Edwardian corset finally finished!!!

This weekend I finally finished my Edwardian corset!! I didn't end up using any of my antique lace because I didn't have enough of the Irish crochet lace (it was about half an inch too short to go across the top), but I found this cream-colored pleated lace at Hobby Lobby and immediately knew it would be perfect.

I'm very happy with the way it looks on me, though I did learn a few things in the process of trying to tighten the laces by myself.

1. I only set every other grommet, except for at the waist. When I was tightening the corset, the edges of the lacing strips bowed out around the curve between my waist and hip. I think I now know why the grommets are so closely spaced on the pattern--because it helps the distribute the tension on those areas more evenly.

Now, this could be because I couldn't tighten it evenly from top to bottom, but I really think I need to go back and put more grommets in. I'm thinking this shouldn't be a problem, I'll just undo the stitching on the bias binding on the bottom, take out those two bones on either side of the grommets, and stick a few more in there.

2. If you lace the corset to have those loops on either side of the waist, you really can't tighten the corset yourself because there's no way to hold the loops and tighten at the same time.

3. If you've torn your rotator cuff in the last six months and are trying not to put too much stress on the joint so that it can heal, trying to tighten a corset by yourself is a really good way to aggravate the injury. My shoulder had been feeling almost all better, and I've screwed it up again because I couldn't wait to try the corset on. But what can I do, since I don't have anyone to help me. My ex said he would have helped me, but I think that would be weird.

So I only have a few pics from the front, since I couldn't lace the back properly. Like I said, I'm really happy with how it looks. I was afraid I would look like a chunky sausage in this thing.

The underbust and waist fit quite well. I'm not sure if I'll be able to maintain parallel edges of the lacing strips all the way down though. I just can't get a feel for how it will fit over my hips when it's laced properly.

I can see that this style of corset isn't meant for waist training or creating any kind of an hourglass figure. It's meant to create a columnar silhouette for those long, lean styles of the 1910s-onward.

I think it's very interesting that girdles in the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s kept the same form as the Edwardian corset. I'd kind of like to experiment with making some girdles of my own because I like that kind of thing and I have a problem with getting very bloated sometimes--I can never predict when--and I have to wear loose clothes all the time because of that. I would love to have a corset/girdle to wear under my work clothes so that I don't have to worry about looking okay in my dress in the morning, only to appear to be 5 months pregnant later in the afternoon because my GI tract is so touchy.

Too much information? I'm sorry. But, it is a problem that a lot of women have.

Anyway, yay for my first REAL corset being finished!!

Summer dresses - New Look 6457, Part the Second

Hey look, it's New Look 6457 again! When I found a fabulous vintage sheet in bright, cheerful colors with an awesome little landscape scene on it, I knew it was perfect for this pattern.

The first dress was so (relatively) easy to make and is such a cute, perfect style, I couldn't wait to try it again.

And, well, it was still easy, but somehow the seam over my right boob (your left as you look at the picture) was off-center.

And damn it if I can't get that top band sewn on straight. It's maddening. I had that same problem with the first New Look 6457 I made. Why something like that is so difficult to accomplish, I don't know.

Oh, and the bodice is a little too tight in the bust. Again, I have no idea why, because New Look 6457 the First is not. I haven't gained any weight, and I didn't accidentally cut it smaller because I trace my pattern pieces on freezer paper before I sew anything for the first time, and I just reused those pieces. It does stretch out a bit during the day though.

I sewed the size 10 bodice with the size 16 (biggest size) skirt, because I love a full skirt, and since it's just gathered I didn't have to worry about fitting issues at the waist.

Here it is, in all it's radiant glory.

That strap on my right shoulder isn't really set crooked. Straps on that shoulder always tend to slip though.

Ignore tacky sports bra straps.

Can you see the off-center seam on my bosom?

Aww yisss... What you are looking at here is a perfectly aligned zipper seam.

I almost cut the front panel of the skirt out upside down. Thankfully, I caught it and flipped the pattern piece over before pinning it to the fabric. But, I flaked out by the time I was laying the bodice pieces out and so those are all upside down... But I don't think it's all that noticeable.

