1880s Chemise

Just doubled fabric and cut out basic shape from muslin I had on hand. We will see how it turns out.

18th and 19th Century Corsets.

Though I am working on my 18th century stuff, an event came up for some 19th century bustle dress goodness, so now I need to get going on that as well. I don't have much time, and no money, to put out on the Victorian ensemble, so am having to go with whatever is in my ever dwindling stash.

I ironed down the edges on all the pieces of my 18th century corset and stitched them down. I saw this technique used on a couple blogs and thought I would try it, as I am hoping it will neaten up the finished product. Mt next step is to whip stitch the pieces together.

For the Victorian corset I did not want to waste time drafting, so I found a corset pattern with pieces close to the shape I wanted, then did some serious tweaking. I lengthened it, the reshaped the pieces over the hips and some at the tops. I used some beautiful fuschia Moire taffeta for the corset and cotton duck for the interface. Was just getting ready to start on it when I discovered I have no more corset busks! NOoooooo! Will have to hurry and order one tomorrow. Guess I will start on the chemise or something.

Kali's costume for The Gathering of Rebels.

I wanted to take pics of this as I worked on it, but I was so rushed with everything I really didn't have time. I used a Simplicity pattern which I redrafted to make the pieces a bit more historically accurate, though I didn't go overboard with this. It is not something I intend on keeping, or figure I will even get much money back on so I didn't complicate things too much.

I used a white/gray print cotton I have had in my stash for YEARS and then a gray eyelet I found and Goodwill for $3.00 for 5 yards (not period correct I know, but looks nice and was cheap). I used the cotton for the jacket, and then the eyelet for the skirt and trim.

Except for the outer sleeve ruffle shown here, I used the eyelet. I decided for sake of time and my sanity--and because I have always wanted to try it--to pink all the edges instead of hemming it. It looks okay. I know the fraying is natural, even with the pinking, and you see real examples of 18th Century gowns with the same thing happening, but I am not sure I am crazy about it. Sort of makes it feel 'unfinished' to me so I don't think it is something I will do again unless I want that as a specific design element.

I did not want to have to mess with a corset for her so I boned the front of the bodice with the ever handy weed-trimmer line. Worked great! I added a small modesty panel at the front and the hand-cast eyelets (not my best work on these I can tell you) are hidden by the ruffles. Only thing I can say is I wish it would have been a bit tighter so she had that 'lift'. When I first fit it I was afraid it would end up being too tight, but I think she lost some weight before she actually was able to wear it. I was going to take it in but decided it was just too much work for something she was only going to wear the one time.

I forgot to charge my camera, which is actually an old cellphone that I use, so I did not get pictures on the day. A few people at the event took them so I am waiting for them to get posted up to Facebook. There should be quite a few full length pics from that. What I have right now is the one of them sitting down, and then the one Kali's dad took right before they were going to change. After 6 hours they were a bit of a mess as you can tell (I have NO IDEA what the heck is going on with the front of the kilt there lol). I hope to get more photos up soon.

The TARTAN has arrived...

Well after some mix ups, I got the fabric I ordered from Amazon. There was only 2 tartan prints that were in the old fashion so those were what I chose. They are a lot brighter than what I wanted, especially the blue and yellow, which was supposed to be blue and olive. I am going to over-dye it to darken it, but I don't have time to do it before the 26th. Aside form that though, I really like the fabric. It is a nice weight and does look and even feel like wool.

18th Century Corsets

I ended up taking the 18th Century Butterick Corset Pattern and redrafted it. I cut the back lower, added 6"s to the waist reshaped the side piece a bit and changed the boning pattern. I cut it out of a beautiful piece of Goldenrod colored silk (though it doesn't show right in the photos) and did the channels in blue thread to mimic the inspiration images. For interfacing I used some cotton canvas. I will line it in white muslin.

