Sarah Ingalls’ 1860s Dress

This post is part of my ongoing Lessons With Laura ~ The Summer of ’69 series. It features a dress 160 years in the making. Sarah Ingalls’ 1860s Dress was made in honor of my great great grandmother. She also happened to be the aunt of Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

Back in 2020 when we were all stuck at home I went down the rabbit hole of researching ladies dressing gowns. These gowns can also be referred to as wrappers, morning gowns, breakfast gowns, at home gowns and when quite fancy ~ tea gowns.  At the end of my research I made an 1890s dressing gown. 

A Robe By Any Other Name

Whatever you may call these gowns the original intention was for these garments to be donned only at home. Meaning they weren’t really meant to be worn out in public. 

In the early 1860s many of the dressing gowns were very similar in style to some forms of outerwear.  

This pretty gem features a lovely pagoda sleeve. 

The gowns often featured a collared or jewel styled neckline.

This wrapper features stunning fringe on the collar and sleeves. 

Wrappers could also features coat style sleeves. 

These wrappers were extremely popular as there was so much ease built into the style. During this time many momen would spend years having an ever changing figure due to pregnancy. So  it made sense that these wrappers were so favored. 

This charming morning robe features a pretty Bishop sleeve. 

I adore this striped beauty which has a lovely slightly ruffled long skirt. 

In the middle to the end of the decade yoked dressing gowns become quite fashionable. 

Isn’t this striped version a charmer?

Wrappers could also be quite fancy with various embellishments such as embroidery, ribbon, pleats and so much more. 

The wrappers were generally made from cotton, wool and silk. Linen wrappers became more fashionable during the Edwardian era.  

The wee ruffled collar on this 1869 beauty is so charming!

It is understandable the women of lesser financial means began wearing their wrappers outside of the home. 

This yoked dress with a pleated bodice is stunning!

I love the softly gathered yoked bodice shown below. 

Costume Designer Mitchell Travers

I wonder if any of these wrappers inspired the new Little House on the Prairie costumer designer Mitchell Travers?

He has done such a beautiful job with the costumes. I will definitely be talking about his designs in a future post. 

A Love For All Things Laura

I wanted to create a special dress to wear for the virtual watch party that I am hosting tonight. 

I started thinking about this image of my great great grandmother, Sarah Dickinson Ingalls. She had immigrated from England with her family and they settled in Wisconsin. She married Charles’ brother, Lansford “James” Ingalls,  on January 27, 1866. Sarah Hannah Dickinson was a 19 year old bride. This is quite possibly her wedding portrait. 

In looking at her portrait it reminded me of some official Little House on the Prairie fabric by Andover that I have been hoarding for several years. 

I then sifted through my antique button collection. I stopped to count these amazing iridescent black glass buttons that my dear friend Melody had gifted me. There were 19 buttons. 

Laughing Moon #12o

After a bit of research I ordered the Laughing Moon Wrapper pattern. I have liked all of their patterns that I have sewn so far.

Adjustments: I did have to adjust the pattern pieces and sewing techniques quite a bit to match the gathered yoke style of my great great grandmothers dress.

For most of the sewing process my daughter was my fit model. 

The dress is not an exact replica. The fabric is of course different. My GG grandmothers Bishop sleeves are a bit fuller. But this project truly delighted my heart! 

Sarah Ingalls 1860s Dress

This Laughing Moon pattern required 8 years of fabric. I had five on the striped Andover fabric. Thankfully I have Ingalls ingenuity and resourcefulness in my blood. I selected some black Kona cotton to use as an accent for the piping at the neckline and shoulders as well as to lengthen the skirt. 

There’s a good amount of swish in the skirt which I love. 

Let’s talk about the bonnet. 

I had commissioned a beautiful hat by Anna Worden who created several hats for the new LHOTP costuming department. A few have already been seen in promo shots such as this gem worn by Barrett Doss who portrays Emily Henderson. 

I featured Anna and her wonderful work in this post. 

The hat arrived today and it is just gorgeous! I will wear it to the party tonight. 

But of course I needed to wear something with the dress for the photo shoot which took place this past weekend. 

I was inspired by the bonnet that Ma (Crosby Fitzgerald) wears in this image. 

The ribbon and floral embellishments were just pinned on temporarily so that I could remove them and use them on my new hat. 

   It was well above 100 degrees during this photo shoot and I am so thankful my darling daughter puts up with my shenanigans. 

In a big way.  

The white collar she wore was also made by me. The mother of pearl brooch and the grape earrings are treasured family antiques. The lovely reproduction belt buckle is from Ensembles of the Past. Owner Sara Gonzalez was featured in this post. 

I’ll be back tomorrow with some Friday Favorites.

Laura