1776 stays FINALLY DONE!!

Whew!! I spent every spare minute of the last two weeks sewing, alternating between Melissa's costume and mine. I finally finished binding my stays last Thursday, just in time for Sherwood Forest on Saturday. It was so much fun. I had a glass of mead, a shredded troll sandwich, and frozen chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick. I really wanted another glass of mead, but my allergies and sinuses were really bad, which often triggers my migraines. I already had a slight headache, and it was a super windy day with loads of dust and pollen in the air. I learned the hard way not to drink too much mead when my sinuses are acting up.

We got tons of compliments. In the previous two years, we've gotten precisely two compliments (one per year). Actually, those compliments were directed at Melissa, even though our costumes were the same (except made from different fabric) because I made them. But Melissa is beautiful and carries herself with confidence whereas I feel like a shy little mouse.

So I counted at least seven compliments this year, and many of them were from ladies who said they were experienced seamstresses. Many of them asked questions about the boning and a couple of them even called them stays, which is when you know someone knows their stuff. Others called them bodices or corsets, but I didn't care. It made all that hard, tedious work so worthwhile.

Here are a few pics.

I hate my face. Why couldn't God have blessed me with a nice jawline?

My stays...

Melissa's stays...

I love the lacing on these.

Look at that pattern matching!

A few construction notes... For each pair of stays, I used 3/16" half-oval basketry reed for the boning, and just put two in each boning channel, flat sides together. Boning channels were 1/2" wide. For the front lacing strips, I used 1/4" heavy duty steel boning. For the back lacing strips, I used regular 1/4" spring steel boning.

I bound my stays using very thin, soft, flexible leather. Melissa used narrow bias tape, but I can't remember if it was single- or double-fold. I made Melissa's stays but she did the binding on them and did a great job! She's never even done it before!

I know the edges aren't supposed to touch.

I shaved a little off the side back seam for Melissa's stays and she loved how snug they were. I accidentally cut the armholes of her stays too big. Mine felt snug but I could breath in them easily, and I wished I could have laced them tighter.

They were extremely comfortable, the reed boning held up beautifully, and the style is just gorgeous. Only two pattern pieces (okay, three if you could the shoulder strap), but I couldn't imagine achieving a better fit with a pattern that has more pieces. They can really cinch in your waist, and they make your bust area look amazing. I highly recommend the 1776 stays pattern from Corsets and Crinolines.

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.

Like a pioneer

I'm having a massively exciting evening of pinning knife pleats by the light of the fireplace, just like a real pioneer. :)

And then I BASTED them in place BY HAND!

I don't know why some people hate knife pleats. They are so beautiful. I just eyeball them since the only good tutorials I've found involve math, and I can't math. My waistbands always end up too big, so I just by default make my skirts and petticoats the 18th century style for adjustability.

My puppy has been "helping" me (she likes burying her Nylabones in the skirt fabric). Right now she's leaning on me and squeaking her Blue Guy (and deafening me and my husband in the process). I wish I could get a picture, but in the dim light of the fireplace it's just not possible.So here's a picture of her from a couple of weeks ago, when I caught her in a calm moment.

I hope you are all having an equally lovely evening.

(((hugs)))

Pirate Wedding - Skirt 2

Skirt 2, the burgundy skirt was finally finished last weekend. And? It's too short. I should have made it two inches longer. I used tiny stitches to hem it and the thread is damn near invisible in the textured fabric of the skirt, so there is no way I can pick out the hem. And I had juuuust enough thread to finish the skirt.

But, the fabric is nice and bulky, so it would look okay on its own. Or I could use it as a petticoat. I should have remembered, when I was measuring it, that with the petticoat underneath I would need to make the skirt longer. Oh well. I was kind of upset about it when I tried it on with my corset so I didn't take pictures of it while wearing it. But a blog entry without pictures is boring, so here's a picture of my skirt draped over the ironing board. I'll try to take pictures of it being worn today.

I do have a matelasse coverlet that I bought for $6 or $7 at Savers with the idea of making it into a quilted petticoat. I could make it up and pleat it onto a yoke. It would be short enough to not show under the burgundy skirt, and with the yoke it wouldn't be as bulky around my waist as the osnaburg petticoat, and it would give just as much bulk. I might do that... 

I've been thinking about my outside corset that I want made for my costume. I keep looking at the one I bought. It's made out of one piece of fabric, in other words, it doesn't have panels. (What is the deal with my camera that using the flash makes things DARKER???)

I keep thinking, surely I could trace it and make one of my own? And then, I found what I think is the pattern she made it from. It's from the Elizabethan Corset Pattern Generator (ECG for short).

Looks pretty easy, huh?

I started to get excited. I thought, "I AM DOING THIS!" I bought buckram and matching thread for my fabric. I bought giant cable ties for the boning. I bought wire cutters to cut the giant cable ties. I bought fray check for the cut edges of my fabric because it frays like crazy. I traced my corset, cut out a muslin for the mockup, retraced the pattern based on the mockup, and cut out my fabric. Next post will be about making the corset.

