Last month I shared part one of a video of the mantua-makers of the Margaret Hunter shop, Colonial Williamsburg creating this 18th c. silk gown, left, in a single day. The second part of the video is now online to watch here. Through cutting, fitting, pinning, stitching, and even decorative pinking, the video demonstrates how these skilled tradeswomen replicated a gown that would have made their Georgian counterparts proud.
The emphasis on the women's hands as they work is especially beautiful. Today so few things are made by hand - any hands - that we often forget the magic rhythm of creation, and the now-rare satisfaction that can come from it as well. Watch, and enjoy.