 

 

 

For my daughters little corset I modeled it after an original example I found on Pinterest. I will have to try and look it up again. I cut hers out of a small piece of purple silk I had and am doing it with 2 layers of muslin. I don't want it tight or uncomfortable so it will also be very lightly boned and nothing like the original in that regard.

 



The Gathering of the Rebels progress...

Today I drafted and cut out my corset and my chemise. I also cut out my petticoat. I cut out Elaina's Carraco Jacket and skirt, as well as her little corset and then sleeves for her chemise. She has a Regency chemise she outgrew, so with some fiddling, I think I can get it to work, then I can just add the new sleeves. Tomorrow I will cut out Kalysta's dress.

And the winner is....Yellow!

I need to make different 18th Century stays to go with my outfit for The Gathering of Rebels. I looked at patterns and read reviews and just decided to draft my own. I am not sure yet if they are going to be fully, or half-boned stays, as I could do either with the particular design. All I know it that I will have them lace both in the back and the front and they MUST be in yellow. I have seen so many pictures of yellow corsets from the 18th Century, and was inspired by these two. What I have on hand is a bit more goldenrod, but it still should work.

Gathering supplies for The Gathering...

Still not sure what I am making but I DID buy some tartan material from Amazon. Do not have the funds right now to buy the real thing, but I thought this looked nice. Seems to have a bit of lavender going through it, so I will see once it arrives. The bottom one I ordered for my son Stephen's Great Kilt. I think it will look nice.

The Gathering of Rebels.

Looking through all sorts of pictures and Pinterest trying to decide what to make. So far the only absolute decision that has been made as far as style goes is this one for my son's girlfriend. She got to pick out something, and has never done anything like this before so I wanted her to have something she felt she would be comfortable in. I am not sure what I am doing for fabrics yet, I just know this is the style. Kali is this cute, tiny little thing, so I think this will be a good style for her.

 

 

 

For my daughter, I am thinking of making her a more age appropriate version of the above design. For myself...there are too many possibilities. Still looking, but am leaning towards a sort of Redingote. But not the style that buttons way up. I have to have my neck and upper chest bare or I feel claustrophobic. Oh and I really liked this.

 

 

 



Whoops...

Well as per the norm, going to the Regency Tea did not work out. Now we are setting out sights on The Gathering of Rebels on October 26th. Loads of costume stuff to do for that one, and I have yet to get started. The fabrics I need have been alluding me! I thought I was set with my Stays, but they did not work either. I had adjusted the length from the waist but they are STILL way shorter than I wanted them, so it sits in a pile where I threw it, with about 2 feet of binding left to go. I will finish it later but right now I am too mad. So I need an outfit for me, my son, my daughter, and my son's girlfriend. Yikes!

More Regency Costuming.

I have what is now my "jumper dress" all sewn, with the exception of the hem. I am going to wait and do that last as I really need to try and make a pair of stays so that may very well change the length. Should have made the stays first I know, but I do not have the material at the moment. Next I need to cut out the blouse. I am not really sure of the style for that yet though so I will work on Elaina's instead. Will be sewing/fitting her dress after dinner.

Corset and Regency sewing...

I finally have the Baroque Corset completely boned and sewn together, and I have the decorative ribbon sewn down the front seams. This is really to hide where the pieces were attached. I found JUST ENOUGH vintage blue silk velvet ribbon for this. I have all the binging cut and sewn together but just haven't been able to bring myself to sew it on the darn thing. Maybe tomorrow...

The last few days I have been working on pieces for a Regency Tea that I am attending on September 20th, with my daughter. So far I have made her a bonnet and a ruticle. I really like the later, and the hat is ok. I wish I had made it fuller in the back as I just don't think it is as poufy as it should be. I will fix it later if I have time, but it will work for now and overall it is very attractive.

