Sewing a place in history, one stitch at a time

Jessica Young can laugh now, but it was not funny when a client once asked if an article of clothing she had ordered for a re-enactor costume was indeed hand sewn.

The stitches, the client believed, were too perfect.

“I said, ‘thank you,’” recalls Young, 34, of Trafford.

Young is a re-enactor and owns Penny River, selling historical accessories, kits and sewing supplies, primarily from the 18th-century era.

The name is inspired by her oldest daughter, River Penelope, 6.

Young is offering a series of historical sewing courses at Bushy Run Battlefield Museum in Penn Township.

Classes focus on the basics of hand sewing from a historical perspective and are appropriate for all sewing levels — from “never-held-a-needle” beginners to proficient craftspeople, according to a course description.

“This is the perfect place to get help fitting your corset, setting a sleeve or making sure that hem is even,” Young said.

Young has presented at Bushy Run before, showing pieces of typical 18th-century dress for men, women and children as part of the site’s History Speaks Series.

“I came in one day (to Bushy Run) — they sell my things in the gift shop — and said, ‘What if we have a class?’” she said.

“Michael Tusay (museum facilitator) said, ‘Let’s go for it. ’ I created a curriculum, and he did the advertising. At the first one we had 12 come to learn the basics. The first hour is instruction, the second is (work on) your own project,” she said.

Keeping history in the forefront

“We have been trying to think of more ways to keep something going during the off-season,” Tusay said, noting Bushy Run closes each year at the end of October.

“She reached out about wanting to start the sewing workshop series and some more conference-style programs later, and that overlapped perfectly,” he said.

Museum officials also condone the learning opportunity Young is offering.

“We like the concept of people doing hands-on, physical things and getting to learn. Her (sampler) workbook is amazing,” Tusay said.

Sharing her skills

“I started sewing essentially to enhance playing dress up when I was a little kid,” Young said.

A graduate of the University of Richmond with a degree in theatrical costuming, she worked at Colonial Williamsburg as a seamstress during college.

The Murrysville native stayed in Virginia and taught theater for a year before she and her husband, Tom, moved back home in 2008 “with great plans and dreams.”

“Then the economy crashed,” she said.

Young worked as a costumer for Carnegie Mellon University’s drama department.

She also taught creative arts and sewing at Propel charter schools for a few years until the program was cut.

“I had some awesome, dedicated students at the high school level. They were making their own clothes,” she said.

Forging a new path

Upon learning she was expecting her first child, Young decided to stay home for a while.

“I made my sister’s wedding dress right after my daughter was born,” she said.

“I did it again for a friend — after swearing I would never do it again — after my second daughter (Rowan, 3) was born,” Young said, laughing.

She launched her business in 2017 and sells her work on Etsy.com

“When I worked in Williamsburg, I made accessories — caps, aprons, undergarments. I started an Etsy shop with the goal of setting up a booth at a local history fair,” Young said.

“There is a really large, historical costuming community I find through social media. … That’s how I do most of my marketing,” she said.

She has clients all over the world and does constant research to keep her work as authentic as possible.

Young, who works out of her home, lists over 100 products on her Etsy site, from stockings and gloves to embroidered pincushions, Colonial caps and kerchiefs and several DIY embroidered pocket and bonnet kits.

Hand sewers can start immediately on the embroidery kits, including for fingerless mitts, which covered women’s arms from elbow to fingers and offered both warmth and sun protection.

“Everyone from the queen to washerwomen wore them,” Young said.

Making it by hand

“Historical clothes are couture, meaning they are made for a specific body,” Young said.

“Historically, you had help when you dressed. My husband has been my lady maid,” she said, laughing.

“I got frustrated with not being able to fit myself. I put out a call online to establish a place and time for people who want to learn hand sewing. I got a good response,” Young said.

Participants have included re-enactors, hobbyists and one young girl who is making puppet costumes.

Two more classes are planned, on Nov. 14 and Dec. 12, and walk-ins are welcome.

Young and several friends are planning one-day winter classes at Bushy Run to include hand embroidery, shift-making and creating historical patterns from academic texts.