1: My first attempt was with the Elizabethan corset and chemise. They have been cut out for over a year, waiting for me to do something with them. I got all the pieces out and got them pinned to their linings then started on the MANY boning channels. After sewing for a while I noticed that there was a stain/discoloration on the front center piece. Not sure how this could have happened since it has been put away but I will have to soak the piece and see if I can get it out before continuing. I have no more of the fabric so I am hoping it will wash out. Not sure if JoAnn's sells it anymore or not.
2: Next I moved on to the Elizabethan chemise. I have had this fabric for YEARS-it is lovely printed Voille. I saved it for the perfect thing and now, again, I see there are some spots on it. One being a blue marker? I am pretty sure my daughter is somehow involved in that one, so I will have to see if I can wash this out too.
3: After looking at a lot of different patterns for stays and reading reviews I decided to make a pair out of the Simplicity 3635 pattern. I had two others I toyed with using, one from Reconstructing History and the other was the Butterick pattern with the 4 corsets. I really do like the Butterick but want to try a new way of boning a corset (well new for me) using weed-trimmer line instead of metal or reed, and I thought the Simplicity looked like it would work better for that purpose. I found a nice vintage heavy cotton sateen fabric that was used for curtains and has a manufacture date of 1978 stamped on the side in my fabric stash and used that for the outer and lining layer, using a stiff broadcloth I had on hand for the interfacing. I have all of it cut out and all the boning channels sewn, just waiting to pick up the boning material and binding next week.
4: Since I have to wait to finish the corset I decided to cut out a dress. I have a stash of beautiful linen cotton blend that was $15 a yard that I bought for $4 TOTAL from a garage sale many years back. I had intended on making a Baroque era riding jacket and skirt out of it but having been looking at so many Regency fashion plates lately I thought it would make a lovely day dress too. Luckily, as I was unfolding it I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had way more material than I thought! So if nothing else I can get the Regency day dress and the Baroque jacket out of it, if not the skirt. I really love the fabric, it has a high linen content and seems to look gray one minute and a purple color the next. I used a pattern I have never used as I wanted a quick sew, and it turned out to be more trouble that it was worth. I spent several extra hours fiddling with it to get it to work, so now I need to make button holes and put on the buttons, once I find some. Here is a picture of the fabric taken with my phone, didn't come out very well unfortunately. Will post more details about each of these projects soon :)
