For almost eight (!!!) years, ever since I put out the Fantail Skirt pattern and it was a smashing success, my friend Nina has been asking me to make an Edwardian or Victorian blouse pattern to go with it. Nina’s not just my friend: she’s my pattern editor (any mistakes are my fault from tweaking things after she edits a pattern), my confidant, and my brain to bounce pattern ideas off of. So, when I found the perfect extant ca. 1910 blouse to base a pattern off of I knew exactly what to name the blouse! Better yet, I had another Nina already on my list of inspirational and interesting (not always necessarily both, but this one is!) people to name patterns after: Nina du Bois. Nina du Bois (July 4, 1870 – July 26, 1950) was an American civil rights and peace activist. Along with her husband W.E.B Du Bois, Nina Du Bois was involved in the early 20th century Pan-African movement, which sought to end colonial rule and racial discrimination, to improve human …