bodices
p. 358 velvet waist, embroidered with blue flowers & pink flowers
p. 359 Two room house with six or eight people living in it (Hopkins Co, Tx)- "...not a scrap of ribbon or
lace or any kind of adornment in the house. I never saw a woman before without a ribbon. Thye have not
even a comb. They are the poorest people I ever saw."
p. 361 new pair of gloves from fawn skin
p. 362 food. Embroidering a Zouave jacket in blue cashmere for one of Mrs. Kennedy's little girls. Will
embroider a wreath of pale pink roses on it.
p. 366 bought a "broad black belt with an immense buckle" in Shreveport.