Christmas with the Lincoln family in Springfield

[L Verge]

Sewing was one of the "graces" that proper ladies HAD to know how to do in Mary Lincoln's time. She may not have been able to turn out stunning designs like Mrs. Keckly, but I would think that she made her day dresses, lingerie, etc. When it comes to the voluminous skirts and layers of ruffles and flourishes required for evening wear and formal gowns, however, Mary probably had help throughout much of her life -- in the early years of marriage, that would depend on how they were doing financially.

I should also add that once the patent war was over between Elias Howe and Singer in 1854, more and more home models became available. Repairs to a sewing machine show up in the Surratt ledgers, and we display an 1857 model in a little sewing/storage room at the top of the stairs in the historic house. Business was so good for Mr. Howe that he earned nearly $2 million by the year of his death in 1867. During the war, he actually equipped an infantry regiment and served as a private in it.

The home machines, however, mainly sewed straight seams, so ruffles and flourishes were still done by hand. They were still something that every woman of the 19th century dreamed of.