Pirate Wedding - Skirt 1

Okay! Yesterday I made the first skirt of the pirate wedding costume ensemble using the homespun-like dark blue-grey sari fabric. It looks fabulous with my Elizabethan corset, which is NOT the corset I'm wearing to the wedding, but I wanted my outfit to be wearable to Renaissance fests too, so I'm happy with it.

I'm actually wearing a Victorian corset underneath the Elizabethan bodice, haha. You can see it poking out of the top. The petticoat + blue-grey skirt are so BULKY, and I still have another skirt to go on top, so I felt like I needed an under-corset over my over-corset! I am bullet-proof wearing this outfit. I love the Elizabethan bodice so much, but I think in this case it would be better on top, rather than a foundation garment. I want to see if the lady who made it will make it in the gold tapestry fabric I bought.

The skirt fabric is actually more like a gauze. It's very sheer. I'm wearing it over my 18th-century style petticoat and you can tell. And the fabric sticks to itself making it difficult to work with. I wanted to attach my bed skirt ruffle but if I attached it at the hem of the skirt, the skirt would be too long. As it was, the skirt was just the right length. The ruffle is about 15" deep, but I couldn't just iron & hem the skirt fabric across at 15" because it stuck to itself. And I couldn't attach the ruffle to it 15" above the hem for the same reason. It looks so good with the ruffle attached (just pinned as a mockup), I would hate to not be able to use it.

I haven't attached the waistband to the blue-grey skirt yet. It's too big for my waist, because I'm not experienced enough to figure out how deep the pleats should be for a fitted waistband. I tried to gather it using the sewing machine with my stitch setting on 5 and using a very strong thread, but... No. It is actually much easier to do knife pleats than to gather that much fabric along a thread. I made it like the petticoat, but I just sewed one seam up the center back and left an opening to get into. If I fold both sides over each other, it gives a bustle effect. I think I'll need to use hooks & eyes on the waistband for it.

18th-Century Petticoat

The photos are crummy but they get the point across. I took them with my iPhone because my "real" camera is a POS.

Step 1: Wash and dry fabric and iron it. Then hem along the selvedge. You don't have to trim the selvedge off.

I hemmed it initially and then had to hem it again when I was finished with it so that it would be floor length. I didn't want to hem it to floor length until I was finished because I wanted to measure the length while I was wearing it with a crinoline.

Step 2: Fold fabric in half and pin together along hemline to make sure it's even on both sides. Then make a cut through the hem and tear to make the rest of the cut. Check out the blogs I linked in my previous post for instructions on making the pocket slits.

Step 3: Take one half of the fabric. Fold it in half again and mark the center point with a safety pin. Make the knife pleats. You'll want to have the pleats face the center of the fabric (where the safety pin is) on each side of the safety pin. You have to pin each pleat and when you've got the whole piece of fabric pleated, sew along the top to secure the pleats.

I had to redo my pleats 3 or 4 times because I couldn't get the spacing right. Then I remembered Google is my friend. The standard knife pleat formula is 3-inches of fabric = 1 inch of pleat. I used a credit card as a template and measured my pleats that way.

It should look like this:

 Step 4 & 5: Attach the waistband and ties, then assemble skirt. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of this process! I bought a piece of unbleached muslin for the waistband. A quarter yard will do. Cut a 2" to 3" piece, fold in half lenthwise, iron to set crease. Then fold each half in towards center and iron to set creases. Now you've made something like double-fold bias tape, except it's not cut on the bias.

I sewed on the two waistbands and their ties before assembling the skirt because I thought that would be easier than wrestling 4.5 yds of fabric. After you've done the waistband and ties, pin the two skirt halves together right faces together, sew up the sides to the pocket slits. The fabric will be heavy, so put extra stitches in across the bottom of the pocket slits to reinforce them so the seams don't rip out.

Here's what the waistband and ties look like assembled:

And here's the finished petticoat! You can see where I re-hemmed the skirt. I like the look of that wide hem. The skirt is heavy and full and has a wonderful swing to it. I'll take a picture of it on when I get my corset!

My first project

I decided to start this blog to chronicle my projects so I can easily refer back to them in the future if I want to try any of them again. Or use what I learned to try something new. After going to my first Renaissance fest since I was a child, I became obsessed with trying to make my own costumes.

My first project was an 18th century-style petticoat, which I think would look awesome as a peasant-type of skirt. I wanted this, which I saw on etsy. It was listed for $60 + $18 shipping.

I didn't want to pay $78 for it because there's a lot of stuff I want, so I decided to try and make it myself. I bought 4.5 yards of unbleached osnaburg fabric at Jo-Ann Fabric for $4.99/yd and followed the excellent instructions on this website and this website.

It was really easy! The hardest part was figuring out how big the knife pleats should be and how closely spaced to fit the waistband. But since it ties in the front and back, it's pretty adjustable so I didn't have to worry about being extremely precise.

Next post will be how I made the petticoat.