Research & Adventures from my time in the 18th Century
18th Century Life
Posts & Pages
Hello, I am Cat.
I spend a lot of my time doing research about the 18th century. I reenact occasionally, and spend time helping at several local 18th century sites.
I sew a lot, and read a lot, and am hoping to share what I can with people here. I have decided I need to spend less time editing myself and more time sharing information. We will see how that goes.
Feature Articles

The Making of a Shirt
Where This Pattern Originates Most of this post is not from my personal research. In combining research others have done and posting it here, all

Laundry: Ways to Wash Your Linens
Cat Schirf Ways To Wash Your Linens Laundry Overview As with many topics that have to do with the working class, laundry methods in the

Laundry: Military Wash
Cat Tannenbaum Schirf Military Laundry Concepts Laundry Bathing Washing, bathing, changing into clean clothing and shaving gave people the feeling of being well groomed. People
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The Stealing Of A Shirt
Assumptions One of my biggest pet peeves in the hobby is the ideas we have about stealing things. I often hear people stating that someone
Stain Removal in Wool
Stain removal in wools of the 18th century from EWHOH. To Take Spots Out of Woolen Cloth Take some of the best fullers earth that
Getting Stains Out Of Linen
To Make Linen That is Turned Yellow Very White To make Linen that is turned yellow very white. Heat Milk over the Fire, and add
Laundry Cheat Sheet
This outline will focus on the best practices for laundry in a perfect situation, as if one had all the knowledge and resources available and they were being put into proper practice.
The Laundrymaid – Clear Starching
A transcription from John Perkins “Laundry Maid -Every Woman Her Own House-keeper; Or, The Ladies’ Library, Containing the Cheapest and Most Extensive System of Cookery Ever
Pattern Grading. Links And Notes.
My mom is an artist, and I have been lucky enough to have been exposed to all kinds of random knowledge because of it. She