Thursday, June 14, 2007

Regency bodiced petticoat/short corset


So, not much to say, except that I'm going to a Regency Exhibition Ball and so am sewing a new dress. Which, of course, requires a new corset. This one is black cotton lined and interlined with black linen, and it's short. My first short corset. It will be transformed into a petticoat when I whipstitch a skirt to it - my ballgown will have a train, so I need something to keep it relatively safe...


The cording channels (I'm using 1/16" hemp cord) aren't quite finished; I doubt I'll get all the cording done before the ball. As of now I have all but the top front binding on, and all the boning is sewn in. I'll post more photos when my family gets back from vacation with the camera in a week!

The Pattern: a significantly shortened version of the 1805-1825 corset in Period Costume for Stage and Screen, by Jean Hunnisett.

Monday, March 19, 2007

New (non-historic) PANTS!!

I've had this pattern forever, and finally got around to sewing them! The fabric was off my mom's fabric shelf, and I didn't notice until I was sewing the pieces together that there are fade lines from where the denim was folded... But oh well, I'll probably spray them with bleach to cover that up. I know, they're not historic - but I love them! I just made them a week ago.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

My Pink Pet Kirtle


I know, I already posted a tidy list of things to be finished, but since then, I've actually worked on a couple of them! One of these is my Elizabethan Kirtle. It is inauthentic, wrinkly, pink, and has distressingly rebellious shoulder straps, but it's rather my pet project (I designed and drafted it entirely on my own - the dresses that I manage to complete after this process I am inordinately fond of). Above is a picture of my boning channels. I originally machine-stitched the channels, but since I have a thing against most visible machine-sewing, I handstitched over it with pink 'twist', using a stem stitch.

Yesterday, I pinned this kirtle to my dressform. Unfortunately, my dressform is wider and less 'squishable' than me, so the back edges don't meet on it. On me, though, they close entirely, which is what I was aiming for. I haven't got they eyelets put in yet, but I intend to put them in for spiral lacing. I've never tried spiral-lacing on anything, and I figured I might as well try it out on this! Hopefully I'll get them in by the end of the month.