As always, by the time I've put in the zipper (which went PERFECTLY this time!!), I'm sick of the dress and impatient to wear it, so I get sloppy on attaching the shoulder straps. I should hand sew to attach them to the inside of the front bodice band, but I don't. This is why I don't show close-up details of my dresses, haha. You'll see my crooked seams and lazy stitching.

It's a great, sturdy little dress. I wore it to the dog park as well as out shopping. I need to make more weekend dresses out of sheets. Then I can use the same dress for both errands and sweatier activities and have more space in my closet.

1980s (?) dress refashion

I am obsessed with dress re-make blogs and when I came across this hideously unflattering belted tent dress from I'm guessing the 1980s in this adorable daisy-print fabric, I had to buy it. It was only $5 (thrift stores in Austin are expensive), and had so much yardage, it was perfect for a re-make. 

Look at this beauty. (no, I meant look at the dress, not me, silly!)

Ugh. Just... Who would DO this to themselves?

Unbelted. Lots of potential.

I love the fabric! And the matching buttons and pleats!

My dog immediately recognized it as a fashion don't and started trying to eat the buttons.

I found a sewing blogger that often remakes clothes, usually by just trying it on, grabbing fabric at the sides and waist, guessing how many inches need to come off, and then cutting and sewing something that ends up looking fabulous in no time. So rather than take notes from other bloggers with more precise tutorials on how to remake a shapeless ugly dress into something cute, I decided to try her method. I can't for the life of me remember her blog name, or the search terms I used when I came across her blog, or else I would link to her here.

I tried on the dress, inside out, used clothes pins to take up the extra fabric on the sides, marked the waist, carefully removed it, cut off the bodice, stitched up the sides, and tried it back on. And for some reason, the waist was now just under my boobs. I have no idea how that happened.

So I cut a midriff band from the sleeves, using the McCall's 5094 pattern, and that solved the issue of the bodice length.

But it was very saggy in the back. I stitched down the pleat on either end of the shoulder yoke (I think that's the term for it?), which made it much more nicely fitted, except then I couldn't extend my arms forward without lots of uncomfortable fabric straining. So I picked the seams out of those pleats down to a couple of inches above my waist and had room to breath and move around again.

Gathered the skirt, stuck a zipper in the side, bound the armholes with grey double-fold bias tape, and voila... It's a damn cute little summer dress and I am really happy with it. I get tons of compliments every time I wear it!

It did take a lot longer than I thought it would, and I almost shelved the project at one point (read: almost threw it across the living room in a fit of rage), but picked it up again after a good night's sleep and had no problems with it after that. :-)

Summer dresses - New Look 6457

In an act of stunning practicality (and after a fit of rage at my Edwardian corset), I decided that the Edwardian corset/costume was more of a fall/winter project and that my time would be better spent in making cute sundresses out of the fabric and patterns that have been side-eyeing me from my stash all summer long.

The first dress I made was from New Look 6457, view A.

I'd never made a dress with a fitted bodice, but it was actually a LOT easier than I thought it would be!

Gathering the skirt to fit the bodice was actually a LOT harder than I thought it would be!

I struggled for two hours to gather that damn thing and pin it to the bodice, and when I finally sewed it all together, I realized that the bodice was too long in the waist and I was going to have to take it apart and do all that gathering all over again. I immediately turned to my beloved genius sewing friend to bitch about it and she gave me this advice:

First I mark the center and quarter marks of each piece (I mark center and the fold and find the center in each of the half pieces) – I do this for both the skirt and bodice pieces.

I do the two rows of basting stitches on the machine (longest stitch) – using the throat plate markings and foot for gauging.  Leave long tails of thread. – the more rows of stitching you do the more ordered your gathers will be, but they will not stay that way once you removed the basting stitches after the bodice is sewn to the skirt.  I find two rows is good, and saves you if one row breaks – which does happen at times. 

 

I pull the threads and gather the skirt – pull it up to be just a touch smaller than the bodice.  Place a straight pin at the end of each side of the skirt and figure-8 the thread around the pins to lock the gathers as you work. 

 

Start pinning the skirt to bodice by first matching side seams then center marks and finally quarter marks – while adjusting the gathers evenly within each quarter section. 