For myself I have cut the dress and jacket. The dress is something of an experiment in the lacing department as I have it lacing/closing in the front. We will see how it turns out. I did not cut the sleeves large enough and I was not liking how they fit so I decided to make it more of a jumper style. I think this will look nice. The only fabric I have for a blouse though that I really like is probably not very period, and it IS synthetic, but I really like the look so I am using it anyway. I will make another more appropriate blouse for it later when I can find the right material.

I must fix it, its BAROQUE...

Yeah I know, bad joke. I am going to parlay my very much unfinished Baroque corset into the #16 challenge somehow. I will have to look through the terminology later, as right now I need to be sewing. There is a lot of it left to do (especially since a piece went missing and had to be recut/boned), and I am not completely sold on the actual shape of it. I am worried that the straps may end up being a bit too wide, and possibly the back too high. I will need to do a fitting and then decide, which would have been MUCH easier had I made it close in the front AND back, but I didn't want to hassle with re-working the boning placement. That was probably a mistake.

Challenge #16: Terminology

Yep, I did it again--which means I did nothing. Seems like life is always getting in the way of sewing for pleasure, but I am going to TRY and get something finished up for the Challenge #16: Terminology. I have till Monday so am off to sew...

Update...

It has been forever since I have been able to update. We have been very busy, and a simple move from one location to another that was only about an hour and fifteen minutes away, turned into a major undertaking that took weeks to recover from. We have been decently settled, I would say, since sometime in June, but there are still things that need to be done. My youngest son's sports took up much of the summer, and now we are into the football season and school starts next week (you can't see it, but I am so doing my happy dance). I am looking forward to a bit of quiet during the day and a chance to get into a routine again. Maybe this will give me time to actually sew.

It is almost the end of the Historical Sewfortnightly 2014, but I am going to make an attempt to get in on a few of the challenges before it is over. We will see what happens...

A few pics of girls Regency underthings.

Here are a few quick pics of the girls Regency underthings. I am basically happy with how they turned out but will make a few adjustments when I make them again. For now I am going to take out drawstring on drawers and put in elastic. No one can see it and it will just make things easier for her to manage. At some point I may replace the lace on the corset. Because it is so wide I had to snip it to get it to lay flat across the back curve but for now it will do. Elaina loved them! It was hard to get her still so I could take pics that weren't blurry.

Girls Regency underthings.

The dress I was making Elaina is NOT going to fit. I decided against taking it apart and figure I will sell it and just make her a different one, but either way she needs the appropriate underthings. I took a pattern I already had and some lovely cotton I scored at Goodwill for $2 and made her chemise. I adjusted the pattern to make it more appropriate and then used some lace to embellish it/use as casing. The lace is definitely not period but I didn't want to waste expensive trim on a child chemise. Maybe when she gets bigger. I also made drawers for modesty sake. Though she doesn't need one since she is only 8 she really wanted a corset. Since it really only covers the bust area, and I figured it would help the chemise to lay flat under certain garments, I said OK. Here is a photo of it waiting for all the handwork. It has same lace as chemise and boning at center front and one piece on seam of center back. I used scraps of the weed-trimmer string.

Regency Day dress progress

Here is a quick pic of the dress. I really do like it, just not the way it is put together. There is a wrinkle in the side-back pieces and I pinned and ironed the heck out of the "casing" before it was sewn, but it isn't too bad so I am not redoing it. I am trying to loose some weight so I saved some fabric and will just remake it how I know I should have made it in a smaller size later. It also was supposed to have a sash but the thing is way too short! I knew it was when I cut it out but somehow I seemed to hope it would work. I do kind of mine the buckle detail so I might make it longer to give me different looks. Both the buttons and the buckle are antique mother of pearl.

Work continues on Baroque corset...

Picked up the weed trimmer line to bone the corset. Not yet sure how I am going to finish the tips of the "bone" yet, so right now just cutting them to length and inserting them to see what I think. So far am liking it but think I should have gotten one size smaller of the line. Only reason I didn't was it was a much smaller package.