Dress made by an unidentified enslaved woman

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

This is a handstitched long-sleeved dress with a full skirt made from a balanced plain-weave printed cotton. The sleeves are gathered at the back shoulder seam and the shoulder seam is dropped in the back. The bodice is gathered at the front waist and has a neck band with no collar. Both the neck band and the waist band are fussy cut to display the printed design. Piping is attached at the armholes and along the bottom of the waistband. The skirt is gathered at the front hips and the back with a flat panel along the center front waist. On the proper back bodice, three (3) glass buttons are sewn on the left side of the back opening (placket), with four (4) button holes on the right side. At the waist, two (2) decorative buttons are sewn on the right side of the opening, without corresponding button holes on the left side.

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