 

This process shouldn’t take long at all.  

And by golly, she was right! It was SO EASY to gather the skirt and attach it to the bodice using her instructions! Absolute genius!

This dress was also a challenge for me because I had to set a zipper, which I've only done once--on my pirate costume overskirt, and it came out off-center but you couldn't tell because of the flounces. I've been avoiding it since then. My beloved genius sewing friend gave me instructions for that, too.

First you baste up the seam where the zipper will be and press the seam open. 

 

Lay the zipper, pull side down, against the basted seam – lining the teeth up with the seam line – using scotch tape to hold the zipper in place.  Place the scotch tape across the zipper when you lay it down, and long enough to hold the zipper and seam allowance to the back of the fabric piece.

 

Once you have the zipper in place securely, flip the section over to face up. Pull a piece of scotch tape the length of the finished zipper opening (or do smaller sections at a time and piece it together).  You need to fold the tape down the center back on itself – ON THE UNSTICKY SIDE.  What you want to do is make a center fold down the tape so you can line the center fold up with the seam line. 

 

Do this down the length of the seam line until you have the end of the tape at the end of the zipper opening.

 

This becomes your stitching guide on the right side of the fabric – the tape is the PERFECT width.  No guessing, no sewing from the back side so bobbin stitches are on the top. 

 

You just stitch around the top scotch tape and pull all of the tape away, rip the basting seam open – plain zipper set.  It is the only way I set a plain zipper.  Always have tape in your sewing kit.

GOD, I LOVE HER!!!

So, here are the results. 

Please ignore my grody dog-walking shoes. I forgot I was wearing them. I'd have cropped them out but thought it would look too strange to have a headless and footless dress model.

Yeah, the dress is supposed to have a hook at the top and I set the zipper too low. So what??? I was sick of the dress by then and ready to move on. #idgaf

I added the ribbon belt because for some reason the bodice stretched out a lot after a few hours the first time I wore it. But ribbon belts are just really cute with that style of dress, and I was lucky to find something that matched perfectly. 

Mayyyybe the skirt is a little uneven at the hem. It might be slightly uneven at the top edge of the bodice too. But, I don't think it's too noticeable. I'm really happy with this dress!

Renaissance fest costume for friend

I finished this a couple of weeks ago and finally have time to post pictures.

My friend, Melissa, wanted a Renaissance fest costume. I wanted to get experience sewing for other people, so I offered to make her a costume for just the cost of materials. I don't think I got a whole lot of experience in sewing for other people since she fits into my other corsets perfectly, but hey! I was sewing for someone else, which involves dealing with a different kind of pressure & performance anxiety, and I was able to follow through on the project without feeling like I had a burden on my shoulders. That's something that I've always worried about--how I would deal with the responsibility of sewing for others.

On to the fun costume stuff! Melissa's favorite colors are pink and green. I happened to have that pink and green fabric remnant I'd originally bought for the Titanic corset (a project that I still haven't attempted to pick back up). I decided to use that for her corset, since I already had the binding and ribbon for lacing to go with it.

I used heavy duty nylon duct ties for it, and I don't know if I was just really inconsistent in sewing my boning channels or if the ties were slightly wider than the cable ties I normally use, but many of them were a very tight fit. I had to be creative and stuff some of the channels with the weed whacker cable I bought earlier this year as experimental boning material that just didn't work out. I'm glad that wasn't a complete waste of money! Also used four hacksaw blades wrapped in duct tape for the front of the corset where a wooden busk would normally be, for extra-strong tummy-sucking in ability.

I made the skirt out of 4 yds of green linen-rayon blend fabric I bought at Joanne's. I had a 50% off coupon, so it was very reasonably priced. This is the first time I've bought fabric by the yard for a project, and it felt very decadent! Normally I use thrift-store linens (and love them).

I made the chemise out of that sheer poly-cotton curtain panel I bought at Goodwill about a month ago using this tutorial, which is the best thing ever.

The petticoat is made out of a cotton-something synthetic blend curtain also from Goodwill. I detailed the petticoat in a previous post. I ended up loving that petticoat so much. I saw a few other identical curtains at another Goodwill, but can't remember which one, and wish I had gotten them now, but at the time I still hadn't finished that petticoat so I didn't realize how much I would end up loving them.

