The Aid of Art to Represent Nature

National Portrait Gallery, London

We are all familiar with Camille Clifford. Oh, those curves! But wait, here she is again, about ten years later, when curves are out and that slim line is in. Wait, what? Where did those curves go? 

National Portrait Gallery, London

My guess: the padding came out.

I recently made up this Atelier Sylph corset pattern. I made a mock up, which fit relatively well, but didn't actually make any changes to it. It's such a curvy and dramatic silhouette, I wanted to see how it fit out of the box. 

2016 In Review

I can't believe the year is already coming to an end! And what a great year it has been.

It's always fun to look back in the year and review the things I have sewn. It's funny, I felt like I sewed quite a bit, especially this summer, but all in all, not too many outfits were made. Though, I did make loads of undergarments and accessories that went into each ensemble. Then, of course, there are some UFO's leftover in my sewing room and finished things that didn't get worn or photographed...

So here we go.

The year started out with some early Edwardian undies: drawers, chemise, a frilly corset cover, and I reworked my S-bend corset. It was so much fun to work with lace, I went a little overboard.

Oops! The corset and chemise I forgot to post about...

Woopsie! I was on such a roll in February, and then I forgot to post about it!

Then I found these photos hiding in my computer last night. Time to share!

I redid my Edwardian corset and I think it's such an improvement on fit. I originally made it in a workshop and it never fit correctly. It smashed my hips, was too big in the chest, and didn't give the correct silhouette at all. Now that I let out the hips, the waist can reduce nicely, and so now the bust fits, too. Yay!

It's not terribly impressive lying on a table, so I'll have to put it on soon and take some proper pictures... But I've been so costuming lazy lately. Which might be why I never posted about it...

I had a lot of fun trimming this corset. I stitched some rows of lace and beading together for the bust and added some yummy silk ribbon. The garters were surprisingly easy. I stretched elastic as I fed it through the machine, stitching lace trim to the sides, to add a bit of fluff. The top of the elastic loops around safety pins to attach them to the body of the corset. The ends are fed around garter pieces, with slides to adjust the length. I also flossed it - love details!

Because I was redoing a corset, and not starting from the bringing, the grommets and busk were already in place. I made the lace work around them by slicing though it, turning it under, and stitching the lace around the grommets and busk. 

And then I made a new chemise! With the move, and a lot of my costumes still being in storage, I couldn't find my edwardian chemise I had made just before the move. But that's ok - I made a newer, better one! 

I really had a lot of fun with all the lace and insertion. Now I just need to motivate myself to get working on the outer layers. I'm feeling a little more inspired, though, since the costume college packet came!

Frilly things ahead!

Yay! I've been so productive this last week! I dove into making new Edwardian undies with full force. 

Shelley Peters Sewing Workshop and an S-Bend Corset

Imagine my surprise when I found out there was going to be a corset making workshop in Las Vegas. Let's just say my husband almost drove off the road when I opened the email and shrieked... Oops.

It was last weekend and it was great. Shelley Peters, of The Widow Peters' Kansas Mercantile, came and did a two day workshop. She was so helpful and patient and came with all her supplies so we got to shop too! The other girls that came to it were fantastic and it was beyond awesome to meet other ladies in Las Vegas who love to do this too. 

And here I was for so long on my lonely little sewing island :)

So on to the sewing!

I chose to do an early Edwardian S Bend corset. Why? One of the other girls was going to make one too, which gave me the idea, and even though I haven't finished my worsted stays, I wanted to make something completely foreign to me and use the opportunity to learn from Shelley, versus just making something I already know how to do.

We used the Truly Victorian 1903 Corset pattern and it went together like a dream. The first day was spent making a muslin. I have never put so much time into a mock up. This was my favorite part of working with an instructor: my patience increased ten fold and I paid attention and really thought about the process instead of just the outcome.

The muslin was marked like the pattern paper,
with multiple sizes and lengths marked.

The blue line is my adjustments to the pattern.
I found it rode too low over the hips and in front
so I couldn't sit down.

Shelley showing us the lining
on her polonaise.

Day two we worked with the coutil, making the real thing. This Edwardian corset uses one layer of coutil, boning tapes, each set with two bones, and cotton bias tape to bind the top and bottom. The bones are flat, not spiral steel.

The gores were set in and topstitched.

Pretty topstitching! So neatly done! Yay!

Post busk, pre bones and binding.

I got distracted here and stopped taking pictures. Working too hard! One note, regarding the boning channels: this corset pattern was designed for a larger lady, while the two of us making this corset at the workshop were on the small side. There ended up being issues with enough space for the boning. If you make this pattern, and you are thin, expect to have to monkey a little with the boning pattern to fit in enough support.

Here's the (mostly) finished product. Mostly, because I want to trim it and make it frilly. It also needs it's pads - the S Bend shape is highly dependent on padding. The straight front adds to the illusion as well, unlike the curved front of earlier victorian corsets, but the pads are essential. That is why, in the pictures below, the bust and hips are loose. The corset is supposed to be snug at the waist and then you pad the rump and the bust to get the curvy, pigeon shape so associated with the early 20th century silhouette.

11:00 at night! Look at those dark circles!
I have a new respect for people in
sweat shops lol

Shelley had me hold out the back to
show where the pad would go.

I'm still deciding how to trim it.

Since I have been home from the workshop,  I made up my pads, as they are in the Truly Victorian pattern. I'm happy with the rum pad, though it needs some frilly trimming, but the bust pads are just not enough, in my opinion. I think I will have to make up some kind of bust improver to be tucked into the front to give more of the pouter pigeon look.

I chose this 1/4 inch cotton twill drawstring
because it isn't bulky under the corset.
It is also not slippery, unlike the pretty ribbon
I was thinking of using.

The bust pads from the pattern.
They are supposed to go under your bust to fill in the space
between your boobs and your ribs and the corset,
creating a smooth front.

I will shortly be making up some kind of bust improver, perhaps a soft one like this to tuck into the front, or a boned one like the picture below to really add some shape! A frilly, ruffly, corset cover will also improve the silhouette.

Here is a great article from Foundations Revealed, in reference to the S Bend silhouette and the corsets, padding and posture that contribute to it: The S-Bend in Context