My jacket, a new cap, a new pair of stays and a ball on the horizon.

Since it was a holiday today, I didn't have anything legit to do, so I had no excuse not to take the time to get dressed and take some photos of my new little jacket. I accessorized with, among other things, a linen cap I made in Janea Whitacre's thimble class at Costume College. It was pretty cool. She sketched me out a pattern for the cap in like two seconds, holding newsprint up to my head a little this way and that.  

In other news, I just finished a new pair of stays. The fastest I have ever made them. I started out all careful, hand stitching, with big plans. I was going to do them up properly for the HSF: Wood, Metal, Something challenge. Then I heard about the Road to Regency symposium and ball (eeek! yay!) at Gadsby's Tavern at the end of September. My husband and I love Alexandria so there's no excuse not to go. So I gave in and zipped the rest of the boning channels through the sewing machine. Everything else I hand sewed. You kind of have to. There's really no way to do anything but the channels on the machine. I figure when I'm not on a deadline I can do some fully boned stays up properly (and with an extra half inch of length... but that's a whole other issue).

I wore them all day today, fitting linings and petticoats and such (for the ball yay!). They are very comfortable, but ideally I would like to do the next pair with a little more length... for ahem, spillage issues. But that's kind of what I get for speeding through and not taking care in fitting. P.s. the pattern is J.P Ryan, which went together nicely.

Another way I saved time on the stays was to bind them with half inch linen tape instead of leather. The seams are also covered with quarter inch linen tape instead of leather. Fabric wise, the stays are made of yellow linen over two layers of white linen and a white linen lining. I used 16/2 linen for the eyelets. The boning is quarter inch reed.

Next up will be a new gown for the ball. I've always wanted to go to a ball at Gadsby's, since I was like twelve probably. I'm kind of stoked :) Eek!

Saturday at CoCo

Saturday I hopped on a plane and spent the day at Costume College. It was way too short, but lots of fun.

I wanted to do the whole weekend, but we had guests in town so I just went for a couple classes. Janea Whitacre's thimble class was definitely worth the early morning. My flight took off at six!

We each got a darling little silver thimble and I had, like, the biggest aha! moment. Apparently I have been holding my needle wrong all these years... Woopsie.

Yes.

No.

I took a filet crochet class, as well. The class was fine, but I am rubbish at it. Like, baaaad.

I got to shop a bit, and found some nice buttons and some little silver bits, including an adorable strawberry for my chatelaine. So cute!

I'm sorry, how freakin cute is this?!

Also, I got to see a room full of ladies in curtain along outfits. Everyone looked fab! I would have loved to meet everyone, but everyone was busy taking pictures and I was dying to find some lunch. So ladies, you looked great! Well done.

Next year I will be definitely be setting aside the weekend to attend... with lots of outfits :)

HSF #4: Embellish - Tucks

The Challenge: #4: Embellish

Fabric: 15+ yards of striped, white on white, sheer cotton for the fashion fabric. The lining used under a yard of pima cotton broadcloth and the hem used a yard or two of plain ol white calico.

Pattern: Truly Victorian TV447. The 1863 Sheer dress (modified).

Year: The pattern says 1863, so I'm thinking give or take a few years.

Notions: I used thin, cotton cord for piping, cotton twill for the hem, cotton thread for everything, little buttons on the inner bodice and reed for boning the darts.

How historically accurate is it? To the best of my knowledge, pretty darn. It is machine sewn, and I shortened the thread length to better represent the small stitches present on extant examples. The dress is based on examples from the era, most notably this dress, which obviously inspired the tucks on the skirt. Check out more examples here. The dress is hand finished. The main, glaring inaccuracy is I used plastic buttons on the inside, since that's what I had (I also used my sewing machine for the button holes and I am so bummed I did that. It was fast, but it doesn't come with the same satisfaction and beauty as hand sewn. Boo pout). Also, the twill used on the hem is probably not the exact same as what was used, but the use and application of it is consistent with originals.

Hours to complete: On and off sewing since January.

First worn: Not yet. Just for fitting. Hopefully soon... like when it warms up...

Total cost: Stash project! So I consider it a freebie. Yay! But the fabric cost like $15 a yard a year or two ago when I originally purchased it.

So, on to the notes and pictures...

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