LOOK WHAT I MADE!!

The Challenge: Make my friend a Ren fest costume

Fabric: Chemise: A cotton-poly blend curtain from Goodwill; Corset: fabric remnant of unknown fabric content (probably rayon or cotton-rayon) from Joanne's; Skirt: linen-rayon blend from Joanne's; Petticoat: cotton-something synthetic blend curtain from Goodwill; cotton double-fold bias tape and quilt binding for petticoat waistband & hem, corset binding, and waistband for skirt

Pattern: 18th-century style petticoat for petticoat and skirt; Elizabethan corset pattern generator for corset; thingsofcloth peasant blouse tutorial for chemise

Notions: Gutermann brand white thread for petticoat & green thread for corset boning channels and skirt; heavy-duty nylon duct ties & heavy-duty weed whacker cable for corset boning; size 0 grommets for corset lacing; double-fold bias tape & quilt binding for petticoat waistband and hem, skirt waistband, and corset binding; cotton twill tape for waist ties on petticoat and skirt; satin ribbon for corset lacing and shoulder straps; four 32 TPI 12" hacksaw blades for front of corset/busk

How historically accurate is it? Petticoat and skirt: the pattern for the petticoat and skirt is very historically accurate, but the fabric is not. I think the hem depth is accurate (I can't remember where I read hems of 18th century skirts were rarely more than 1-inch deep). I think using bias tape to enclose the raw edge of the hem might have been done sometimes, but I don't know. I think the waistband finishing isn't very accurate, but the waist ties are. Corset: the pattern is historical-ish, the boning pattern is probably just fine historically because from what I've read, there were no hard and fast rules for corset boning patterns in 18th-century and earlier corsets. The boning materials are not accurate. I don't think the grommets are historically accurate either, but I can't remember when corsets started to use grommets instead of hand-bound eyelets. Anyway, the grommets should be size 00 but all I could find when I first started sewing was a size 0 grommet punching kit. Chemise: not historically accurate--I don't think historical chemises had drawstring necklines, and I think sleeves were set differently (like with underarm gussets).

Hours to complete: I really need to start keeping track of time spent on my projects, but having to check the clock every time I take a break is annoying. So the project took about 2 weeks to complete from start to finish. It took several days to finally figure out how to make the chemise due to making mockups of other patterns that didn't work out. When I finally found the thingsofcloth tutorial, it took about four hours to make the chemise because I had to finish the seams with a zigzag stitch to keep them from unraveling. That sheer poly-cotton fabric was awful to work with. The corset took about 10 days. The skirt took a few days of working on it after I got home from work.


First worn: We're going to the Sherwood Forest Festival together on March 31!

Total cost: Petticoat: $4.99 for the fabric, $1.50 for 1st package of quilt binding, $1.79 for 2nd package of quilt binding, I already had the thread and the cotton twill tape. So $8.96 total (including tax). Skirt: about $20 for the fabric, $1.79 for the quilt binding for the waistband, and I already had the twill tape for waist ties. So about $21.79 total. Chemise: $2.99 plus tax for the fabric. $0.99 for the ribbon for drawstring. Corset: about $3.50 for the fabric remnant, $8 for the satin ribbon, $3.29 for binding, about $7 for boning, and I already had the grommets. So approx. $21.79. Hmm... I'm forgetting something. I added up my receipts and it came to about $68 for the whole costume, which includes two shirts I purchased for Melissa's sons from Salvation Army for about $7 total. Oh well.

Fabric addiction & new petticoat

Um... I need to stop buying fabric.

I only buy fabric from thrift stores, but still, it adds up. And there's no point in Buying Fabric With A Purpose (to make costumes) if I'm not actually DOING anything with it (yet).

But then, I find things like my most recent weekend finds:

$1.99 - for 7 yds of poly-cotton fabric from Goodwill. I can use this for mockups and practicing new things. For instance, yesterday I used it to practice making a chemise, which I've never done before. I've bought yardage from Saver's in the past and used it to learn how to make men's shirts.

