Regency Stays - Trial and Error Round One

Well I got my Regency stays finished to the point that I could try them on. So I did. And this is what I ended up with.

Regency Stay Cording

Waaay back in February, I began my foray into making some Regency corded stays. Then I was distracted by other projects. Now I'm back to working on the stays.

I got all my channels sewed finally and then started on the cording. Reading from the directions and recommendations within the sewing community, I got some cooking twine to use for the cording in the channels. Well the first time I went to thread a channel, I immediately discovered it was too big.

I double checked my directions, but didn't see any options outside of the cooking twine. Hmm. Then I remembered this thick cotton thread I had once used as a kid to try and crochet a head scarf. Possibility?

I found a 4 oz. package of Sugar'n Cream worsted cotton yarn at the local fabric store that matched what I remembered using. Took everything home and it ended up being just the right size!

Put on your Sunday clothes...

Just a quick little update. For Sunday, I got together with my friend Sarah and we went down to the Southern Gardens Tea Room. I had visited it previously, but this was her first time there. So we put on our dresses and hats and off we went!

The Dressmaker review

Up for review this month is a piece of historical fiction that I read recently - The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott. The premise of it was good. A young girl, Tess, who works as a seamstress, manages to hitch a last minute ride of the legendary Titanic. The person sponsoring her passage is none other than Lady Lucile Duff-Gordon, dress designer extraordinaire. In the wake of the Titanic's disastrous encounter with an iceberg, the story follows the characters through the days after the sinking and rescue to the U.S. inquiry that delved into how the accident happened.

Amazon.com

This short synopsis follows the summary on the inner cover and while it managed to intrigue me, the actual book itself was a far bigger disappointment.

Finished Sheer Stripe Dress

Everything came together finally - we had nice weather, low humidity, and both myself and the boyfriend were home so he could help me with pictures. The dress itself has been finished for a few weeks, but this was the first time I was able to get around to photographing it.

So first, my prior posts on how everything went together.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

And the finished dress!

Victorian Tea Event at Muncie Public Library

Please excuse the sparse postings, I've been dealing with some health issues over the last month. This is sort of a continuation of what happened to my sheer stripe dress.

The reason I was putting the dress together to begin with is back in February, my friend Kerrie had asked if I would come out to the Muncie Public Library where she worked to do a Victorian workshop. No biggie, I love doing workshops and lectures. Muncie is in Indiana and I live in NE Ohio so...roadtrip!

We had several attendees and had areas set up for making tea hats, fans, and calling cards.

Making tea hats - Image from Muncie Public Library