Description:
"Enjoyably fresh and informative."—Gayle Stege, Curator, Ohio State University, Historic Costumes & Textiles Collection."A most informative essay about the production of woolen clothing in late 18th-century America." —Karen Parsons, Coordinator, Depreciation Lands Museum."
On display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. is the only uniform worn by George Washington known to survive. As a rare artifact it is priceless; but it also has value for what it can tell us about everyday life during a significant period in American history.
The sewing machine hadn't been invented, so all clothing was sewn by hand, one stich at a time. The fabric, too, was made by hand—in fact, by many hands. Using Washington's uniform as a model, Donald Tunnicliff Rice takes us through the many steps necessary to make an eighteenth-century garment. Along the way we learn a great deal about the colonies'—and the new nation's—social structure, economy, industry, foreign relations,… Read More