$.50 - for three panels of red cotton velveteen from Salvation Army. I'll measure them when I get home. I'll save one to make a corset to go with the Christmas ren fest costume I've been planning (I found 4-5 yards of a red and green plaid at Saver's about a year ago and have been saving it for this).

(I haven't washed the fabric yet in this pic.)

$2.50 - for 6 yds of what I think is silk damask! I can't remember the yardage, and it's not a full width (only one of the selvedges is intact). It measures about 26 inches wide. It was hemmed using some kind of glue, but the glue is old enough to have lost its "grip" so I can unfold the hemmed edges easily. I haven't washed this yet either. I don't know what I'll do with it. It's so beautiful. I may have to just sell it and let someone more talented use it.

Pictures will follow later for the following:

$2.99 - for a long poly-cotton voile curtain that I'm going to use for a chemise for my friend's costume.

$1.99 - for 3 yds of retro fabric in perfect condition.

$6.02 - for 4 yd white linen curtain swag to use in a chemise for myself, a queen-sized 100% cotton sheet to use for a petticoat, and a vintage embroidered tablecloth from the Goodwill Outlet where everything is sold by the pound.

In fact, maybe I'll post pictures of everything in my stash. I spent only a fraction of the cost on the yardage and household linens that I will be turning into costume pieces that I would have spent buying from Joanne's, but I still feel kind of overwhelmed by it all. :-)

Oh, I almost forgot! I finished my friend's petticoat last night.

LOOK WHAT I MADE!

Me modeling the petticoat. I need to lose weight. :-(

Detail of fabric and hem.

I'm going to steal the Dreamstress's format for reporting on projects for her Historical Sew Fortnightly, even though I'm not participating in it (yet). It's a wonderful way to summarize projects.

The Challenge: Make a petticoat for my friend's Ren fest costume
Fabric: A cotton-something synthetic blend curtain from Goodwill
Pattern: 18th-century style petticoat
Notions: White thread, grey double-fold bias tape/quilt binding for waistband and hem, cotton twill tape for waist ties 
How historically accurate is it? The pattern is very historically accurate, but the fabric is not. I think the hem depth is accurate (I can't remember where I read hems of 18th century skirts were rarely more than 1-inch deep). I think using bias tape to enclose the raw edge of the hem might have been done sometimes, but I don't know. I think the waistband finishing isn't very accurate, but the waist ties are. 
Hours to complete: I didn't keep track, but will try to from now on. I think about 4-5 hours? Took longer than usual because of having to pick out the seams and learn how to do a French seam 
First worn: TBD 
Total cost: $4.99 for the fabric, $1.50 for 1st package of quilt binding, $1.79 for 2nd package of quilt binding, I already had the thread and the cotton twill tape. So $8.96 total (including tax).


This petticoat is about 90 inches circumference. I'm so happy with it now, but it was so frustrating to work on because I had to tear out all the seams, the edges were very easy to fray, the fabric is thick so I had to use a French seam on the sides, which looks sloppy, and I had to use bias tape quilt binding on the hem because it was too thick to hem normally with those massive side seams. BUT--that fabric makes a beautiful petticoat, the bias tape on the hem is a nice touch, and the thick side seams helps the petticoat to stand out more.

Now I wish I'd bought more of these curtains to use in the future. Maybe I'll be making a run to Goodwill after work. :-) If only I knew how well these would sell. But I think, if they're cheap enough, they'll probably sell okay.

Pirate Wedding - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

So my sister's pirate wedding was last weekend. My costume looked SO GLORIOUSLY FABULOUS, everyone kept asking me if I'd had it commissioned and I proudly said "I MADE THIS LOOK WHAT I MADE I TAUGHT MYSELF ON THE INTERNET!!!"

Me and my sis... I hadn't put on my belt and dagger and bracelets yet:

Me and the best man:

Back of the costume. See? You can't even tell the zipper is off-center:

Close-up of the dagger from when I tried on my whole costume for the first time:

I had to buy the chemise because I was just too burned out to make my own. I think it looks better than the gold one would have anyway.

I was really afraid that my costume would be too plain compared to everyone else's, but it was hands-down the best one there besides my sister's gorgeous costume.

I am so proud of myself!