1770's Quilted Brunswick

Back in November, I took a trip to Colonial Williamsburg. While looking around in one of my favorite shops (RIP Mary Dickinson), I came across this gorgeous quilted brunswick. It was simple in design and had a sacque back which made it even cuter. The price however, was not at all cute. After taking pictures of my extant, I got to work on making a replica as soon as I got home.


Photographs taken by my brother (and up and coming photographer)





Watching the snowfall from above, was really an ethereal and peaceful sight 






Absolutely breathtaking 

Can someone say Winter wonderland?





Looking at extants, the brunswick was one of the more comfier and warmer variants of outerwear; it was also part of informal wear. It was closer to the body which provided more insulation and was a little more fashionable than the cloak/cape. Plus, the Brunswick also came in different styles. Fabric wise, it was either made out of silk or wool and was often lined with the same or contrasting fabrics.

My extant from the Mary Dickinson Shop in Colonial Williamsburg

Possibly made from worsted wool or silk

Silk quilted brunswick with matching petticoat


Silk quilted Brunswick with a hood (?)


Quilted Brunswick with a fitted back




Fitted silk Brunswick with a fitted back and hood


Because I didn't have the time and patience to hand-quilt the fabric myself, I went on ahead and purchased pre-quilted cotton fabric from JoAnns. I was a bit apprehensive to go with it at first, but after having made a petticoat 5 years ago out of the same fabric, I figured it couldn't do too much harm as long as it was made of a natural fiber and kept me warm. I lined the jacket with blue cotton fabric from JoAnn's quilting section not only for fashion aesthetics, but for practicality; again, the goal is to keep as warm as possible. 

I used the J.P.Ryan jacket pattern and elongated the jacket by 5 inches to make it into a caraco length. Also I cut the pattern larger (normally my dresses run XS-S because of my frame, so I made it L in order to wear my winter wools underneath. 

The only setback I had with working on the Brunswick was how bulky the fabric was. After pleating the back to make the saque, I realized that it looked really awkward and just didn't sit right. I later learned from other seamstresses that quilted silks make a better choice for techniques like that because of how it falls. This fabric being too stiff would make the sacque stick out straight and as a result would allow cold air to come through.

With that in mind, I scrapped the idea and converted it into a fitted back instead. The back however ended up being a little shorter than the front and sides, but it's not really noticeable. Finally I added a hood from a DIY cape pattern I saw on Pinterest. All in all, I'd say that this was a good challenge and a good experiment. The jacket did in fact keep me warm in really cold wintery conditions; that definitely made me happy. 








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